The Social [Drama] Network

  It's the same ritual every Sunday morning. On the couch in pajamas, computer on lap, stalking and detagging pictures from the night before. As a 21 year old college co-ed my entire life is naturally online. From Twitter updates concerning ridiculous Lifetime movies to those cliche kissing couple Facebook profile pictures, anyone could get a pretty good snapshot of my life by simply typing "Caroline Pekarsky" into a search box. It's true social media, especially Facebook, offers endless possibilities for networking and managing your brand. But for every possibility there are at least three opportunities to make a mess of yourself, after all Mark Zuckerburg did create The Facebook as means to seek revenge on an ex-girlfriend. So how can being a part of the online generation hurt your job prospects? It's simple...

  There exists the saying "If there's a will there's a way" well I like to say "If there's Facebook there's drama." From relationship status changes to dramatic song lyric status updates, on any given day there can be more drama swirling around on Facebook then a high school cafeteria. Yes, I have received a very angry phone call from a boyfriend telling me to change my profile picture back. And yes, I have sent a not so nice text concerning a friend request from an ex-girlfriend. It's college. I don't know very many people who haven't defriended someone over ridiculous drama or haven't set their profile picture to some "hilarious" picture from the weekend before. But as my very wise mother once told me, if it's on the internet it's on there forever. Facebook's privacy settings are not going to save you from nosy relatives or even worse, future employers. I love Facebook just as much as the next Nike short clad co-ed next to me, but at this stage of our college career we've got to start posting smarter.

...told you I had one

  Ah, the "Red Solo Cup Picture." If you have been in college for at least a week you have one. It's the sorority girl's loophole around standards, the fraternity guy's way of saying "I party", and Toby Keith's inspiration for a Top 40 song. Don't go thinking I'm a Negative Nancey, I too am guilty of having a "Red Solo Cup Picture." And like 24,000 other undergrads, starting at 10:10am Monday morning I am living for the weekend. However I also graduate in 98 days and I don't think any HR manager would find my zeal for the social life as a qualification for a media planning position with their company. The name of the game has changed and with it so must our privacy settings. 

"Profile Picture"

Sorority Function sans Solo cups

 There's no need to go deactivate Facebook or delete all pictures. It's more like asking yourself "would I want my future mother-in-law to ever see/read this?" before posting or tagging anything and I mean anything. Have your profile picture be a simple professionally cropped picture of just you. Keep pictures of sorority functions classy, preferably from philanthropy events or formal pictures before the buses. Imagine yourself as an HR manager looking at your profile and pictures.No one wants to hire a girl who makes the duck face every other picture but no one wants to hire a wet blanket either. Think of your profile as a highlight reel of your life, I don't think anyone would want a picture of them in a trash can on their eulogy program.  Think of social media as a double edged sword. It can help you or it can hurt you. My dad has told me countless HR horror stories of really cute and bright young women not getting jobs because of how they portrayed themselves on Facebook and Twitter. We've survived Blakeman's Business Strategies and Hovland's crazy Mountain Dew rants, don't let one dumb picture from one dumb weekend hold you back from getting that dream job. Always Facebook responsibly.