Five Facebook Faux Pas

Facebook’s wide-reaching popularity and networking power has spilled into the business world. It’s no secret that employers can find out a lot about a potential hire, or current employee, by visiting their Facebook site. So, if you use Facebook for business networking, you need to be extremely careful about managing your profile’s content.

Here are Five Facebook Faux Pas to be mindful of to avoid professional embarrassment.

1. Profile Info: Never post information (profile info, photos, videos, comments, etc.) that could be deemed vulgar, profane or inappropriate.

2. Tags: Un-tag yourself from photos that potential employers may see as lacking taste. Basically, anything your mother wouldn’t approve of!

3. Friends: Your friends say a lot about who you are, so have discretion the next time you hit the “add” button.

4. Status Updates: Avoid those late-night status updates proclaiming how drunk you are after a  night of partying.

5. Comments: DO NOT post insidious or slanderous remarks about a current employer or co-worker.

Common sense aside, recently there have been some humiliating news stories involving individuals who failed to abide by any of the above rules. Remember Philadelphia Eagles employee, Dan Leone? Leone was upset when Eagles player Brian Dawkins signed with another team, and posted the following on his Facebook account: “Dan is [expletive] devastated about Dawkins signing with Denver … Dam Eagles R Retarted!!” Yes, he misspelled the word “retarded” in his post.

The next day Leone was fired by the Eagles. Enough said.