THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN MONDAY, AUGUST 17, 2009
BACK TO SCHOOL
47
INTERNET
Facebook helps, hurts young professionals
BY DAVID UGARTE
dugarte@kansan.com
About an hour or two each day, Rachel Kormanik, Overland Park senior, is on Facebook — checking friends' statuses, writing on their walls, making and looking at photo albums. But staying in touch with friends isn't the site's only use.
What some Facebook users may not realize is that employers use the site when considering applicants, for better or worse. Journalism professor David Perlmutter, author of "Blog Wars," said it was becoming increasingly well-known that employers looked at job applicants' Facebook profiles. He said employers might look at an applicant's Facebook to see if there were any issues with integrity or radical feelings or opinions, as well as any evidence of drug abuse. Employers may also look for opinions or interests that conflict with the interests
of the hiring company. Perlmutter said Facebook photos could be an important factor in an employer's decision.
"Toasting with a beer, they might not care about, but if police would take an interest, then it's an issue," Perlmutter said.
Kormanik's favorite feature is Facebook photos; she said she had made 52 albums on her profile. She
According to a survey conducted by CareerBuilder.com, 22 percent of employers said they were already checking social networks such as Facebook to screen candidates, while an additional 9 percent said they were planning to do so. The survey showed that the main concerns for employers included information about alcohol or drug use, inappropriate photos or information posted on a candidate's page, poor communication skills, notes showing links to criminal behavior and confidential information about past employers.
said she did not care whether friends tagged her in pictures on Facebook, as long as the pictures were really of her. She said she never did anything she was worried about others seeing.
"You can tell a lot about a person by looking at what kinds of pictures they post on Facebook," Kormanik said.
She said she had heard of younger kids being grounded and others losing jobs they were interviewing for because of pictures they posted on Facebook.
Michael Williams, associate professor of journalism, said he had known students who were dismayed to learn that employers looked for anything about them online. Perlmutter said students could change their privacy settings on Facebook or create a separate identity with a false name for friends only. Otherwise, students concerned about their profiles would have to censor themselves or leave
Facebook entirely. Perlmutter said.
Although many students have caught on to the fact that they need to censor what the general public can see on their Facebook profiles to protect themselves, the latest way some students have been able to utilize Facebook is by creating a professional looking profile that lets employers see more about them.
"Facebook is being used by a lot of users to build contact networks, but it is being used increasingly by students to let employers know more about them," Williams said.
Williams said employers could be impressed by an applicant's circle of contacts and networks.
"Having a lot of contacts says something about you," Williams said. "It has some positive possibilities."
Edited by Zach White
Tips to make your Facebook profile enhance your resume:
- Keep your profile clean of profanity, radical rhetoric or embarrassing pictures
- Make your profile look professional by using Facebook applications that demonstrate your special talents or interests
- Feature a wide range of friends on Facebook to demonstrate you have a large circle of contacts
- Use your Personal Information, Contact Information, Education and Work, and Groups to tell employers about yourself in a positive, impressive way.
Source: Michael Williams, associate professor of Journalism
TECHNOLOGY
The 'T' now a part of Google application
BY HANNAH DECLERK
hdeclerk@kansan.com
The Lawrence Transit System is now part of an application by Google that Robert Nugent, public transit administrator for the T, said could help increase the number of student riders. The T has been a part of the Google Transit application for less than six months and is the first transportation system in the state of Kansas to join.
The application allows riders to adjust the time frame of their trip so that it will work around their schedule. It also shows riders the difference in cost between taking public transportation and driving to the selected location.
The application, "Google Transit Trip Planner," plans trips for public transportation users by taking into account bus schedules and then estimates the time and distance of the trip. Once in the application, riders enter an origin and destination and receive three options for planning a trip with the T system.
Nugent said he thought this was a great way to get people from one place to another.
"Students should look at the travel
patterns of the T," Nugent said. "It is not just on campus, but also from one side of town to another. And it is free with a new KUID."
Kaitlyn Kash, Dallas senior, was without a car last semester. She said she relied on her friends and walked to and from place to place. Kash said if she had been aware of the application, she would have been a frequent user.
"I was aware of the elections last year about the joining of public transportation, but that's about it." Kash said. "I never really heard anything about the T after that, and did not know much about it. If I would know what I know now, I would have used it a lot more," Kash said.
In addition to KU campus routes, Nugent said the T had routes that went from one side of the city to the other.
Lauren Haskin, Kansas City, Kan. senior, said she sometimes used the T around town.
"I was not aware of this application," Haskin said. "Normally the routes are posted in the booths, but now I can just get on my phone and look it up myself. It is pretty convenient."
According to the Lawrence Transit System Web site, the application does not re-route riders around construction in Lawrence.
- Edited by Jason Baker
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Ryan McGeeney/KANSAN
A new Google web application helps track public transit routes and makes them available on iPhones, Blackberries, and other mobile web devices. Lawrence is one of the first cities in the nation to be part of the application's public transit database.
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