Maintaining personal page a benefit when searching for a job

(Green Bay, WI) July 7, 2007 — Kelly McBride

Their purpose may be to keep friends in the loop, but social networking sites also can be important when it comes to getting a job — whether you like it or not.

Increasingly, potential employers are looking at sites like Facebook and MySpace when they're looking to recruit recent college grads, experts say. So maintaining a personal page could be beneficial.

But they also caution that even if that's not your preferred job search method, a future boss may be looking. That can mean goodbye to goofy pictures and hello to a professional page once students leave college.

"When you are looking for a job — when you're in the job search process — I would have nothing personal posted anywhere about myself," said Paulette Bennett, manager at Headway Recruitment Center in Tarboro, N.C. "I would keep all my profiles professional, related to my career goals and aspirations."

It may seem simple, but students occasionally need a reminder that prospective employers could be looking at their sites, said Jerry Donahue, director of career services at St. Norbert College.

The school has developed a brochure to remind students that presentation can be everything. That includes social networking pages, e-mail addresses and voice mail messages, he said.

Particularly with Facebook and MySpace, even a few years can make a difference in students' usage and awareness, Donahue said.

"It's such a new phenomenon, we found there was even a difference between our seniors and our freshman," Donahue said. "Our seniors, who were 22 and 23, knew nothing about it. … The freshmen and sophomores were actually quicker on the draw."

Still, awareness is growing, said recent St. Norbert College graduate Dan Ryan, 22. He maintains a Facebook page with personal information — but said he was acutely aware that potential employers might be looking.

"I never thought … about using it to look for a job," said Ryan, a May graduate who lives in the Twin Cities and works for Target Corp. "However, there was a lot of talk on (the) college campus about how employers look at that.

"Are employers really looking at that? What are they looking at and what kind of crosses the line in terms of them looking at it?"

But more than just avoiding questionable material on a social networking page, soon-to-be and recent college grads can use the technology to their advantage, Bennett said.

Networking — including networking done online and through such sites — is a key part of landing that first job, she said. Any technology that streamlines that process is welcome for employers seeking young talent.

"It's easier for recruiters to get introductions to people," she said. "It's faster — it just seems more efficient. … Employers hire people they know first."

About Headway

Headway Corporate Resources has been delivering innovative workforce solutions since 1974. The Company is a full-service human resources support company that provides high quality recruiting, staffing and human resource support services to a wide range of business sectors, including the financial services, energy, publication and entertainment industries, healthcare, education, government and law. Headway ranks among the top 100 staffing companies in the world.

Headway Corporate Resources is comprised of two complementary service offerings, Recruitment & Staffing and Human Resource Solutions. Recruitment & Staffing focuses on resources for administration, accounting & finance, law, technology, and engineering. Human Resource Solutions is national in scope, and provides comprehensive HR business process outsourcing to companies who maintain a large contingent workforce. Learn more about Headway by logging to headwaycorp.com.