5 mistakes made on networking sites

5 Social Networking mistakes that are commonly found.

In the world of social networking everyone is online and trying to connect. Many connect from the days of high school, others with their personal group of friends, and some find new friends in the games they play. Social networking is alive and well, connections formed nearly every day. There are 5 mistakes that social networkers make while trying to get their name out there.

1. Profiles are set up to give people a glance at you, hear the music you like and give an all around connection to things happening in their life. One major mistake people make is to set up that profile and then uploading pictures from the weekend, doing keg stands or just doing something embarrassing. The going trend now is for recruiters and employers to check the social networking sites to see what information comes up about a prospective employee. This is one sure fire way to not be receiving employment calls.
2. Pictures are another way to set yourself up for failure in the job search world. Having a profile picture that a company would be embarrassed about is a major problem. In every state there are rival football and basketball teams, Why would you want your professional profile to stop you if the employer likes the opposing team. Nothing like an employer seeing an inappropriate picture of you, or even pictures of your children on your site.
3. Everyone loves friends, we all want to have them and on some sites you can have as many friends as you want. There is one common mistake when it comes to friends. People trying to friend their boss or co-workers. The best way to keep a separation from personal and work life is to keep them separate. It is never a good idea to mix your work life and your personal life. It might not even be your page that can offend a person at work, but the page from another one of your friends. You never know when that one work friend might get mad at you and use something from your page against you.
4. LinkedIn is a professional networking site that allows individuals to grow their employment network, learn from recruiters, and hopefully connect with others who can help them find a job. The one issue I have with this is if you try to connect with someone and you do not know them, they will mostly write you off and not accept the invite. The problem with this is if you get reported as not being known by the other individual then the site states" However, recipients can indicate that they don’t know you. If they do, you’ll be asked to enter an email address with each future invitation.” I find this to be a problem on sites where networking is so important. I even set a group up for any and all who wish to join each others network can do so.
5. The last mistake is not joining discussions or groups to stay up on the latest trends and employment news. I find that not joining in discussions or try to help others in their job search is a huge mistake. To gain help one must first be willing to help. I join as many groups and forums as I can to make sure I have the latest information. I am also up to adding anyone to my network.