Avoid Internet
Career Embarrassment – Dos and Don’ts for Social Networking
Posting on Social Media
Networks
Particularly in
connection with your current employment and future employment, you
must be very careful what you post on social media networks such as
MySpace and Facebook. More and more potential employers are checking
out these sites and others such as LinkedIn before offering
interviews to potential employees.
From an
employer’s point of view this makes good sense. If an employer finds
a compromising picture of you that you have posted on the web,
he/she will think twice about entrusting you with company knowledge.
What might you post about the company – photos and all?
The grey area is
not compromising pictures (such as scantily clad photos)
but photos that show you having fun (okay, drinking and partying)
with your friends. There are fun photos and there are other kinds of
fun photos.
One social media
network that has good privacy settings is Facebook, which has
several levels of privacy settings for various pieces of personal
information. On Facebook your profile can only ever be seen by a
very small percentage of all the people on Facebook. This statement
is not true for all social media networks.
You can even
block an official friend on Facebook from seeing all of your profile
by using a privacy option called limited profile. (This means you
can be a friend with your boss and still block her from seeing
certain things on your profile.)
This seems a
viable middle ground solution for those who don’t want to forgo
putting any fun pictures on the internet. There are still some risks
– for example, if you decide to change certain settings on Facebook
you can unknowingly automatically reveal this blocked info.
Before putting
fun photos of yourself on the internet, the first rule of thumb
should be to find out which sites prevent anyone (such as a
potential employer) from looking at your profile without your
knowledge. That should be the number one criteria for where you put
your photos.
The second rule
of thumb should be – if you do put fun photos on a social media
network that allows you to block unwanted views of your profile, be
sure you read all the instructions for this blocking feature
carefully. You don’t want to accidentally remove the blocks just
when you’re up for an interview for a job you really want. And, oh
no! – the potential employer has just seen that photo of you dressed
as a Martian and chugging a beer. (And, again, give considerable
thought to what kinds of fun photos you post.)
When You Should Take Part
in Social Media Networks
The other side of
the coin is if you’re an employee of a company that has an internal
social media network. Then you must be sure to post helpful comments
and suggestions on the site. If you don’t do this, you may be
overlooked for good assignments and for promotions.
Yes, you may be
uncomfortable going to company parties or company picnics. But
there’s no need to be a wall flower or missing in action on a
company’s internal social media network. Go ahead and add content to
let your colleagues learn about you.
Of course, as
always, make sure that what you add is appropriate.
The Risks of Blogging and
Your Career
Thoughtless
blogging can also get you in hot water. There’s a tempting feeling
of security that you’re really just writing for yourself. The fact
that anyone in the world, literally, can read what a blogger has
just written for himself or herself may fade into the background as
you’re typing away on your keyboard.
It is very
important to realize that anything can be taken the wrong way. You
can have controversial opinions if you respectfully offer them. But
it’s important to really hear what you’re putting out there. (You
can write in anger, but do NOT post in anger.)
You obviously
need to be blogging when you’re not at work (unless
you’re getting paid to blog). But even when blogging on your own
time, you still need to be very careful of the rules regarding
revealing information of any company for which you’re working. And
do not talk about other people or your workplace on your blog
without getting permission.
When considering
what topics are safe to blog about, the best advice is that which is
good for many offline situations – when in doubt, don’t.
If you plan to
rant and rave on your blog about having to make the coffee AGAIN,
make sure that you haven’t identified the company in this post or
any previous post (or future post). And, in fact, maybe forget
complaining to the world about making coffee. Better to share your
thoughts about world peace – or some equally universal topic.
The most
important brand to you is your own brand. Put it online respectfully
and in appropriate networks.
By
Phyllis Zimbler Miller is the author of MRS. LIEUTENANT: A SHARON
GOLD NOVEL and the president of online information company Miller
Mosaic, LLC. Her company's newest information website is Queens of
Book Marketing. Her Twitter username is @ZimblerMiller. You can read
MRS. LIEUTENANT for free online at http://www.authonomy.com/ReadBook.aspx?bookid=3737#chapter
