Can Facebook Destroy Your Job?

This link was sent to me by my college advisor.

Facebook is a very popular thing with the college population. People often put pictures on Facebook that do not belong. Even more people have their Facebook accounts open so that everyone in the public can see them. What you might not know is that employers are starting to search Myspace and Facebook accounts before hiring you.

* Approximately 77 percent of employers use search engines to evaluate candidates and about 35 percent of employers have actually eliminated a candidate based on information found on these sites. (Source)
* 1 in 5 employers uses sites like Facebook and MySpace, to research information on job candidates and to view how they project themselves. Almost 2/3 said their recruitment decisions were influenced by the contents of an individual’s profile, while 1/4 said that they had changed their mind and decided not to hire someone because of what they found online. (Source)
* 4 out of 5 Facebook users keep the default privacy settings, which grant all users in their network access to their profile page. In the JMU network, that would mean unrestricted access to your profile for over 26,600 users. (Source)
* The average age of social networking website users is steadily increasing- a solid 39% of visitors to Facebook are 35 and older. (Source)

Link to the rest of the article

My advice to you — do not become a statistic. Take your privacy online seriously and protect your Facebook and Myspace accounts. Or better yet — If there is a picture that you would not show your mother, do not post it on Facebook.

Justin

www.PublicRadar.com