How to Job Search on the New Facebook

Dear Ms. Huhman,

This is a very interesting and detailed connection you have made between the changes that were newly made to Facebook and the effects it may have on job searching. As someone who is about to enter the job market I found it interesting as to how much social media, particularly Facebook, will affect my job search. Whether we like it or not, it seems that when any change to Facebook occurs, it makes the 5 o’clock news. Ms. Huhman, to answer your question one of the other features I have noticed is the friend acceptance procedure. Where you previously had the option of placing your friends under limited profile, you must now first accept them before you can choose to put them in a list or under “close friends” or “acquaintances”. Facebook provides lists for you to see what you have in common with this person so you can tell how you should categorize them. Familiarizing yourself with your privacy settings will allow you to make sure future employers or people within your industry have access only to the professional content of your profile. Would you agree this new feature is an advantageous?

Of the five ways that Joshua Waldman provides to use Facebook efficiently, I think the second, subscribing, and forth, face recognition, are most relevant. I believe that the advantages of subscribing to your profile and building your brand allow you to create a professional, marketable image that will attract potential employers. Furthermore, we have all heard and read stories about people losing their jobs over photos or posts their employers have seen on Facebook. With that said, I do not think the face recognition software now being used by Facebook is a beneficial change. I still prefer the previous method where you had to specifically tag a friend in a photo, rather than Facebook doing it for you. Not only do I think it is odd that someone outside of your network can tag you, but the possibility of the facial recognition software malfunctioning, and recognizing one face for another, can put you in a potentially compromising position with employers.

Georgia Dean of CA 7:46PM October 09, 2011