Should You Be on Facebook?

Social-networking sites are all but putting business-card printers out of business. Instead of trading a 3.5 x 2-inch piece of paper, people are trading names and tracking one another down on sites such as LinkedIn and Facebook. While LinkedIn has a decidedly professional bent, Facebook can be a much more intimate look into one's personal life and inner circle of friends. Still, a lot of folks are on Facebook and use it as a professional networking tool. But is it right for you?

Because Facebook makes it easy to blur the lines between the professional and personal, most experts caution against this, unless, perhaps, you work in the entertainment industry. "When you think about Facebook and other social-networking sites, you have got to think about these profiles as an addendum to your resume," says Lauren Milligan, founder of ResuMAYDAY.com.
Daisy L. Swan, of Daisy Swan & Associates, agrees, "Now that there are so many people who are going to be looking for new positions, it's good to be able to be found -- so long as you're presenting yourself as the professional you want to be."


Here are some tips to put your best face forward on Facebook:

1. Keep it strictly professional. Career strategist Swan says, "Have a consistent message," meaning if you're marketing yourself as a top accountant, make sure your Facebook profile reflects that image. Milligan tells users, "Keep the social aspect separate. I've had clients who've been way too attached to their Facebook pages and all the personal content on there, but I ask them, 'What's your priority? Finding a job or revealing all?'"


2. Mind your status. Your status can be used for more than goofy one-liners. Swan, for instance, shares, "You can use your status to let people know about additional projects you're working on, which sends a message that you're more than just what you do at work every day." Also, if you friend your coworkers on Facebook, make sure you don't accidentally throw yourself under the bus by revealing you weren't really sick when you called in sick to work, as one Facebook user learned (see related incident on Shamebox blog).


3. Choose your friends and your groups carefully. Whom you friend and the groups you join are a reflection of who you are. Think through the requests you accept and the company you keep on Facebook as potential employers may take those things into account. One group of Virgin Atlantic employees recently started a Facebook group in which they openly traded insults and complaints about customers and colleagues -- and 13 of those workers were fired. Resume and career expert Milligan reminds users, "If you're an employee, you have to be considered an advocate of your employer at all times."


4. Mind your identity. Another plus of keeping your privacy settings high or, ideally, keeping your profile strictly professional, is that you're less likely to divulge personal information that could leave you at risk of identity theft. Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's personal email account was famously hacked by someone who successfully guessed the answers to her security questions. Avoid divulging your pets' names, your mom's maiden name, and other details that could leave you vulnerable to fraud by including only professional details on any social-networking site.


5. Don't get sucked in. Swan, whose practice is based in Los Angeles, says, "I've been hearing that entrepreneurs are getting a lot of encouragement to be on Facebook and they're marketing full force that way. But it's not the be-all, end-all solution for marketing. It may have some value toward your bottom line, but it may not if you're spending too much time on it. Check your return on investment."


Milligan adds, "It cannot be your priority. The time you spend on it cannot infringe on your professional life."


As recruiters and companies look to Facebook as an additional source of finding new talent, it behooves you to at least be familiar with such sites. Swan states, "In terms of new partnerships and for job-search purposes, it can be a great networking tool to let people know about you, and it's a great way to learn about people and companies and options. Just be sure to use these sites in a savvy manner to your benefit."


Milligan warns, "If job-search tools will be available, if that is the conduit between you and a job, you'd better be professional."