Could Facebook Hurt You In The Job Market?

It's a place to chat with friends, share pictures and express thoughts and feelings, but when can Facebook damage a career?

Thursday, February 16th 2012, 12:53 am

By: News 9


It's a place to chat with friends, share pictures and express thoughts and feelings, but when can Facebook damage a career?

Now more than ever, employers aren't just looking at resumes. They're reviewing social networking sites before making that hire -- or even setting up an interview.

Russ Moen with Express Personnel has worked in Human Resources for years. He says finding the right person for the job isn't just about qualifications, but what applicants think and feel.

"It gives you an inside peek into what that person values, what do they do in their spare time."

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And that means we must think twice before typing something negative, especially about a former employer.

"That tells you a little bit about their ability to control their emotion."

And foul language could be a deal breaker.

"At that point, the skills, the technical skills, the ability to do a particular job would become secondary to the values and behaviors that person exhibits."

Often it's not what's said, but seen.

"They're holding a fifth of scotch and there at some drunken party somewhere. This does not bode well," Moen said.

We talked with several UCO students about to enter the job market. They understand their private Facebook pages really aren't that private.

"They say if you post a picture on the Internet, it's there forever," Lauren Caple said.

"Sometimes you go out for a crazy weekend, you take some pictures and your friends post it. You can't control that. You have to hurry and untag yourself," Stephen Marco said.

"How you would want anyone to see you, your parents or your grandparents, your future employer, you should make sure your page looks like that," Caple said.

But some argue it's their individual right to express themselves online

"There are some things I put on Facebook that I feel like I should be able to since it's my personal space," Sache Primeaux said.

But she knows it just takes common sense.

"You just never know who's watching your page," she said.

How Employers Monitor Internet Usage At Work

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