Although Facebook is often seen as just a social site that eats up spare time, it can tarnish a person’s career aspirations if an employer or recruiter sees a damaging post. At Juniata, some students shape their Facebook pages for the eyes of future employers, while others don’t take it so seriously:

Rebecca Babe ’13, Tyrone, Pa.:

I don’t really use my privacy settings, but I do make sure that anything I post is something that I’d let anyone see. I don’t really care if it’s a future employer or my best friend, because I’m not putting anything out there that would damage any opportunities that might pop up.

Asia Barron ’14, Brockway, Pa.:

I don’t think Facebook could be used as a professional tool. It’s too much of a younger person thing. I mean, my step-mom does it, but that’s just to keep up with her friends, it has nothing to do with jobs. It’s too casual.

Alex Dintruff ’13, Lake Bluff, Ill.:

I constantly watch what I post on Facebook, even with just use of vulgar language. Generally, I’m still myself on there, but I usually censor certain aspects of what I post, not just with an eye towards relatives who are friending me on Facebook, but towards people who might have the ability to come back and look at my Facebook history and see what type of person I am.

Joyce Lin ’13, Irvine, Calif.:

I don’t really keep my Facebook for any professional reasons. I just keep bad, embarrassing stuff off of it just in case. It’s not a real conscious effort to make it professional; you just don’t want anyone to find any dirt on you.

Danielle Cutaia ’16, Manchester, Conn.:

It’s wrong for employers to get mad if you just post something about the place you work at, but it actually is a pretty good idea to look at a person’s Facebook. You don’t really want someone who’s that stupid, who would post pictures of them doing drugs or stealing or drinking underage. There are so many people who got screwed over for that, and they think they have a right to be angry about it, but it’s a public site, what did you think was going to happen?

-Laura Bitely ’14, Juniata Online Journalist