Savvy Social Networking-How Using Facebook Can Help You Land a Job Interview - CareerEnlightenment.com

Another Side of YourselfIt is also worth considering that there are things you can say about yourself on Facebook that you really ought not to say on your resume, and that you really cannot say on a site like LinkedIn. On your resume, you need to keep things focused on your career experience and professional interests. On Facebook, though, you can show another side of yourself, and ultimately come across as a more dynamic candidate.This might include your hobbies and family interests. We do not need to reiterate the importance of keeping slovenly drunk photos and other dubious exploits off of your profile, but pictures of family hiking trips or vacations with your spouse can be helpful. If you are an avid reader, you can connect your Facebook account to your Goodreads page. If you love to bake, you can show off photos of favorite dishes. In short, you can show how well-rounded and versatile you are in ways that simply are not appropriate for traditional resumes.And you should absolut ely include links to charitable organizations and non-profits that you support. This can go a long way toward establishing your character, and it is especially helpful when an employer is particularly socially-aware. Just make sure not to like the pages of hot-button political groups; you may feel a certain way about marriage equality or marijuana legalization, for instance, but there is no way to know whether those views will help or hurt you with a particular employer so it is best to omit them from public view altogether.Social Media and Candidate AppealThe moral of the story: Employers are coming more and more to use Facebook and other social networks as resources for weeding out red flag job applicants. You might simply minimize the threat of being lumped in with the red flags, and stay off of Facebook altogether. Even more prudent, however, is using Facebook to cast yourself as a truly desirable job candidate.Mike Zammuto became President and COO of www.reputationchanger.com in the fall of 2012. The company offers services for online reputation repair as well as a variety of additional reputation management services.