Hired: Beware of posting private information online

My daily computer ritual is: News headlines, selected news stories, my two email programs (first business, then fun), followed by Facebook, which is then checked several times during the day via computer and cell phone. I use Facebook to connect with friends and family, to reconnect with friends from the past, and to network. It's a great tool if used correctly. How is this relevant to your job search?

According to an article on Yahoo! Finance, 7/26/2010, "A December 2009 study by Microsoft Corp. found that 79 percent of hiring managers and job recruiters review online information about job applicants before making a hiring decision. Of those, 70 percent said that they have rejected candidates based on information that they found online. Top reasons listed -- concerns about lifestyle, inappropriate comments and unsuitable photos and videos."

"Everything is indexed and able to be searched." says Miriam Salpeter, an Atlanta-based job search and social media coach. "Even Facebook, which many people consider a more private network, can easily become a trap for job seekers who post things they would not want a prospective boss to see." Salpeter recommends not posting anything illegal (even if it's a joke), criticism of a boss, coworker or client, information about an interviewer, or anything sexual or discriminatory. "Assume your future boss is reading everything you share online," she says.

I'll go even farther than Salpeter. I will assume that the information posted on Facebook or other social networking programs will always be available to employers. So, teenagers talking the talk that is acceptable in your peer group, beware. It probably isn't acceptable anywhere else, and I'm just saying that some of your postings may come back to slap you later in life. Unfortunately, many of you, including my own grandchildren, probably aren't reading "Getting Hired" -- yet... so parents, do what other parents fail to do.

Monitor and educate your children. And, job seekers, enjoy the power of Facebook as I do. Communicate with friends and coworkers, reconnect with friends from back in the day for fun, and use the potential of Facebook for job seeking network purposes, but be careful of your fun postings, photos, and videos. Protect your image and integrity.

If you have teenagers in your home, play this forward. Do what others fail to do.