The Do's and Don'ts of Social Networking

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Keywords: MySpace, Facebook, LinkedIn, social networking, comScore, Ernst & Young, INROADS, networking, recruiting, job seekers, work/life benefits

Social-networking sites are a connection to the world at your fingertips, and their popularity is growing daily. MySpace saw a 72 percent increase in visitors in 2007 over the year before, while Facebook showed a 270 percent increase over the same time, according to comScore, a leader in measuring the digital world.

With access to millions of people all over the world just a click away, these sites have become a valuable tool for finding employment.

"[Social-networking sites] play a greater role as far as being able to make contacts with people who either have exposure or experience or play a role within the organization, and it gives [the job seeker] that additional venue to network," says Daniel Guerrero, client manager for INROADS South Central Region.

Companies and organizations are creating their own pages on social-networking sites, using them as a way to recruit, source or become familiar with potential new talent. Ernst & Young, for example, focuses its branding through Facebook. Ernst & Young is No. 17 on The 2008 DiversityInc Top 50 Companies for Diversity® list.

"When we initially launched our page [two years ago], the reason we chose it then is because it was exclusive to university students," says Deborah Compagner of the Ernst & Young Facebook team. "About three months after we launched our page, Facebook opened up to everyone, and our fastest-growing population to date is those people who are age 25 and older. However, it still has a very strong university core, and that's the audience which we are really interested in reaching." 

But as with many things, there are rules when it comes to the utilization of social-networking sites, especially when it pertains to finding a job. Not only are there unwritten rules for the job seekers' page, there are rules pertaining to the way the pages are searched and communicating with the companies of interest via those pages.

Whether you're looking for a job within a specific company or searching for a company that's the right fit for you, here are some of the underlying do's and don'ts of social networking:

OMG! U have 2 b professional when u rite a note 2 a company

A company's page within a social-networking site is very different from its corporate web site. The interaction is more in-depth, making it more valuable, and it can be used by the job seeker as a foot in the door or pre-interview.

"The form that you are in is still an evaluative perspective … Whether they have met you already or are interacting with you for the first time, there is still an overall sense of professionalism that you have to maintain," advises Guerrero.

Don't think that you can write e-mails, comments or chats in abbreviated words, slang or symbols. Type messages as if you were standing in front of the person speaking face-to-face. Your first impression could be made in cyberspace.

Your "friends" reflect who you really are

According to a report on MSN.com, several companies are now using the "friends" on an applicant's social-networking page as references. Not only are they looking at your page on sites such as Facebook and LinkedIn, which can easily be found through a simple Google search, they may also take the next step in contacting your friends. It's important to be selective with whom you choose as a friend on these sites, because what they say weighs on whether you land the job.

The disgruntled blogger/commenter

If you reached out to a company's page with interest and it does not respond or sends a "we'll keep you on file" message, do not write a comment on its page about your dislike. It could be more harmful to you than to the company.

"If you leave a disdaining comment or an inappropriate comment, whether you are using an alias or not, at some point there is a sense of ethic that that behavior begins to carry over through," says Guerrero. "You want to carry yourself as a true professional at all times … because that shows a sense of integrity."

Even if your outreach was "rejected," nobody respects a sore loser.

What can the company do for ME?

The workers who make up a company are in essence the most important aspect of the company itself. As a job seeker, you offer the potential to become an asset to a company. When you're looking at company pages on social-networking sites, be conscious of what the company offers and whether your corporate "must-haves" are included.

"Perhaps see some recommendations that other people have written," advises Guerrero. "It gives you a better feel of the culture of the company."

You may want to find a company that has diversity at the top of its priority list, or a company that has a successful track record for hiring female executives from underrepresented groups, or a company that offers exceptional work/life benefits. Whatever the case, it's the company's responsibility to properly and efficiently display what it is truly about.

"For us, social-networking has been really critical in connecting us with our target audience," says Compagner. "It enables the students to access us conveniently in a medium we know they use; they can get in touch with our recruiters and so forth, so it's been a huge connection point.

"It's been great," she adds, "because it allows the students to get in touch with us to ask questions, to find people within the firm who have similar experiences or are from similar backgrounds, and it also allows us to connect [with potential employees] because we are such a large organization."

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