Career Killing Habits On Facebook

By Author: Chris Surridge
Total Articles: 26
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In my previous articles, I mentioned the importance of making Linkedln your friend and being proactive there. But as much as you should be concerned and active on Linkedln you should not forget the power of Facebook. According to Mashable*, Facebook is the no#1 most visited destination on the web. Weighing in at an unfathomably heavy 570 billion page views and 540 million users. And Linkedln at 56th place. So there is no argument about the powerful effect of Facebook and how companies are using it.

CNN also reports last month that a lady in US lost her insurance claim just because of her Facebook profile as the insurance company sues her over giving false claims that contradicts with her status updates. Surveys suggest that almost 40% of employers are using Facebook to screen potential employers - even more than those who check Linkedln, a strictly professional networking website. I personally believe that this percentage will increase over time - and I must add that these screening practices are even also followed in developing countries.

You are tagged in a Picture (And you are drunk)
...
...
Now how interesting would it is to your potential employers when they screen your profile and see you tagged in pictures in which you are drunk (I'm modest here to use this term - in real life people engage themselves in more frivolous activities) and doing something inappropriate

Mr. Daniyal Hussain of Pakistanacca.com said, The rule of thumb to post any picture on your profile is, that if your parents can see this, you can post it but if any profile update makes you uncomfortable to share with your parents, believe me it will make your employers more uncomfortable (in making their minds to hire you).

Mr. Complain

I hate my office, I hate my boss, My boss is so unethical, My colleagues p###ed me off.

These are the few profile updates that could help you in getting Fired before you are even in full working flow for the company. Of course, no one wants to hire the person who is complaining, regularly, about his company and is a possible suspect of giving a bad name to the potential employer. (Genuine complains are handled through a different manner).


Conflicting Information

If your CV said that you studied from Oxford and your Facebook profile said you were studying in Queen Marry, University of London, then your CV has strong chances of rejection. Even if you just do this for some insane purpose, a LIE won't be acceptable to potential employers.


Facebook Can Help You Get Hired - Or Fired

The best advice is to lock down your personal profile so that only friends you approve can see anything on that profile. Then, create a second, public profile on Facebook purely for professional use. This profile functions like an online resume, and should only contain information you'd be comfortable telling your potential employer face to face. Having a social networking profile is a good thing - it presents you as technologically and professionally

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