Comments on: The Successful Match: Facebook, a new way to screen applicants?

By: Thinking of using a Social Networking Site for dating? « The 3G Dating Agency’s Blog

Fri, 14 Aug 2009 09:18:23 +0000

[...] has already caused untold damage to the career opportunities of Policemen, Teachers, Students, Medics, Job Applicants, and even the next head of Mi6…. but the latest find by Jonathan MacDonald [...]

By: N/A

N/A — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 16:50:25 +0000

You can also keep your friends list private. I don’t even use my Wall! If anyone wants to message me on Facebook, they have to do via private message.

By: FBprivacy

FBprivacy — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 21:19:19 +0000

The statement in this article about someone on the committee being an alum of your udergrad school and making their own account w/ their old undergrad email address so that they may view your profile is inaccurate. On facebook, you can make your profile private to EVERYONE except your friends. This is why you should never accept people you don’t know as friends. You should also not respond to messages from people you don’t know, because that grants them limited access to your profile for a month or something.

The only people who can see my account are the people on my friends list, regardless of where they go to school. And if you’re not on my friends list, all you can see is a little thumbnail of my profile picture, my name, my network(s), and my friend list.

You can have an honest profile as long as you educate yourself about how to protect yourself!

By: Glad2takeyourspot

Glad2takeyourspot — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 20:41:22 +0000

A big thank you to all the idiots who demonstrated their immaturity on these sites, you made getting my top residency easier!

Darwin is proud of you!

By: soon-to-be-resident

soon-to-be-resident — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 15:33:01 +0000

I think this was a very timely and helpful article. Whether or not you disagree with the use of facebook, etc. as a professional resource, I think the point is that the internet is not private and one must be cognizant of one’s image, because sometimes, all we get is the first impression. As medical professionls, we taken on a lot more responsibility than most of us wagered (see above Lin’s post), even though our personal and professional lives may be very different, or we change over time (i.e., ortho guy). The most important thing to remember is that your patients are probably googling you as well – how do you want them to perceive you?? As the cool party-goer who could be hungover on call or as a put-together, controlled physician?

BTW, most residencies and other jobs have parties hosted by the program director, CEO, etc. involving alcohol…

By: Lin

Lin — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 20:34:31 +0000

I can see that this is a never-ending debate. My personal opinion is that for all people currently in or going into medicine, there’s always a general social perception of pre-meds, medical students, interns, and doctors. Even for those of us who love to party, when we hear the word Doctor, we don’t normally form images of drunkards, partiers, slutty-outfit/half-naked girls, and provocative/revealing photos…So, I’m not saying that by doing all of these things should strictly influence your application or image at your medical school, but rather that it merely reflects how you choose to present yourself privately and socially, in which case, no one is right or wrong…

By: n/a

n/a — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 21:04:29 +0000

this was a great article. For those that posted things such as “just dont do bad things”, congratulations on living a perfect life. I wish I could have hung out with you and been the same, as I am sure you were as “perfect” as you claim.

By: N/A

N/A — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 20:13:16 +0000

Why do people have to make life so complicated for. If one posts a picture of yourself drunk, what do you think people will think. If you make incoherent comments on the wall of friends, what do you think people will think? If you join certain groups that bring about a negative tone, what do you think people will think? Shesssh, people.

By: medstudent

medstudent — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 22:19:41 +0000

Agreed- be cautious about what you put up on the internet. you can party like hell but why do you need to show it off?

By: LH

LH — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 18:40:21 +0000

I think it’s a matter of how you want people to see you, not about whether you have a life or not. I can take a beer bong in four seconds, but I wouldn’t brag about that to an interviewer. If you post pictures of yourself drinking, carousing, etc. on public networking sites, that’s basically what you’re doing. You are saying that that’s how you live your life and you’re proud of it, at least proud enough to show the world.

Appearances do matter, and you have to admit that you are not showing your best self when there are pictures of you getting wasted or being a participant in a wet T-shirt contest. Put pictures up of you volunteering, or acting in a play, or something that is constructive instead of destructive to your image. You can have a life, but leave the drinking at the parties, don’t show the proof of them on a public forum.