Facebook For More Than Friends

Most people think of Facebook as the last place they would want a potential employer to go to check out their qualifications. They have embarrassing pictures of them partying, people posting about their kids, updates about all their Words With Friends games, and status messages about being excited for the weekend. It's been far from a job gold mine--more like a minefield. But as the Wall Street Journal writes, that's all changing and has some advice about how to take advantage of it, including this:

Don't ask someone to make an introduction for you on Facebook if you wouldn't ask them to do it in person, recruiting experts say. Before you approach a potential candidate, or someone who is friends with a potential candidate, be sure that you are close enough to the intermediary to ask for the introduction. Don't assume that Facebook behavior is different from regular social interactions, experts say.

Good advice from the WSJ, with some more throughout the article. Although Facebook seems like just a tool for connecting with friends, family, and casual acquaintances who may have friended you after you met that one time, it can now be used for much more, including posting and applying for jobs.

Greetings from Europe

I wanted to send greetings from Europe. I spent 2 days in Amsterdam and am now in Copenhagen. It's amazing to see different lifestyles and cultures and people in action. But it's also amazing that you see many of the same things here. Those camping out down in Wall Street would like to know that they are doing the same in Amsterdam (right outside the hotel I stayed at). The gay marriage debate is going to come to Denmark as it did in the United States. And as I'm in Denmark, the Danish princess Mary is in New York.

It's always important to remember, in the word of a fellow Brandeis alum, Thomas Friedman, that the world is flat. What goes on in one part of the world effects, and then is usually copied in the rest of the world. So understanding your company and your company's relationship in the international world means that you need to be up-to-date with what's happening both at home and abroad.

Driving Your Co-Workers Nuts

We all have co-workers that drive us nuts, but what are the things that really get us going? Well AOL Jobs decided to ask around and compiled a list of 13 things that people are doing at work that drive their co-workers crazy. A few comments on them below:

1. Hovering - I hate this and I know people that do this constantly. Saying hello or joining in a conversation is one thing but when your co-worker turns back to their computer or picks up the phone, it should be a subtle sign to leave

2. Micro-managing - This is not just for managers--all of us are guilty of this at one time or another. Self-awareness goes a long way to fixing this problem but if you feel like you're getting micromanaged, make sure to say something constructive to the person so that it doesn't continue because that resentment will build

3. Showing up late for meetings - In college, our classes started 10 minutes after the scheduled time to allow people to get from class to class. I feel like that attitude continued in the workforce. It became such an epidemic at my old job that no one would actually show up until 5 minutes after the meeting was scheduled because they knew the meeting wouldn't start on time which moved our meetings back even further. Nip this in the bud before your meetings are starting 20 minutes late.

4. People who use scented products - This is a serious one for someone like me with allergies where whole days have been ruined because people need to pump on a little more perfume in the office or on the train. Be considerate of those around you and if you're going to do something that is going to smell or bother other people (eating smelly foods is another issue), take it away from your co-workers to the bathroom (for perfume) or the kitchen (for food).

5. Favoritism - We all hate this because sometimes the results are so obvious. There are always the "Golden Child" in a department and it's fine if someone gets preferential treatment if that treatment is merit-based, but everyone should be on a level playing-field and no one should be given a better status because of personal relationships. At an old job, there was a woman manager who would only promote other women. That was great for those women, but her favoritism made it so that other people saw she was only promoting those people because of their gender.

What are your pet peeves around the office? What do your co-workers do that drive you crazy? Let us know in the comments below!