That’s right job hunters and college-bounders.
A new release of information by ReputationDefender CEO Michael Fertik stated that there have been increasing instances of employers and colleges now asking their applicants to pull up and log into their Facebook accounts DURING INTERVIEWS!!!!!!!!
Y’all heard me, they will flat out ask you to log in and peruse your Facebook profile while you sit there, helplessly cursing yourself for not detagging incriminating photos from last weekend’s debauchery.
So now, not only is it important to keep every part of your Facebook profile private, but also you must be very wary of the content that you allow to exist online in general on Facebook. I highly suggest logging into your account right now and checking out your photos/wall/status updates and pretending that you’re sitting next to the CEO of XYZ company and assessing how red-faced you will be if he or she were to check out your profile. I do feel that this new finding is a bit alarming and unnerving, how about you?
As this article discusses, it is of utmost important to keep a positive online reputation. Employers can screen you before you even walk in the door via the portals of Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, etc.
Additionally, it is important to know that your friends (or more likely enemies) aren’t slandering your reputation and airing out your dirty laundry. How can I figure that out, you ask?? I’d like to introduce you to one of my online website saving graces: www.google.com/alerts.
Google Alerts are a-m-a-z-i-ng. Basically what this feature does for you is scour every online source and nook & cranny and then emails you (you pick: daily or weekly-I’m not that cool or popular so I chose weekly) who has posted anything to do with your name online in the last week. I have found random things that I never knew existed, such as my new IMBD entry (because apparently I’m famous in the UK since I acted in an independent film in 2002): http://uk.imdb.com/name/nm3687720/. This randomly showed up online about a month ago, and I would have never known about it if it weren’t for google alerts.
Lessons for today:
1. Don’t allow anyone (or yourself) to put up incriminating photos of you, wall posts, or status. You will most likely regret it (if not professionally, probably personally).
2. Sign up for google alerts. If you have a nickname or alias that you go by, sign up for several alerts (your real name, nickname/alias, etc). Also sign up your business or website if you want to have a little extra fun in knowing who has been blabbing about you.
3. Routinely check your Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter (etc) privacy settings. Facebook recently changed their privacy settings, making it easier to look at people that you’re not even friends with profiles/pics/etc. Check that, make sure most if not all of your settings are set to “Only Friends.” Lock your twitter account (so people have to request to see your statuses) and same for MySpace (does anyone even USE MySpace anymore?).
4. Pretend that your grandma has access to your Social Networking accounts. Perhaps your grandma IS actually on Facebook, but if she isn’t, just imagine that she checks your Facebook on a weekly basis. Do you want grandma seeing your best friend doing body shots off your stomach? Or seeing you sticking your tongue down a random creep’s throat? Or, my personal favorite, the girl’s “I’m so drunk and I’m on the toilet so this would be the best time to take out my camera and pose with some toilet paper” pictures. Yeah, I didn’t think you wanted Grandma to see that.
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