How Facebook's New Timeline Feature Can Hinder A Job Search

Alice McKenney on March 20, 2012

tags: Disclosure, Discrimination, Job Search

As many of us are aware at this point, Facebook Timeline is here to stay, and eventually we will all have to switch over.  Do you know what to avoid doing on it so you don't mess up your job search?

According to a recent Mashable article, there are three main culprits:

  1. Whining.  This is one thing you should absolutely avoid publicly doing on Facebook.  "Employers are Googling you to get a first impression of who you are and what you will be like at the company. The virtual complaining can come back and haunt you."

    Facebook thumbs down dislike

  2. Refusing to adjust. Many of us are averse to change (I will admit I am sometimes guilty of this as well!). So take this opportunity to jump on the bandwagon now and take advantage of all the new things Timeline comes with - from a cover photo, to highlighting an important story.  All of these pieces put together makes up your online brand, which is increasingly important in today's technologically driven world.  "Put yourself in an employer’s shoes: If you came across a candidate who stuck to their guns and wouldn’t adjust to changes on a simple thing like Facebook, what do you think they’ll do at work? Visions of future employees protesting new filing systems or office suppliers are not good."
  3. Neglecting to edit. Timeline makes digging into your past a whole lot easier. Facebook gives you a 7-day grace period to clean up your timeline before pushing it live, so take advantage of that extra time to hide/delete/edit all of those potentially incriminating pictures, posts, etc. that you may have put up years ago.

I'd like to add one more thing to this list - if you're using Facebook at all for job searching, and you're a cancer patient or survivor, you should be vigilant about what you've said and not said about your experience on Facebook. While you may be using Facebook as an easy way to share your feelings and activities with your friends and family, if a potential employer were to come across a post about your cancer (and you have decided not to disclose during the application/interview process), your cover has essentially been blown - which could open you up to job discrimination, potentially costing you the job.  To learn more about protecting your online image during and after cancer treatment, click here.

Image via mashable.com