techtip: BUILD A DIGITAL PERSONA

BUILD A DIGITAL PERSONA

You are active on social media—Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and others—but you have been told that employers or others might be looking at your profiles, posts, and pictures. You are concerned that people might see parts of your private life that will embarrass you.

If you wonder what people might see, find out. Type your full name into a search engine like Google or Bing and see what comes up. You will see what is connected to you, and you might also see information connected to people who share your name. How can you take charge in order to enjoy a safe digital life?

image
© Jens Kalaene/dpa/Corbis

The Problem

You don’t know how to create a professional digital profile that will ensure that employers or other professionals see you at your best.

The Fix

Join social networking sites and connect with people in ways that reflect the person you want the world to know.

How to Do It

  1. Build your online professional self. Find a professional social networking site and begin to build a professional persona on that site. Currently, many professionals connect with each other at sites like LinkedIn (linkedin.com). Build your professional profile to show where you have gone to college, where you have worked, and awards you have received. The information in this profile should match other professional documents that prospective employers will see, such as your résumé and your job applications.

    A professional profile that you control will allow you to connect to other people in your profession, give and receive recommendations and endorsements, join groups of people who share your professional interests, and post comments in those groups. When someone conducts an online search for you, your professional profile will come up first.

  2. Exercise caution. The best way to manage your image online is to be proactive and aware. Make sure that your privacy settings on all social media sites are up to par. For instance, make your profile and all photos posted to your wall and time line available to friends only, and if you list your birthday, don’t include the year. If you provide access to your personal information, you are providing access to you. If you’re choosy about who can have your phone number and address in the real world, be choosy online, too.
  1. You want your online persona to be a version of yourself that you will be proud to be connected to for the rest of your life. If you find yourself tagged in a compromising picture, address it right away. Remember that once something goes online, it is public forever, regardless of your privacy settings or if it is taken down.
  2. Delete old accounts. Delete any accounts that are open to the public but are not updated. Not only do these accounts include out-of-date and possibly embarrassing information, it’s likely that you rarely, if ever, check these sites and won’t notice if your account has been hacked. The last thing you want is for an employer to find a site full of spam and questionable promotional links.
  3. Stay one step ahead. Google yourself regularly, especially when applying for jobs or to graduate schools. Make sure that you know what potential employers can see. For more on protecting your virtual reputation, visit https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/kgbpeople#/entity.

EXTRA STYLE POINTS: Have the right mind-set when it comes to posting and sharing photos—or even taking them at all—and help adjust the mind-set of others. Remind your friends and family to check with you before posting anything about you—especially photos—on a social media site.