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Professionals, Don't Let Your Guard Down On Facebook

Forbes Coaches Council
POST WRITTEN BY
John M. O'Connor

If LinkedIn can be called the professional version of Facebook, then what do we call Facebook? If you work full-time, carry yourself in a dignified manner and seem to stay in your lane as expected on LinkedIn, what do you do differently on Facebook? Do you let your hair down regarding politics, share a few more pictures of your family, your beach trip or your personal experiences? It seems a lot of millennials and members of the younger generation like to have comments disappear a bit quicker, and perhaps they are leaving the Facebook platform for the "old folks" out there.

How do you assess Facebook's power and potential to affect you, your career and your brand? Facebook, LinkedIn and other platforms can operate together and I suggest you, as a professional, look at all your social media as one combined voice and platform that can be seen by the world.

Now, more than ever before, you must think about your overall presence on Facebook, LinkedIn and anywhere you face exposure online, including Twitter, Snapchat and the like.

If you are a professional concerned about your brand, I suggest you think about toning things down on Facebook and not looking at it as your personal venting platform. Do not assume your current clients or employers aren't seeing what you are doing and making notes of your behavior. And do not assume Facebook doesn't see your every move, note it, build an algorithm around it, and sell that insight to advertisers.

The Deception Of The "It's Just Personal" Perception

It seems very calculated and cold to post professional articles, advice and information on Facebook. People may like it when you share your social side, but I can tell you that you should think about this as a calculated process. The calculation? Be very careful about what you share. Most people think that what they share is cute, sweet, funny or observant but, really, it's often considered by others to be angry, caustic, negative, thoughtless and petty.

For many people, social media becomes an echo chamber. On Facebook, sharing allows you to show the world more of who you really are, while LinkedIn is just the professional version of you. So if it is true that the hidden conversation about you shows you to be petty, angry, argumentative, caustic and negative, how do you think a potential employer or current client sees you? If you answered the same you would be right, at least in my book.

Without gaming the system I just went to my personal Facebook feed and looked down at recent posts. Here are five examples from the past day or so of what executives and professionals shared during working hours on Facebook.

• A university administrator complaining about the university's students

• A salesperson sharing an unflattering President Trump meme and article

• An agent haranguing her nameless client for not adding a rider to her policy

• A highly paid pharmaceutical sales executive sharing an anonymous quote: "Stop Using Go Fund Me — Buy Life Insurance."

• A company marketing advisor showing the 68 minutes it took her to reach her mobile service provider

• A CPA sharing a Trader Joe's receipt and saying, "Spell 'Thank You' right" (it said "Think You")

When I talk, as I often do, to staffing leaders, recruiters, hiring managers and human resource executives, I ask them if they ever check social media sites beyond LinkedIn for candidates or current employees. To summarize their comments, they generally say they do that a lot when hiring but don't monitor it so closely after an employee was hired unless something comes to their attention. So the answer is a definite "yes" prior to hiring and a kind of light "no" after hiring.

Let me give you an example of a confidential conversation I had with a talent leader at the highest level of government in our region.

Me: So, how much do you all look at social media when hiring anybody?

Her: I look at every platform where you have a presence on social media. My staff digs even deeper. It tells me a lot about you. 

Me: Even Facebook?

Her: Especially Facebook. A lot of younger folks we hire don't even have one (Facebook). But if they use it, we can really see how they are as a person. It's helpful to us. It usually doesn't help them.

The Biggest Problem For You

If you continue to treat Facebook as your personal venting platform, you may overshare, make one smart aleck comment in poor taste or, perhaps worse yet, create a pattern of comments, actions, shares and behaviors that someone who wants to hurt you personally or professionally will see. The problem? Many people with bad motives don't come out and confront you online. It's an advanced poker game. They just keep watching you, taking notes and looking for ways or angles to defeat you. I know you may feel that that's too bad or pretty pathetic, but it happens a whole lot more than you might think.

So, what should you do if you have some built in paranoia about Facebook and its temptation to share the personal side of things?

1. Make even professional shares, likes, comments or questions planned events.

2. Steer clear of anything controversial.

3. Be family-friendly in your comments and behavior.

4. Don't write a comment when you are angry.

In conclusion, let's not pretend that the ultimate social media platform is merely "social." It's a professional, serious and highly watched platform. Treat it more this way than the way it may have been conceived even by Mark Zuckerberg at Harvard. It's not just a novel, cool little business anymore. It's an observed professional platform that can advance or damage your brand.