Get Hired Through Your Facebook Page

Many job seekers think that by making their Facebook page unsearchably private, they are saving themselves from job rejection. However, an open Facebook page is not always a bad thing; in fact, your Facebook page could work in your favor.

By strategically tailoring the content of your page and editing your privacy settings, you could actually increase your chances of being hired. Think about it this way: What is your resume if not an old-school user profile? It is paper, and it usually in black and white Times New Roman font, but your resume does nothing more than create an identity for you. This identity is necessary for employers to get to know you. If you do not submit a resume, it will be hard for an employer to compare you with others and to see if your identity fits with the company you wish to work for.


Strategic Facebooking

Let’s play a little game of make believe. Pretend you just graduated from your university with a degree in Marketing, and you just submitted your resume to a Hill Holiday. The hiring manager of the advertising firm places your resume inside a stack of thirty others. How can you possibly be differentiated form thirty other undergrads with similar business degrees in the same field? How will you stand out in the employer’s mind? Sure, an interview can help- but dozens of others are being interviewed, all wearing the same black suit and carrying the same resume binder.

Photo Albums

However, the manager searched your name on Facebook, and there you are as the first item that comes up! Your friendly, smiling face graces your default picture; so far so good. He clicks on your photos tab and he sees a few (strategically public) albums. One is an album of your graduation day, filled with pictures of you walking during commencement, holing your diploma, and posing with old professors.  Another album is titled “Spring 2010 Business Trip in New York” and is filled with pictures of you doing work for a previous internship. Another album, for example, is filled with wholesome family photos.

Info Tab

So far, the impression he is getting of you is extremely positive. He now checks your Info tab. He sees that you are a fan of the Hill Holiday Facebook page! You are also a fan of other advertising and marketing related pages. Your Notes tab is linked to your professional blog, so he can read the latest posts you wrote about the industry you wish to work for. Your Activities section shows that you are a well-rounded individual who enjoys sports, romantic comedies, and “hanging out with friends”.

Hopefully, the manager now associates your resume with a warm, friendly, respectable person, and not just the cold paper it is printed on. This simple association could potentially affect your being preferred over a very similar peer.


Other Facebook Possibilities….

Top Prospect

There are even more ways to get hired through Facebook. A recent article describes the startup company Top Prospect. Top Prospect is a service where you can suggest your social media friends for different job openings based on their qualifications. If someone you suggested gets hired, you can earn up to a $20,000 referral fee.

Smart Networking

Separate your Facebook friends into categories through Facebook’s list feature. Separating your professional contacts into one group or “list” means that you can adjust privacy settings specific to that group. If you want the rest of your friends to see your wild Las Vegas photo album, but you want to hide that from more serious contacts I your friend bank, you can adjust the album’s custom settings to be hidden from your “Professional List”. Same goes for status updates, wall posts by others, and tagged photos.

How To:

  • Go into your friends tab and  click on the top right button called “Edit Friends”
  • Search someone specific by name, but don’t choose their icon.
  • Scroll near the right of their default near the “x” button.
  • A hidden button will show up labeled “Edit Lists”, and you can choose which list you want to add them to.
  • If you need to create a list, there is a button on the top of this page labeled “+ Create a List”. Create a list titled “Professional” or “Network” to differentiate professional contacts.


The Big Bad Web

Sure Employers use Facebook to search applicants, but they also use good old fashioned search engines like Google and Yahoo! Even if your Facebook profile is über-private, you are probably still searchable through other methods.

You can control your Facebook page, but you can’t control the entire Web. And the best offense is a good defense, as they say. So defend your reputation by learning what is already out there. You can do this for free through Radaris. Search yourself and make sure you are well represented on the Web!


Speaking of Facebook, you can now Like the Radaris Facebook page!