Comments on: 5 Things to Keep Off Social Networking Profiles (If You’ll Ever be Job Hunting Again)

By: Jennifer Mattern

Jennifer Mattern — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 13:10:46 +0000

Hold on now. Before anyone jumps into an age-ist mentality, remember that it’s the “forward thinking” types who are the ones turning to social media when reviewing job applicants in the first place. The information people look at will clearly change over the years. But it would be naive to think that anyone in an HR capacity would go out of their way to ignore or dismiss information practically handed to them. Someone’s fit in a corporate culture is as important to some as their credentials, and for good reason. So don’t assume this is an older folks issue, where a generational divide will naturally lead to more privacy. No one is going to have privacy in this sense unless they actively pursue it and stop running their mouths so much publicly about all of life’s little indiscretions.

By: Dallas SEO

Dallas SEO — Mon, 11 Oct 2010 12:49:46 +0000

I think by the time people in their late teens to twentys start to worry about this kind of stuff, the types of decisions makers who would completely judge someone based off of their social media profile alone will hopefully be dead or retired. The ones that are still alive will probably have their lunch eaten by more forward thinking whipper snappers.

By: Jennifer Mattern

Jennifer Mattern — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 13:39:54 +0000

You’re right. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with speaking your mind. It’s all about having self control and know what are (and aren’t) appropriate forums for what you want to say at the moment. Having your own profile private is a good start. Make sure you keep an eye on those belonging to friends though just in case something you feel uncomfortable about slips through. You can always ask them to remove it if that happens (although there’s nothing forcing them to). My policy tends to be “don’t do anything you wouldn’t want shared online in the first place.”

By: Jennifer Mattern

Jennifer Mattern — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 13:37:29 +0000

How can you say you agree with not sharing private info when you comment on a blog about going home to smoke a joint?

It also has absolutely nothing to do with researching what you’re saying and “backing it up.” We aren’t talking about debates here. We’re talking about personal interaction with others online.

And frankly no one’s said anything about not being yourself or having to put on a face M-F. But if “yourself” is an ignorant ass with no self-respect or respect for others, and that shows through on your profiles, don’t be surprised when you don’t get a job. In that case you’d better be prepared to go into business for yourself (in which case the suggestions here really don’t apply, because it’s a VERY different situation). Not all people are cut out for that though, and for those who do have to rely on employers, like it or not they’d better be ready to play that game.

By: Jennifer Mattern

Jennifer Mattern — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 13:26:33 +0000

Congratulations for being a case study on exactly what people shouldn’t do (or at least brag about online) if they’re in the job market. Always up for illustration.

By: Jennifer Mattern

Jennifer Mattern — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 13:25:34 +0000

Thanks for letting us know Gail. I saw your mention about that the other day on Twitter.

And you’re right. There’s definitely a misunderstanding when it comes to privacy online. Very little (if anything) is truly private online. Even if you make it private on your own profile, there’s nothing stopping someone else from sharing and tagging similar photos (taken at the same drunken event for example), and NOT making it private on theirs.

If you do something stupid in a public place, don’t be surprised when other people see it. The same goes for the Web.

By: Jennifer Mattern

Jennifer Mattern — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 13:22:26 +0000

LOL You know… I’m just not the kind of person who would post things like that, regardless of who I think is looking at my profiles. I can’t imagine anyone thinking that’s a good idea in the first place. But thanks for bringing up the Xobni issue. Another thing worth keeping in mind!

By: Tola

Tola — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 10:22:14 +0000

Good thing I’ve already made my facebook page as private as possible!!
I figured my facebook page is personal while twitter and linkedin is a free for all. So far so good, its working for me.
I definitely agree with you on all counts, the Internet is a largely small place, it’s better to be safe than sorry, that’s what I think! Speak your mind, but be professional about it, after all, you never know who will see/read it.

By: Adrian Eden

Adrian Eden — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 23:15:52 +0000

BTW I do not disagree with not sharing private information, I do disagree with all of the other ones though, as long as you research what you are saying and have proof to back it up, speak your mind.

I hate the corporate world for putting on a face for Mon to Fri and than going home on the weekends and acting differently. Be yourself every day.

By: Adrian Eden

Adrian Eden — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 23:10:44 +0000

I disagree with every one of those. I say be yourself, speak your mind, and maintain a level of respect while getting your points across.

*No matter how well you do something, if you do it in a boring fashion, NO ONE CARES!

After work today I plan on going home to smoke a fat joint and do some SEO research on domains.