Facebook is now officially a worldwide phenomenon but more often than not, it has also gotten people into a whole lot of trouble. Some of you may be shaking your heads at this moment and going “Kids these days…”, but you’ll be surprised to know that most of these Facebook mistakes were made by working professionals, which could eventually cost them their jobs.
Here are some common Facebook mistakes to avoid:
1. Sarcasm
A professor at Pennsylvania’s East Stroudsburg University, enjoyed cracking wise jokes on her Facebook account. Once she wrote, “Does anyone know where I can find a very discreet hit man? Yes, it’s been that kind of day.” Then on another day, “Had a good day today. DIDN’T want to kill even one student.” The school, made aware of the posts, suspended her for a month.
2. Complaining about your current job
When a 16year-old decided to chronicle her new job as an office administrator on Facebook, she didn’t waste any time. Her first post read: “First day at work. OMG (oh my God)!! So dull!!” Two days later, she complained, “All I do is shred holepunch n scan paper!!!” Her boss discovered the posts three weeks later and fired her.
3. Forgetting that you’ve added your boss as a friend
In the UK, a Facebook user told her friends: “My boss is a total ‘pervvy wanker.” Too bad her “wanker” boss was also a friend on Facebook. His reply on Facebook: “Don’t bother coming in tomorrow.” Cringe!
4. Take note of your status updates
Everyone should know to avoid statuses like “Who cares that my big work project isn’t done?” But you should also be aware of less flamboyant statuses like “Sarah is watching the gold medal hockey game online at her desk”. Statuses that imply you are unreliable, deceitful, and basically anything that doesn’t make you look as professional as you’d like, can seriously undermine your chances at landing that new job.
5. Beware of what your friends post on your wall
Okay let’s admit it, most of us have called in sick before when in fact we were really sick of work. But if you decide to use that rest day to party hard, please make sure none of your friends post pictures of your wild night on Facebook.
If you feel these rules stifle your personal life and freedom, make full use of your privacy settings where certain friends have limited access to your account. Otherwise, just don’t bother adding any of your colleagues as friends.