Job hunters and employees should keep their FB pages professional

By Unathi Jongihlathi (2^nd year Walter Sisulu University journalism student):

Beware of what you put on your Facebook profile – and other public sites – employers and schools routinely inspect what applicants put there.

“We look at an applicant’s Facebook profile, because that is their public persona and we are interested in how they would represent our business,” says  Sarah Hetherington, director of String Communication, a media company based in Cape Town.

Job applicants have found this out, to their cost.

According to South Africa Facebook there are 4,6 million  Facebook users in this country. They grew by 36 720 in the last six months alone. This makes South Africa number 34 in the ranking of all Facebook statistics by all the countries which use Facebook.

Employers insist looking at applicant’s private Facebook pages as a condition of employment or consideration in an application process. Facebook facts that make you look worldly and popular may say more about you to a hiring manager than anything else.

Looking at an applicant’s Facebook page is just one aspect of evaluating a candidate, says Hetherington.

Employers want to know if candidates can present themselves in a written form, apply correct and appropriate communication skills and are articulate and confident. “We always follow up references and ask about character and attitude as well as work performance,”  Hetherington points out.

Buntu Gotywa, a third-year journalism student from Walter Sisulu University (WSU), had an experience when he was applying for his internship at a radio station in Cape Town.

“I got a reply within 20 minutes and the guy who called said that I was applying to the wrong company and they cannot take me. He then said that even if I had applied to them due to the nature of my Facebook profile picture they would not consider employing me. After this experience I removed that picture and all other things that could jeopardise my chances of getting a job,” says Buntu.

The National Electronic Media Institute of South Africa (Nemisa) also checks Facebook profiles in an application process. Tebogo Serobatse, head of Animation and Graphic Design based in Johannesburg, says: “What is important to us is what they know and how they represent themselves.”

“It is a bonus if they have an online presence which they guard, such as a blog, an online portfolio or show reel. The more they look like subject-matter experts the better,” says Serobatse.

“The net is a good way to discover someone’s character and personality as well as how they really feel about their job or profession” .

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