Author: Ace
Social networking sites like Facebook or Friendster provide young web users with a venue for self-expression and social interaction. Both sites’ influence among today’s web users can be seen in its inclusion among the Top 20 most popular sites around the world.
Originally envisioned by its creators as online dating services, these sites have become “meeting places” for family, friends, former classmates and of course potential partner seekers who are separated by geography but can communicate through the internet by simply being referred to each other by mutual friends. The process involves creating a profile – answering several questions such as basic information (gender, location, etc.) and personality indicators (favorite movies, favorite books, interests, etc.) and adding “Friends” or profiles of people you know to your “Friends List.” You can then view their profiles and that of their friends in your extended network.
However, as with other public spaces on the Internet, there is no way to guarantee that the persons viewing your profile are the persons you want to see it.
Jobseeker Marie shares her experience: “I was looking forward to working with a New Zealand Auckland jobs company. I reached the phone interview stage – the one with the hiring manager – and everything seemed fine. Then, I did not receive any more calls for the final interview or the visa application stage. My friends said it might be because the hiring manager saw some stuff on my Friendster profile that turned her off. Should companies spy on future employees on Facebook or Friendster? Should social networking sites only be personal and not to be mixed with our professional lives?”
Experts caution jobseekers on what information they make available in their online profiles.
Reconsider what is in your Facebook or Friendster account. Remove the stuff that you do not want your parents to see, or those that imply you consider work as evil. It is not called “spying” because social network sites, like blogs, are not private, they are public spaces. Anyone can have access to them and use the data for their own purposes. There is no such thing as separation between “personal” and “professional” anymore.
It is still the prerogative of Human Resources for New Zealand Christchurch jobs to conduct reference and background checks on the applicant in whatever means or ways that is available and accessible. Browsing through a social network site is okay as long as it matches the preliminary attitudinal evaluation on the applicant’s character because the profile only validates the preliminary evaluation on the person’s character or if the person fits the company culture and environment.
Jobseekers must always remember that the impression social network profiles generate depends on the context of the viewer’s relationship with you. A picture of you looking intoxicated in a party may seem cool to a friend but irresponsible to a potential jobs New Zealand employer. Minimize the chances of that happening by removing content which you would not want any potential foreign employer from accessing. For more information on New Zealand jobs, visit http://www.adecco.co.nz/.
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/careers-articles/can-your-facebook-or-friendster-profile-ruin-your-career-1562865.html
About the Author:
A computer professional who works on the internet helping Adecco increase its viewers through optimization. For world class new Zealand jobs visit us online at www.adecco.co.nz.
