By Paul TakahashiContributing Writer
Students can damage their career prospects with their Facebook.com profiles, according to experts and university officials.
“The public record is indelible … it’s a lot harder to erase,” said Rick Hirsch, managing editor of multimedia at The Miami Herald. Hirsch spoke to students of the Medill School of Journalism on Oct. 4 about the dangers of Internet social networking sites.
A favorite among Northwestern students, Facebook recently entered the spotlight for its potential to damage a student’s chances for employment.
Lonnie Dunlap, the director of University Career Services, said employers often search the Internet for information about prospective hires.
“We know that through various means, employers, many of them alums, will go in and review what students have posted about themselves,” Dunlap said. “It’s a real consideration when you’re using these sites.”
Although users can view profiles only of people within their networks, some employers use their interns’ accounts to view profiles. Many recruiters also are alumni of a particular school, allowing them to access certain networks.
Some students, such as Communication freshman Kayleigh Wettstein, screen their profiles and remove information employers might find questionable.
“This information is online, so anyone can see it, read it or look at it,” Wettstein said. “I don’t want my Facebook profile to be the reason I don’t get an internship or a job.”
Although some students have found themselves in a bind with employers about what they’ve posted about their personal lives, others have found Facebook to be a useful marketing tool, Dunlap said.
“I’ve also known employers who have been impressed by what students have on Facebook, and so I think it’s not something to shy away from but to use constructively,” Dunlap said.
But some students said they are not worried about posting questionable pictures or joining groups on Facebook.
“I highly doubt that any reputable large company or university that I might have some connection with would ever spend the time and effort in checking up on me,” Weinberg sophomore Ben Sadun said. “Moreover, I’m not going to be applying to anything in the near future, so I don’t see how it might come back to affect me.”
Medill freshman Michael Haas said he isn’t concerned about Facebook because he knows he can remove information from his profile at his discretion. But Haas said the site can still pose a risk to students’ career prospects.
“Students need to realize that whatever they post on Facebook is public domain,” Haas said. “It’s on the student to understand the risk he or she is taking.”
Reach Paul Takahashi at [email protected].
