Cher Forman
"Ask Cher"
Cher Forman has over 20 years of domestic and international Human Resources experience in organizations ranging from startups to $3B. As Director or Vice President, she has managed Human Resources groups at Applied Materials, Stanford Telecom, Ask Computer Systems, Teledex and Tri-Data Corporation and consulted on H.R. philosophy, values and infrastructure with many start-ups as well. Cher has managed several of these firms through rapid expansion and significant organizational challenges. While at Applied Materials, she led her business unit as the company grew from 6,000 to 16,000 employees in three years. Ms. Forman has specific expertise in employment, corporate legal compliance, development of cost effective compensation/benefit strategies, organization development and international HR management. She has a degree in Organization Behavior from the University of San Francisco and has participated in advanced training at several other colleges and universities.
Dear Cher:
What's the story on my personal web sites on Face Book or My Space? I've heard that having personal web pages can negatively influence getting interviews and jobs. But, I've also heard they can help.
Thanks, Bob, Palo Alto, CA
Answer:
Yo Bob!
Congratulations! You're right on both counts. It depends on the content of your sites. There are many possible variations of answers. If you are 29 and your web page shows pictures of high school parties and your first drink, it's not a good thing for several reasons. First, you're a little old to still be re-living high school. Second, any picture of you where the major entertainment is drinking, is not likely to show you, or anyone, in your best light. Third, where have you been since high school, anyway? However, at any age, if the pictures are of, say, the fund raising event you chaired for the local hospital, you'll gain a little ground with the viewer. This says you're well-rounded, community minded, and might want to chip in on the planning for employee eparties. If you post snaps of one fund-raiser, a meeting of your weekly book club, a game of tennis and you in the early evening (by that I mean SOBER) at an Irish Bar on St. Patrick's Day, you're still O.K. This gives the visitor to your site a vision of someone with various interests who can be both serious and fun. You are smart to be asking this question, and if you do have a personal web site, have someone else give you their opinion on whether it is employer friendly or not. It's not a good thing to do this for yourself, however, because you won't even notice the background of a picture you've seen a thousand times and always makes you proud. If a gun collection is neatly displayed over your shoulder, a recruiter might think you are showing it off - not really related to your talent as a future employee. You, though, know the picture was taken in the home of your PhD advisor, for whom the first day of hunting season can never come soon enough! I must tell you, it's always safe to err on the side of being conservative. A listing on a business web site, such as LinkedIn, is always a safer bet than one on a social web site. Good luck with the job search, Bob!
Cher
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