So CareerBuilder created a Do’s and Dont’s article for those looking for jobs as a follow up to their Social Networking study about background checks which was released last month. Advice includes:
- Do Update Your Profile Regularly
- Don’t Badmouth Your Current or Past Employers
- Do Join Groups Selectively
- Don’t Mention Your Job Search if You are Still Employed
- Don’t Forget That Others Can See Your Friends
It’s pretty good advice, but they forgot the most important advice of all: Don’t Make Your Profile Public! I’m surprised by the omission. If people that you don’t allow in can’t see your profile, then all of the above advice becomes a moot point.
Also on the topic of Social Networking and Background Checks was a great OpEd piece published in the Miami Herald by Mark Neuberger, labor and employment attorney for Foley & Lardner LLP. Mark made provides an interesting analogy to to this practice by comparing it to pre-civil rights days.
“Before the Civil Rights Act, it was common for companies to require applicants to submit a photograph and routinely ask about religion, marital status and number of children. This information affected decisions regarding hiring, compensation and promotions. The widespread practice was that the ”family guy with kids” deserved the promotion and more money because he needed it and the single female did not.”
It’s an interesting take, but at the end of the day, the comparison is entirely valid. Even if you are not factoring things such as race, age, gender, sexual orientation, etc. into your search, the old saying still holds true. “You Can’t Unring That Bell”.
