Work at Home In US: Social Networking and Your Online Credibility

Sunday, March 20, 2011

Social Networking and Your Online Credibility

Facebook and other social networking sites have become a phenomenon. If you don’t have an account chances are you have heard of it. Social networking sites have been utilized by many employers to review what their employees are doing. Almost 10% of employers have used social networking sites to terminate an employee. Even if you are working from home, be careful of what you may have on your social networking sites.

Social networking sites are wonderful for keeping in contact with family and friends. However, even if you set your privacy settings for friends and family only, verify what the privacy rules are for each site. Some sites will allow anyone to see what you have you have posted or available on your wall or desktop for everyone to see.

Even working from home employers want to know what type of person you are. Many ask for references and recommendations. Many may review your social networking site information to learn what type of person they will be working with. If you have posted inappropriate information on your social networking site, all of your hard work will be wasted and the job could potentially be awarded to another freelancer.

Your social networking as an adult building a career is different than social networking when you are a high school or college student. Please be careful of the information on your site. Various companies hired for back ground checks indicate they also use social networking sites as tools of their trade.

Even when you are working from home, maintain your sense of professionalism. This includes social networking sites. In addition, don’t use social networking sites

A good rule of thumb to have is don’t post anything on any site that you wouldn’t want potential employers to see.