Profile Picture

[Deadinthewater]

I know this sounds superficial, but I think it might be relevant:

Do you think I should change my less-than-professional Facebook profile picture? If (by the grace of god) I become a candidate for a program, are they going to be looking at my Facebook? Does the Columbia adcom have tiny cameras installed in my room at this very moment?

[ProfLorax]

I imagine this will be a bigger concern when you are on the job market, so I think you'll be safe for now! I just can't imagine that the admissions committees will put forth the effort to google each of our names. That being said, if you are concerned, you can do what I do; I don't use my full last name on my FB profile: First Name Last Initial. That way, I can keep my profile authentic, but it is also hard to find via google or FB search. 

 

Does the Columbia adcom have tiny cameras installed in my room at this very moment?

 

Also, this made me lol. It's amazing just how paranoid this process has made all of us! 

[hashslinger]

Well, I don't think it's ever wise to have an unprofessional FB profile pic anyway. Seriously, just get a new one. I assume you're an undergrad? Start projecting a more professional online image now.

[Timshel]

You can also make it so that your facebook profile is not searchable.

[rems]

I would change it for all the above reasons. I don't think you need a head shot of you in a suit, or you feeding the poor or anything, but if your profile pic is you streaking or taking bong riffs or kicking a dog I would definitely change that shit. 

 

It's so easy to find people now, so an adcom wouldn't have to spend hours hunting you down. They probably won't even do this, but on the off chance that they might, always play it safe. 

[Dark Matter]

Anyone on an admissions committee bored or creepy enough to google applicants would be too ashamed actually to bring this up in a discussion with his or her colleagues, so you're in the clear. Trust me.

Edited January 3, 2013 by Dark Matter

[Swagato]

^ Ha. However, I did notice an uptick in Google searches for my name last time around during admissions season. 

[hashslinger]

Anyone on an admissions committee bored or creepy enough to google applicants would be too ashamed actually to bring this up in a discussion with his or her colleagues, so you're in the clear. Trust me.

No one's every going to say they googled you, not to you or to anyone else. They're just going to google you and quietly make up their minds about you. It's going to be the first impression they have about you.

 

As far as the application season, you're probably safe with your facebook profile pic--a professor would have to be very bored to hunt them down. But still ... if you're transitioning out of undergrad, it's time to start being an adult. I don't know what kind of pic we're talking about here--if it's merely quirky or flat-out embarrassing--but unprofessional facebook pictures are not cute and they do not make you an authentic individual. They're evidence that you're still stuck in an undergrad mentality.

 

Also, keep in mind, members of your incoming grad school cohort DO have a lot of time on their hands, and DO spend time on facebook, and they will look you up on facebook shortly after (or perhaps even before) meeting you for the first time.

 

 Please remember that grad school is part of the adult world, not an extension of undergrad. Grad students strive hard to be taken seriously by professors. The snowflakey behaviors that make you endearing to other undergrads could make you a pariah among your grad cohort. I would judge a fellow grad student pretty hard if he or she had a profile pick of kicking a puppy or playing beer pong with their bros. I just ... don't want that person in my program.

[asleepawake]

I'm not sure if we're still partially protected by a generational gap, or if I'm just a weirdo, but my general impulse is to google everything and everyone. Googling is incredibly fast. If you're good with the internet, you can find virtually anything in seconds. Am I just extra-curious? It seems to me the googling is about fast information, but you should also be careful with what you find.

 

I would just assume somebody is googling you. If not the adcoms, everybody else. Your profile picture should be appropriate for all audiences. Make everything else private, if only because it is personal and you may soon have students who, I promise, will be googling you. Prepare, also, for the fact that you will be adding peers and maybe professors on Facebook. Some departments use social media extensively. 

[rems]

I'm not sure if we're still partially protected by a generational gap, or if I'm just a weirdo, but my general impulse is to google everything and everyone. Googling is incredibly fast. If you're good with the internet, you can find virtually anything in seconds. Am I just extra-curious? It seems to me the googling is about fast information, but you should also be careful with what you find.

 

I would just assume somebody is googling you. If not the adcoms, everybody else. Your profile picture should be appropriate for all audiences. Make everything else private, if only because it is personal and you may soon have students who, I promise, will be googling you. Prepare, also, for the fact that you will be adding peers and maybe professors on Facebook. Some departments use social media extensively. 

 

This exactly. We live in a new age of technology and accessibility, and we have to acknowledge that. 

[Bearcat1]

I have had several people search for me on Google and end up on my page on Academia.edu that way since I started making contact with POIs. Now that Google automatically shows you the top however-many images for every search, you want to be sure all those images are appropriate. 

[Deadinthewater]

Thanks for the input, everybody.

[theregalrenegade]

I have had several people search for me on Google and end up on my page on Academia.edu that way since I started making contact with POIs. Now that Google automatically shows you the top however-many images for every search, you want to be sure all those images are appropriate. 

 

This for sure! My Academia.edu page got a number of hits after I went to a conference and also after I submitted a couple apps.

 

But I did find that a POI had searched for me on Linked In. They show who has viewed your profile. I'm not sure the POI knew of this feature. 

 

I did Google my name to see what comes up and sure enough Linked-In was the first listing followed by Twitter and Facebook, but I have a simple headshot photo for those. It's actually a good thing I have a photo because fifth on my list is the mugshot of a woman with my same EXACT name on some crime website.