Thanks For The Advice, But I’m Not Deleting Any Facebook Photos

A young woman in college raised a topic of much debate on NPR this afternoon. She explained that her advisor told her she needed to take down all her pictures on Facebook that she wouldn’t want an employer to see. She then complained about how she really didn’t want to delete them. The consensus on the show seemed to be that no, you don’t have to delete all your pictures, but employers don’t have to hire you either.

Why are we still talking about whether potential employers are going to Google you or check out your Facebook profile? Why are we still talking about deleting Facebook photos at all? Whether they’re going to check you out or not, you should protect your online identity as if they are. Which is why I’m not deleting all my “incriminating” Facebook photos or censoring my comments. I’m reading the privacy policies and protecting my account to make sure that only my friends can see my photos and details of my account.

Facebook is personal. It’s the one social network where I keep in touch with family and friends across space and time. It’s the one place I can talk about a messy family drama divorce; learn about my sister’s engagement in Italy; commiserate with hungover friends; share and laugh at pictures of our recent beach trip. If I want to know about the intimate details of your life and want you to know about mine, then I’m gonna let you know: with a friend request. If not, don’t worry, I might just connect with you somewhere else (email? LinkedIn? Twitter?).

Point being, it’s personal. Why would you even let a casual observer such as a potential employer peruse your personal Facebook profile? That’s like letting someone you barely know walk around your house uninvited. Put a lock on your front door (a.k.a. go set your profile information & search privacy settings)! Then you silly little college students don’t have to get mad because you had to delete all your SBY2K10 photos.

Take what others advise with a grain of salt. Be your own advocate. Do your own research. BE SMART.

Sidenote: Facebook privacy aside, if you’re an employer that won’t hire a normal 20-something who goes out for drinks with their friends on the weekends or has pictures of themselves at a party, I probably don’t want to work for you anyways. No hard feelings :)

[Update March 2, 2010: This article was featured on BrazenCareerist.com on March 1st. You can find 17 more comments from Gen X/Boomers and some hiring managers' perspectives at this link: http://bit.ly/blTZ16]