Linked In Might Get Your Hired, But Facebook Can Keep You From It
If you hang out much with job seekers and the associated career counselors and spiritual guides you hear the comment that people who do the hiring look at LinkedIn to figure out why they are going to hire you and Facebook for why they're not.
Probably no truer words have ever been spoken for people who are in search of a job, especially in what is still a rather choppy hiring environment.
For those of you not familiar with LinkedIn, it deals mainly with the business side of social networking. On LinkedIn, people can post their formal resumes, portfolios, links to other source material, etc.
LinkedIn users can also make connections with other people who might be beneficial in their business or job search. Users can also join groups such as alumni associations, business organizations, etc. These groups are a great source of information and connections.
In its earlier stages, LinkedIn was far more formal than it is now, but it remains mainly about careers and business and less about where little Johnny and Janie are going to camp.
On the flip side is Facebook -- the Wild West of social networking where everything seems to go and many folks throw caution to the wind.
Although businesses have a large presence on Facebook, people are much more likely to use their personal pages to post information about what's going on in their lives. Vacation pictures. Family pictures. Video from last week's kegger.
You get the picture.
Facebook in many ways is a great thing, but I've heard far too many stories about people posting pictures on their sites that current or future employers might look at with dismay. Fortunately unlike that tattoo you got on Spring Break in Mexico your Facebook history is a little easier to erase, or at least cover up.
While one might argue that a personal site is just that, personal. You would be naive to think someone who is thinking of hiring you isn't typing your name into both Google and Facebook to seek out information not on your resume.
So while LinkedIn provides the buttoned-down appearance that you want the working world to see, just be careful about the view of your life you are providing with your words and pictures on Facebook.
Probably no truer words have ever been spoken for people who are in search of a job, especially in what is still a rather choppy hiring environment.
For those of you not familiar with LinkedIn, it deals mainly with the business side of social networking. On LinkedIn, people can post their formal resumes, portfolios, links to other source material, etc.
LinkedIn users can also make connections with other people who might be beneficial in their business or job search. Users can also join groups such as alumni associations, business organizations, etc. These groups are a great source of information and connections.
In its earlier stages, LinkedIn was far more formal than it is now, but it remains mainly about careers and business and less about where little Johnny and Janie are going to camp.
On the flip side is Facebook -- the Wild West of social networking where everything seems to go and many folks throw caution to the wind.
Although businesses have a large presence on Facebook, people are much more likely to use their personal pages to post information about what's going on in their lives. Vacation pictures. Family pictures. Video from last week's kegger.
You get the picture.
Facebook in many ways is a great thing, but I've heard far too many stories about people posting pictures on their sites that current or future employers might look at with dismay. Fortunately unlike that tattoo you got on Spring Break in Mexico your Facebook history is a little easier to erase, or at least cover up.
While one might argue that a personal site is just that, personal. You would be naive to think someone who is thinking of hiring you isn't typing your name into both Google and Facebook to seek out information not on your resume.
So while LinkedIn provides the buttoned-down appearance that you want the working world to see, just be careful about the view of your life you are providing with your words and pictures on Facebook.