Spring Break
Police, employers using Facebook
Student profiles may affect jobs
Matthew Werlein
Issue date: 2/27/06 Section: Campus News
Skoug cautioned students against adding inappropriate information or pictures in their profiles.
"Don't have any information out there that you don't want an employer to see."
It's not worth losing out on an internship or a potential job, she said.
Facebook spokesperson Chris Hughes said in an e-mail interview there would have to be several factors in place to let employers be able to look up your profile.
The employer would have to be an alumni from the particular university the applicant graduated from, the university would have to distribute '.edu' e-mail addresses to those alumni and the individual would have to change their privacy settings to make it possible for alumni to view it, Hughes said.
Hughes also added that, because university students must use e-mail addresses from their schools, there is a very small likelihood that anyone outside of their friends could access their profiles.
Senior Lecturer in the Communication and Journalism department Kelly Jo Wright said she is a member of Facebook.
"I created a page so that (students) can see that I have a life outside of the classroom," she said laughing.
She said she uses Facebook so she can see what students are interested in so she can better relate to them in the classroom.
Senior Mike Berglund said he had heard that employers were using the site from an internship fair he attended.
He added any information placed on the Internet is fair game in his opinion.
"I did clean up my profile a little bit," he said. "I don't want (employers) to have the wrong impression of me."
Wright pointed out that when students are posting pictures of themselves in their profile, they should consider who could view them.
"It's so accessible and goes beyond the friends that you see on Water Street every Friday night," she said. "Ask yourself, 'would you want your Mom to see them?' "
"Don't have any information out there that you don't want an employer to see."
It's not worth losing out on an internship or a potential job, she said.
Facebook spokesperson Chris Hughes said in an e-mail interview there would have to be several factors in place to let employers be able to look up your profile.
The employer would have to be an alumni from the particular university the applicant graduated from, the university would have to distribute '.edu' e-mail addresses to those alumni and the individual would have to change their privacy settings to make it possible for alumni to view it, Hughes said.
Hughes also added that, because university students must use e-mail addresses from their schools, there is a very small likelihood that anyone outside of their friends could access their profiles.
Senior Lecturer in the Communication and Journalism department Kelly Jo Wright said she is a member of Facebook.
"I created a page so that (students) can see that I have a life outside of the classroom," she said laughing.
She said she uses Facebook so she can see what students are interested in so she can better relate to them in the classroom.
Senior Mike Berglund said he had heard that employers were using the site from an internship fair he attended.
He added any information placed on the Internet is fair game in his opinion.
"I did clean up my profile a little bit," he said. "I don't want (employers) to have the wrong impression of me."
Wright pointed out that when students are posting pictures of themselves in their profile, they should consider who could view them.
"It's so accessible and goes beyond the friends that you see on Water Street every Friday night," she said. "Ask yourself, 'would you want your Mom to see them?' "