Sitting here thinking about what it really takes to get a job these days. And the things that ensure you won't. Facebook instantly came to my mind.
I constantly hear about how employers check out the facebook profiles of prospective hires. By the second semester of my senior year, half of my facebook friends seemed to have adopted new names. With confidence, I can say I am one of the few that hasn't jumped on the bandwagon. Are all my wallposts to friends grammatically correct? Are all my posted pictures of family gatherings and honors dinners? Do I have 'reading, knitting, and watching CNN' listed as my activities? Ofcourse not. But I simply refuse to become one of those people so ashamed of their lives that they have to change their name. Nonetheless, I understand my friends' concerns.
Its frustrating to think that someones personal life can have such a profound effect on their employment or lackthere of. How do the activities someone partakes in on the weekend have any relation to their ability, work ethic and intelligence? (Granted that they aren't doing drugs or shop lifting the local walmart in their pictures) More than likely, the majority of posted pictures on facebook will be of parties, vacations and social events. I don't know of anyone that takes a picture of themselves at the library reading the History of the Peloponnesian War and posts it on their facebook. And if they did, do companies really want to hire such an insipid person?
Sometimes, I wonder if its anything on my facebook thats preventing me from getting a job. But at the end, I always come to the same conclusion. If employers want to be entertained by my witty status updates, envy my vacation getaways, critique my outfit choices, and find out who my latest flame is - then sure, they should check out my facebook. But if they want to know anything about my GPA, the leadership positions I've held, the thesis works I've written, the organizations I've been apart of...then I suggest they look at my resume.
And although I've made my profile private, today I recieved a friend request from an admissions counsler from a graduate school I had applied to. Did I reject her request? Absolutely not. She has my resume that lists my all curricular achievements. She can now look at my facebook and get a glimpse of who I am, my favorite books, my friends. Afterall, theres more than one side to a person. Don't judge me on an isolated incident, judge me on my legacy.
