Managing Your Online Presence

Throughout your tenure at Keuka College, you will be conducting multiple Field Period searches. Throughout this time your web presence can be highly scrutinized by potential Field Period sites and employers.

You must look at your profile in whatever social networking site you may be using as your first impression to the person(s) you are trying to connect with.

Use our Image Management Tool to assess your online presence.

In an October 19, 2006 blog posting to www.collegerecruiter.com, Susan Straver, an HR and business professional, and former recruiter and hiring manager who has worked with hundreds of Fortune 500 companies shared the following questions you may want to ask yourself before posting something online.

What Photos Do You Have Posted?

This should be so obvious but it’s not. And it has cost some college students great internships or jobs. Simply put–don’t put alcohol or nudity related photos on your site. Think about it this way. If it’s a photo you wouldn’t want Grandma to see, a potential employer won’t find it endearing either.

What Groups Do You Belong To?

Some groups such as fraternities or sororities are labeled online as such: “Alpha Delta Pi group.” But if your group is something rude, inappropriate or unkind, think twice about belonging during your search (or publicizing a membership). You may think the “I need a valet for my yacht” group is hilarious, but a recruiter might not laugh as hard.

What Preferences Do You Have Listed?

Religion and politics are often topics of conversation we tend to avoid in mixed company. And it may be something you want to avoid on Facebook, MySpace, and even personal blogs. It is illegal for an employer to base hiring preferences on these things, but if you list yourself as “very liberal” you might have a tough time getting that Halliburton interview.

What Blogs or Feeds Do You Subscribe To?

While this may seem strange, your offline interests could make or break your case. If you’re getting financial, business or otherwise interesting (art, literature) RSS feeds or linking to such blogs, it could strengthen your case as a well-rounded individual. But you may not seem so well-rounded if you’re connecting to off color blogs or feeds.

So with this information now in hand, it is your decision to make as to what you will post. Just remember that your audience may be more than just your “Friends”. If you still have questions on what is appropriate or not, my suggestion is to always lean toward the conservative side!