What do employers/colleges look at on facebook?

Question

I know that employers and colleges look at myspace, facebook, etc. now. What exactly are they looking for? I don't think I have anything bad on there but I just want to be sure.

Also, how do they even find out if you have a myspace or facebook?

And do they look at blogs? Because in middle school I had a blog and I can't even remember what I used to write on it. Just typical, stupid middle schooler things. I want to delete it but it can't remember my member name. Could they find it?

I'm applying to colleges this fall and I just don't want anything to hurt my changes.

Answer 1

If you have your online stuff under fake names, rather than your real name, and you didn't post your real name anywhere - not on comments, not on friends journals, etc; and if you don't tell the university/employer about the blogs, they generally won't find them.

In addition, set up a new email account that's under a more formal name - not your real name, but not "SockMonkey100!!!". Use this email just for colleges and employers, and formal stuff like that. Use an email address that you don't mind employers/colleges seeing, and that isn't tied to the names you use on your real life blogs. Then they can't search for "SockMonkey100!!!" just to see what blogs come up, because they won't know, from your email, that Sock is even you.

If you're worried, see if you can set your profiles to private and don't make the stuff accessible to search engines, so they can't be googled. And don't tell employers/colleges that you have stuff online. Do as much as you can to make that stuff private, and it'll help.

And if you have stuff on Facebook and etc. that you don't want colleges/employers seeing, take it down.

Answer 2

Basically, they're looking for any photos of you doing something illegal or ridiculously irresponsible.  If you don't have anything bad on there, you're fine.  They can easily find you on MySpace or facebook; all they have to do is search it on any web search engine like Yahoo! or Google if you have a public search listing (by default, you do) or search the website itself (they both have search functions that makes it easy to find account).  They don't necessarily know ahead of time that you have one, but they look for you nonetheless.  

They can technically find anything on the web, but I doubt that they'd take a middle school blog seriously.  

Bottom line is that as long as you aren't in a photograph getting drunk, smoking, doing drugs, stealing something, etc., you're fine.  

Answer 3

Google your name.  Anything that pops up is fair game.  Anything else, they are not likely to find.  So a blog that has a fake name isn't going to be read.  Make sure your Facebook page doesn't mention or have pictures of you doing anything illegal (drinking, smoking, drugs, etc.) or doing anything that might make the college or employer look bad.