After that first sip of alcohol, college students everywhere whip out that camera and transform to paparazzi.
Everywhere you look there are smiles, obscenities and flashing lights.
In the moment, a camera seems like the perfect way to capture the fun essence of the party. In reality, once those pictures are posted on that famous social Web site Facebook, your future could be in jeopardy.
Facebook is primarily used to keep in touch with friends miles away and post pictures to remember the good times. The w\Web site appears casual and fun, causing students to post pictures of underage drinking and wild poses.
Companies are beginning to do informal background checks of individuals being considered for employment. Before the company invests in an individual, it has to be known that he/she will not jeopardize their reputation.
The easiest way to see how a person presents themselves in public settings is to turn to Web sites, such as Facebook.
So, now that it is known that a website you thought was for only your accepted friends is actually a public display, what should you do?
There are easy ways to avoid letting your Facebook page hurt you during job hunts.
Avoiding social situations where there are ‘inappropriate happenings’ occurring is not always an option. Everyone has got to have some fun!
Avoiding that one friend that always has a camera is not an option either. For starters it is pretty hard to avoid people, especially the assertive paparazzi type. But more importantly, those pictures will serve as a happy reminder to your glorious college years.
Instead, it’s important to clean up your Facebook page.
Start by checking the wording on the sections about yourself. Make sure everything typed in is something a boss would approve of.
Next, I feel most importantly, take a look at every single Facebook picture. This seems time consuming but it will pay off.
The pictures of you chugging from the vodka bottle while giving the middle finger? Delete. The picture of you and your best friend doing beer bongs together while a random guy does a gesture behind you? Delete.
Pictures of your family and ones where there isn’t underage drinking or obscene behaviors are definitely okay to keep.
Just because you untag yourself from a picture, removing it from your actual Facebook page, does not change the fact that the picture is still out there on the Internet.
Next time, when you are at a party having a good time, do not let the camera scare you off. Instead, be smart and avoid posing for pictures that could cause all your hard work at Cabrini to be a waste.
