Yesterday's article highlighted the positive potential of social networking sites such as Twitter and LinkedIn in the hunt for a graduate job. However, the results of a recent study have served as a timely reminder that the phenomenon can work both ways, and that careful management of existing online profiles is just as important as using them to branch out further into the graduate job market.
Of the 1000 people surveyed by psychology group OPP, more than half responded that they would be inclined to explore the social media profile of a potential employee. With privacy laws on Facebook a source of constant controversy, it is important to make sure your profile is carefully managed so that just in case something makes its way onto your profile that you'd rather a potential employer not see. For this, the 'Friends Only' privacy setting becomes of universal use. Twitter is a more easily manageable medium, with nothing that can be attached to your profile without you yourself posting it, and so provides a case where common sense ought to prevail and, if your tweets are, as with the majority, public for all to see, then they don't contain any content which could be damaging to your chances of recruitment.
The survey also demonstrated that it is not just the more casual amongst social media sites which require careful management; LinkedIn too was highlighted as a potential banana skin. A recent case saw an executive dismissed when his employer saw on his profile that he'd registered an interest in other career opportunities. Though this is not something which could pose a problem to the regular graduate looking for work, it further demonstrates the need for caution and in making sure nothing appears on such a profile that you don't mind being seen by absolutely anybody who may be able to access it, both during a job hunt and once you begin a graduate career.
