Social Media – “It’s a Small World After All…”

“What a small world!”  Just the other day a colleague referred me to someone who was planning to revive her career and asked me to speak with her about potential job opportunities.   We exchanged emails to schedule a time to chat, and to our surprise, realized we knew one another through a mutual friend, and briefly met at a party last winter.   We mentioned how it’s “such a small world” (and thank goodness neither one of us had anything too telling on our Facebook pages, and believe me, that’s the first place I visited after we exchanged emails.)

Social media has certainly made the world a smaller place, and that can be such a great way to stay in touch and leverage networking to make the most of your personal and business relationships, especially during your job search.

But the flipside of this incredibly shrinking world has a dark side and can kill your future or existing career in seconds.  If you don’t think that your inappropriate photos or postings that trash your current or past employers can (and most likely will) end up being seen by potential employers, think again.

So beware, and be smart.  The world is now a very small place thanks to social media.  Make the most of it, and don’t let it be a hindrance to your career.