online reputation guide for college students while applying for job

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Online Reputation Guide forCollege StudentsDecember 3, 2010

By: Tammy Blythe Goodman

Table of Contents

Introduction

How Employers Use Social Media

How Social Media Mistakes Impact Gett ing Hired or Fired

12 Tips for College Students Using Social Media

Resources

References

Introduction

College students are busier than ever. Reading, writing, studying for exams, completing special

projects, enjoying a social life you name it- theyre busy doing it. These days, they must add one

more thing to their list of things to do: manage their online reputations. In todays economy, the

competition is tough; one false move online and your chances of landing that dream job could be in

major jeopardy.

The Internet is permanent, plain and simple. Imagine a bathroom wall full of graffiti, except this wall

can be read by anyone with an Internet connection, including graduate, medical, and law school

admissions counselors as well as future employers. Many college students dont realize how much

information about them can be easily found online, nor do they understand the consequences of that

information being publically available.

A digital footprint can last a lifetime unless an individual diligently practices online reputation

management (monitoring). In this article, we will examine what every college student and their

parents need to know: the importance of managing an online reputation.

How Employers Use Social MediaMany employers use the Internet and social media for recruiting potential job candidates. Web sites

like LinkedIn, Plaxo and MyWorkster are useful sites to help job applicants network, search for jobs,

and enhance their careers. It s important to remember, however, that an individuals social presence

online can have a direct impact on how an employer thinks about a candidate.

Universities are starting to warn students about employers usage of online information as well. Jay

Rayman, senior director of career services at Pennsylvania State University says, People have a

false sense of security about their personal information out there on the Web they think only their

friends will see it. [7]

According to a 2009 study conducted by Harris Interactive, hired by Career Builder.com, 45% of the

2,667 Human Resources professionals surveyed admitted to using social networking sites to

research perspective employees, and 11% planned on implementing social media screening in the

Why Do You Need SafetyWeb?

SafetyWeb helps parents guard their children's reputation,

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What is being said

about your child.

What photos/videos

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Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, and any other social networking site you may use. On Facebook,

dont forget to set your privacy settings to include photos and videos that others post of you to

avoid being found via basic Web searches. Also, since Facebook adds new features often, it s

a good idea to revisit your privacy settings periodically too. [2]

2. Avoid oversharing. Dont say anything you wouldnt normally share with a prospective employer.

Experts say its a good idea to refrain from talking about politics or religion at work, and the

same holds true for social networking sites. Any st rong thoughts that lean one way over another

could potentially rub somebody the wrong way and smear your online reputation. Similarly, be

mindful of joining what could be considered politically incorrect groups.

3. Dont look guilty by association. Even if you maintain a private online account, your friends

could be saying inappropriate things about you, posting embarrassing photos, or wreaking digital

havoc on your future. Also, if your friends talk about drugs and alcohol 24/7, you very easily

could be linked to that type of behavior. Pay c lose attention to who you are friends with onlineand consider deleting an acquaintance that may say or do unsuitable things online.

4. Stop sharing unsuitable content. Avoid posting inappropriate media to any photo or video

sharing website like YouTube. Even if you use a different username on these sites, there are

ways people can trace them back to your email address, so your best bet is to avoid posting

things there all together. This rule of thumb goes for sharing content with your friends too

because you simply cant control what they will do with your content, as was the case with a

Duke University student who sent a PowerPoint presentation about her sexual encounters to a

few friends before it quickly went viral. [1]

5. Stay offline when under the influence. If youve just spent a night partying with friends, keep

your computer off, or your online mistakes could come back to haunt you. Sometimes referred

to as drunk Facebooking, posting inappropriate comments or photographs while inebriated may

cast a negative reflection on your online persona. Similarly, avoid posting content that proves

you have broken your colleges honor code policy (like a photograph of you and your roommates

drinking in your dorm room which is located on a dry campus), or updating your status when

youre supposed to be at class (sites like Facebook maintain digital time stamps for everymember).

6. Stop Complaining. Avoid speaking negatively about school, current or previous jobs, employers,

classmates, or professors. Similarly, dont update your Facebook status only when you have

something negative to say; f ind a balance so your digital persona doesnt look too angry.

7. Be consistent. Make sure your job and education information on your social networking profile

matches the information on your resume, or you could be caught lying.

8. Separate social networking from job networking. Avoid using social networking sites like

Facebook for professional networking, and build up your career contacts on other sites like

LinekdIn.com.

9. Consider a name change. This trend of keeping certain social networking sites like Facebook

separate from job networking has become increasingly popular as students change their names

on their social profiles. Some simply use their middle names as their last names. [7]

10. Google yourself . This is probably the first thing a potential employer will do if they want to find

information about you online, so why not be a step ahead of them? By doing a quick online

search, you can find some (note: not all) information publically available. The faster you takecare of any questionable content, the better.

11. Generate positive content. Experts agree that the best way to counteract negative content is by

generating positive information that will rank high on search engines like Google. Sites like

Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter all rank high in Google searches. [6]

12. Use Google/Profiles. The search engines latest tool allows users to create a personal profile to

literally control what people see about them. Visit www.google.com/profiles for more

information.

Resources

SafetyWeb is an invaluable Internet monitoring tool and Facebook monitoring application for college

students and their parents to help manage online reputations. For $10 a month, the service scours

hundreds of websites daily to find any and all public information about the student, making it a

convenient online reputation management solution for parents and college students. I f any

inappropriate photos, v ideos, or content postings become public the SafetyWeb subscriber is

immediately notified via a digital report and email or text message that clearly indicates the reason

for concern. Additionally, SafetyWeb helps subsc ribers remove unwanted online content by offering

step by step solutions, or working with a site s administrator directly through the 1-888-SAFE-WEB

customer support line.

Other helpful resources:

1. Connect Safely

2. National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC)

3. National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA)

4. Privacy.org

5. Privacy Rights Clearinghouse

References


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1. http://www.9news.com/news/article.aspx?storyid=159329&catid=188

2. http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2010/10/23/ways-stay-safe-facebook/

3. http://mashable.com/2009/08/19/social-media-screening/

4. http://www.startribune.com/business/83725197.html

5. http://www.theworkbuzz.com/career-advice/online-reputation/

6. http://www.microsoft.com/privacy/dpd/research.aspx

7. http://articles.cnn.com/2010-03-29/tech/facebook.job-seekers_1_facebook-hiring-online-

reputation?_s=PM:TECH

8. http://gigaom.com/2010/05/26/online-reputation-management-now-a-full-time-job/

9. http://blogs.wsj.com/hire-education/2010/06/25/manage-your-online-

reputation%E2%80%94before-someone-else-does/

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