Great advice for recent grads

nagromis · 06-06-2007, 03:34 PM

To all recent college grads... a hearty congratulations!
I came across two pieces of fabulous advice, and thought I 'd pass them on (especially read "Invisible Tatoos" about Facebook!:

Quote:

Just Graduated? Start Cultivating Your Alumni Network Now to Advance Your Career Later

Don’t think of graduation as an ending. Think of it as the beginning of your long-term career project. That is the advice of career expert, Robert Graber, founder of WallStJobs.com. “It is axiomatic that successful careers are built on effective networking and there is no better time to start building that network then when you still have a fresh connection with your school,” he said.Alumni Network

Quote:

When Looking For A Job, Watch Out For "Invisible Tattoos"

When it comes to making a professional career change, it is well agreed that tattoos (and for that matter, any other highly personal markings) are inappropriate to have in evidence. “And yet, many candidates still unknowingly reveal far too much of themselves as part of today’s information-intense society,” said Robert Graber, founder of the online recruiting site, WallStJobs.com.Invisible Tatoos

TheMK99 · 06-06-2007, 10:22 PM

I liked the "Invisible Tatoos" article. Good post.

live- · 06-07-2007, 01:04 AM

That "Invisible Tattoos" article was stupid I thought. If they are expecting someone's Facebook profile to look like their ****ing CV then I would never want to work for that company anyway. Or for someone to have no interests other than their work. So ****ing what if I have a Grateful Dead bumper sticker? Or there are pictures of me drinking on Facebook? If someone honestly wants to judge me from that, they can **** off.

And, in my experience, Facebook profiles have no impact, at all, on a company's decision to hire someone. Look at the profiles for people that are interning or working at top companies from your school.

That site is taking **** way too seriously.

nagromis · 06-07-2007, 01:55 AM

Well, as an employer, I can tell you that your online persona is very important and I would advise you to be prudent in what you post. Also, read this NY Times article from last year:

Quote:

June 11, 2006
For Some, Online Persona Undermines a Résumé

By ALAN FINDER
When a small consulting company in Chicago was looking to hire a summer intern this month, the company's president went online to check on a promising candidate who had just graduated from the University of Illinois.

At Facebook, a popular social networking site, the executive found the candidate's Web page with this description of his interests: "smokin' blunts" (cigars hollowed out and stuffed with marijuana), shooting people and obsessive sex, all described in vivid slang.

It did not matter that the student was clearly posturing. He was done.

"A lot of it makes me think, what kind of judgment does this person have?" said the company's president, Brad Karsh. "Why are you allowing this to be viewed publicly, effectively, or semipublicly?"
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/11/us...6e9460&ei=5070

Tahoe · 06-09-2007, 09:31 AM

To the above poster, Live-
Even on our beloved CC boards, many members (ahem) have left "Invisible Tatoos". Great phrase!

live- · 06-10-2007, 12:22 AM

Tahoe, if that "ahem" was trying to say I have some invisible tattoos (because I think that article way over-analyzes the real world hiring process), good for you. I hope an employer sees that I'm not trying to hide who I am. If you think that last post of mine was some sort of "invisible tattoo," then I'm sorry for your insecurity. As I said, I'd rather work for an employer that I don't have to hide what I do in my spare time from (and, based on interviews and conversations I've had with managers/HR people at some of the most desirable companies to work for in the world, they don't want kids that shoot through their college years doing nothing but studying or building a resume). If an employer finds a picture of me drinking (or hanging out with people who are drinking) on Facebook and says "OH NO!" then they can go ahead and hire a bunch of reserved antisocial introverts and feel good about themselves (or, if not reserved antisocial introverts, the more insecure portion of the rest of the population who feels more comfortable hiding a large portion of their college lives for fear of being judged). Like I said, I don't think employers like this exist.

Tahoe · 06-10-2007, 09:21 AM

I’m actually referring to the plethora of personal (and somewhat controversial) information you have posted about yourself on CC.

live- · 06-10-2007, 03:45 PM

All of which you are assuming is true. How any of what I've posted regarding supposed personal information is "controversial," I'm not sure. It is nice to know that someone (ahem) reads all of my posts, though. Just searching back through them I'm having a hard time finding those "tattoos" myself - but then again, I'm sure employers heavily weigh online personas that may or may not sort of match up with candidates for employment and would be quite apt to waste a day or two reading all 800 of my posts and then algorithmically trying to piece together possible matches in the resumes that have been submitted. Competing for a job with someone? Just create an online persona that sort of matches that person with regards to personal information posted, then go about trashing other people, getting in fights and hopefully eventually banned. The 2 employers worldwide with enough time to check all of that out will blacklist the person you pretended to be!

Seriously Tahoe, I don't care to read through your post history, but are you some sort of uptight parent? Don't take that personally, but you sound like you need to relax. This is a discussion board where people post their opinions on certain topics. I have nearly 800 posts and the truthfulness of every single one of them is 100% unverified. This isn't a Facebook account, where the information posted is ALWAYS linked with a certain email address - where, if you are on a school's network, the only way information posted in Average Joe's profile wasn't posted by Average Joe himself would be if Average Joe gave his password away to the wrong person or if his account was hacked or stolen. I'd be more than happy to discuss the usefulness of such material (as a personal profile verifiably posted by someone on a social networking site) in the hiring process and the merits of using it, but if you are here to troll me by making vague references to "controversial personal information" I've posted on a site where anyone from anywhere could create any username and post anything they want, please stop.

TheMK99 · 06-10-2007, 03:51 PM

Hey guys calm down it's not that serious.