It used to be that you could keep your personal life on Facebook and your professional life on LinkedIn. It's not so easy to keep your personal life private these days. The lines between personal and professional, if there are even any left, are continuing to blur.
There are companies recruiting on Facebook, Facebook apps for job searching, and tools like SimplyHired's Who Do I Know that let job seekers see who they know on Facebook and LinkedIn when they search for jobs.
If you're thinking about job searching, now, or at any time in the future, be really careful about your privacy settings and who you allow to see what on Facebook. Customize your privacy settings to keep what should remain between friends and family private and not broadcast to the world.
Be careful who you are friends with and consider the consequences of a potential employers seeing what you, or your friends, are posting. Be careful about the photos you are tagged in and untag yourself, if necessary.
On the bright side of all this increase in social media use by companies, think about you how can use social networking to job search. Because companies are using social media to promote job openings and find candidates. And that's good news for job seekers.
Companies are seeking candidates online and on the sites where potential hires are spending the most time. Use it to your advantage. Post your accomplishments to Facebook and Twitter, as well as to LinkedIn.
Jon Gelberg, Chief Content Officer, Blue Fountain Media, says "You can use social media platforms as a way of demonstrating your intelligence, your creativity, your passions and your talents. If you have created great content, then post it on your social media platforms. If you have created a clever video, post that as well."
Look at LinkedIn, definitely, and Facebook and Twitter, probably, as sites where you may be sourced by companies seeking employees and as sites where you have a chance of finding your next job.
Related: Top 10 Social Networking Tips | Get Start on LinkedIn
Image Copyright Getty Images Paul Burns
Alison, great advice! Facebook has absolutely become more than a personal networking site. It has become interwoven with Twitter and LinkedIn. It’s great advice to include professional aspects on your Facebook profile–and if you wouldn’t want your employer to see it, don’t post it! Knowing your privacy settings is always good, but even if you think you have the most private profile, there’s still a chance someone could find a way around it.
I think in any social media/sharing context it’s a good idea to be hyper-aware of what you say and do.
Even if you set everything on your profile to private, it’s a good idea to be mindful of what you share on social sites.