Social Networking on the Internet is a popular trend among the college population. Facebook has over 13,000 people in the CofC network and when searching MySpace you can get over 12,000 hits when you search for the college’s name. Not only is it a trend among college students and alumni, it is a growing trend among employers. More and more employers are using Facebook, MySpace and other Social Networking sites to investigate their potential employees.
Do you know what is on your Facebook account or which pictures of you are floating on the Internet? Vulgar or racist comments and pictures could be the cause of you not receiving that dream job. “One in 10 hiring managers say they rejected candidates because of things they found out about them on the Internet,” said Frank Langfitt in his article Startups Help Clean Up Online Reputations.
Here are some tips to follow to keep your image squeaky clean for potential employers.
1. Monitor the pictures you and your friends post featuring
you. If the pictures consist of behavior that could be considered
unprofessional remove them.
2. Look over your profiles. Do your interests and hobbies
include binge drinking or going to clubs? Remove these items.
Even if you meant them to be a joke for your friends to
read they may not be the only ones reading them and employers
will not know it is a joke.
3. What are your friends saying about you? Comments describing real or fake behavior can damage your reputation in the job market. Monitor these comments for their professional value.
4. As a precaution type your name in a search engine and see what pops up. Is it good and professional? Or, does it show you in an unsavory picture? If so try to change that.
Below are some articles that can show you the best ways to clean up your image on the Internet for potential employers.
• Startups Help Clean Up Online Reputations by Frank Langfitt
• Students
Love Social-Networking Sites — and So Do Employers
by Christina Cuesta
• For
Some, Online Persona Undermines a Resume by Alan Finder