Starting Work
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Lasting Impressions
February 12, 2008
I spend much of my life speaking with students and new hires. In general, I recommend that before they begin the interview process, job candidates pull down any information they may have posted on one of the social networking sites, for example, myspace.com or facebook.com. I add, it’s critical, and I mean absolutely essential, that interviewees withdraw any content that might be perceived as overtly personal or salacious.
An article in Monday’s New York Times, “How Sticky is Membership on Facebook? Just Try Breaking Free” (02/11/08, p. C1) provides ample reason why interview candidates should never post extremely personal content in the first place. It turns out that content may reside on a Facebook.com server forever. According to the article, some users have found that it is virtually impossible to entirely remove themselves from the social networking sites. One user, after months of wrangling with Facebook and a threat of legal action, thought he had successfully unencumbered himself from the web site. He later discovered an empty version of his profile still existed on-line
Before you opt to post information on a social networking site, make sure you develop content that you will feel comfortable being associated with for the rest of your life. Do not post a thought, impression or picture of yourself before asking: Would I want a prospective employer, a bar association, even my potential future in-laws to read/see this? If the answer is no, don’t post it.
Anything you post today may become an impression that lasts forever. And, by the way, what you choose not to post says a great deal about you, too.
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