TECH TIP MAINTAIN SOME MYSTERY

1. Honesty is the best policy. But oversharing is not, especially in the digital age. This rule goes double for students. Graduate school admissions directors are apt to look you up online. Likewise, companies are constantly rummaging the Web for information on potential employees. Don’t be like that one “evil” character on reality shows who claims that they are a really nice person and were just misrepresented when the footage landed in the hands of the editors.

2. The best way to manage your image online is to be proactive and aware. Make sure that your privacy settings on Facebook are up to par. For instance, if you list your birthday, don’t put the year. Don’t express any controversial opinions that could work against you. Restrict your photos to friends only. If you find yourself tagged in a compromising picture that makes you look like an idiot or a drunkard, address it right away. You want to show the world that you’re a responsible, go-getting genius. Party animal is not the moniker you’re seeking.

3. It’s not that you cannot be yourself, but you want to be a version of yourself that you will be proud to have associated with you for the rest of your life. Remember that once you put something online, it is public forever, regardless of your privacy settings or if you take it down. You have very little control of what happens to material after you make it public.

4. Delete old accounts: If you have MySpace, LiveJournal, Blogger, or any other account that is still open to the public but not being updated, delete it. Not only do these accounts include out-of-date information and possibly tales of your middle-school crushes, but because you rarely if ever check those sites, you may not notice if your account has been hacked. The last thing you want is an employer to find a site full of spam and questionable promotional links.

5. Stay one step ahead: Google yourself regularly, especially when applying for jobs or graduate schools. Make sure that you know what potential employers can see. Look into free services like kgbPeople that can dig up every mention of you online, drawing from regular search engines, social networks, and other video and photo sites. For more information on protecting your virtual reputation, visit http://blog.kgbpeople.com/.