What to consider before adding your boss on Facebook
There is no doubt that it can be risky to add your boss on any kind of social media platform, as you never know what they might be able to find that could have an impact on their impression of you as a professional. However, there is a chance that it could work in your favour if you do it in the right way, and this means that you should think carefully about how you should go about adding your boss as a friend on Facebook if you want to make sure that you can really get the most benefit out of the situation.
Consider the situation carefully
Firstly, you will need to think about whether your boss would actually want to be your friend on social media. Not all professionals like to mix their work and personal life, and with this in mind you need to find out which category your boss would fall into. Try to find out whether your boss is already friends with any of the other people you work with, and this should give you a good idea of how they feel about it.
Don’t allow anything to damage your reputation
If you have been on Facebook for a number of years, then there are likely to be hundreds if not thousands of photos of things that you might have done in the past. For example, lots of photos of you getting drunk might not give the best impression. Your privacy settings are a great place to start with this, and you should ensure that people need to get your approval before allowing anything they tag you in to show up on your profile.
Show the positive parts of your life
Perception is everything, and what your boss sees online can affect this. So, you need to make sure that they are seeing the things you do that paint you in the best light. For example, if you know that you do a lot of charity work, this is the part of your life that you might try to make the most visible on your profile. If you happen to know of what your boss enjoys doing as a hobby, then you could use this as an opportunity to show that you have shared interests, too, by showing photos of you in similar activities. However, you should never pretend that you are interested in something when you’re not, as there is always the chance that you could be found out further down the line if you have a conversation about it.
Make the most of the opportunity to engage
Just being friends with someone doesn’t really achieve anything, and because of this you should try to take part in positive interactions whenever you can. You can use the social side of the platform, such as liking and commenting, to build up a rapport with your boss. However, you shouldn’t start interacting with everything that they post, as doing this too much will make each individual comment less meaningful. You could also use their posts as a way to find out what they might like to talk about in face to face conversations, so this could be of benefit to your working relationship, too.
Although you will need to think carefully about the kind of relationship you would like to build with your boss, there is no doubt that being friends on Facebook could be a positive thing – providing you do it in the right way.