There is something satisfying about cleaning up your Facebook friend list. But as consultant Danny Rubin explains, job-hunters should think twice before hitting delete.
One of these days you swear you’re going to do it. You’ll log into Facebook, head straight for your list of friends, and start deleting people. You know, the girl you haven’t talked to since middle school. The random dude you met at a party who you haven’t spoken to in five years. The person you haven’t seen in so long that you forgot how you met in the first place.
Getting your house in order is a great idea — except on social media. The web has made us so interconnected and accessible that to delete people from your online world could harm you professionally. Here’s why:
Every person you delete on Facebook is one less networking opportunity down the road. Life happens in funny ways. Out of nowhere, you could suddenly need a person you haven’t heard from in a decade.
For example, you’re in the job market and looking at accounting firms. You go to your list of Facebook friends, use the ‘search by workplace’ option and find that Lauren, your old pal from 7th grade social studies, works at the company you had your eye on. So naturally, you send your long-lost friend a FB message, reconnect, and hope she can put in a good word.
But what if you ‘unfriended’ Lauren months ago during an impassioned ‘Facebook cleanse’? With Lauren gone from your list, there is almost no way you would know she works at the accounting firm.That’s the power of Facebook. The social network allows everyone to remain loosely connected without having to interact on a regular basis. Just being ‘friends’ on Facebook keeps us tied together.
Of course, there are plenty of studies that say maintaining a huge list of people on Facebook is bad for us. Like this one from Men’s Health:
“Researchers asked a sample group of Facebook users between the ages of 18 and 65 to read some of their friends’ status updates. Afterward, those Facebook users rated their lives as much less satisfying than people who didn’t check their news feed first.”
Sure. We probably don’t need to read everything about everyone all the time. But there’s no way to predict which FB friend could be the one to help you land a new job (or even recommend a solid babysitter, plumber or painter).
Let’s say a buddy from high school — who lives across town but you haven’t seen in years — just purchased a new house. You know that because he posted photos of the home on Facebook. You’re also in the market for a new house so you shoot him a message about mortgage rates, real estate agents, or home values. Without being ‘friends’ on Facebook, the conversation simply wouldn’t have happened.
We spend our entire lives amassing a network of people. Why cut them loose because they aren’t front and centre in our world?
Just think: a person from way back in the day could hold the keys to your future dream job.
Aren’t you glad you didn’t hit ‘delete’?
Why You Should Never Delete Facebook Friends [News to Live By]
Danny Rubin is a media consultant based in Washington DC. He writes News To Live By, a blog that shows how we can apply the lessons of the news to our own lives. He tweets at @NewsToLiveBy.
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