Stump the Intern (10/13)
Published: Oct 13, 2009
Q: I have neither Facebook nor Twitter, because I’m not particularly interested in social networking. However, even I can recognize that social networking is having a huge impact on the way employees hunt and employers hire. I’m willing to bite the bullet and create profiles on both, but I want to keep it strictly professional. How do I do this without all my ‘friends’ ‘friending’ me on Facebook and following me on Twitter?
Signed,
Not quite a Luddite but practically there
A: Luddite, I’ll admit, I laughed a little when your question came in. It’s good that you’ve recognized that if you want to play on the job market field in the 21st century, you have to get with the program (literally). If you want to keep your Facebook and Twitter accounts professional, I think you will have to create two—one to use for personal wall postings, messaging, and gift giving, and tweeting—and another for employers. Your friends will look for you and they will friend you; they are going to follow you on Twitter, too. If you want to keep your personal Facebook profile private, you can ensure that no one except those in your network can see it, in additional to several other settings. Good luck!
--Posted by Sophie Friedman, Vault Web Content Intern