10 Ways to Protect Your Online Persona
by Robyn Tellefsen
resume? Check. References? Check. A positive
If you haven't thought about the role your Web activity and e-mail personality play in your hiring potential, it's time to give it some consideration. Because in our current tech-savvy culture, employers can learn all they need to know about you before you even get an interview. Here are some tips on successfully managing your online persona, and boosting your hiring potential.
Regulating Your Recreational Web Activity:
1. Don't use your real name. Whether you're blogging, sharing photos, or posting on message boards, it's important to use shorter names or nicknames. Your potential boss does not need to stumble onto your online gripes about your current job or photos of your latest pub crawl. Keep your personal information personal.
2. Make use of privacy settings. Many social networking sites offer settings that allow you to keep your site private and control viewing and posting privileges. That way, if you post some edgy content, you can make sure it reaches its intended recipients -- and no one else.
3. Watch what you share about current or former jobs. When you were hired, there's a good chance that you signed a confidentiality agreement restricting your communication of information acquired on the job. When in doubt, don't post it.
4. Google your name. You might be famous for something you weren't even aware of. If anything questionable arises, contact the site and try to get it removed.
5. Use your Web activity to your advantage. Instead of fretting over what employers might discover about you, play a proactive role in creating your own online persona. Boost your hiring potential by building a site to market yourself, highlighting your qualifications, professional affiliations, and accomplishments.
Polishing Your E-mail Personality:
6. Use an appropriate e-mail address. If you just can't part with your "babygrrl0101" moniker, create a separate e-mail account using your first and/or last name for all professional correspondence.
7. Use attachments sparingly. Crashing a potential employer's computer with a giant attachment will not bode well for your hiring potential. Test any necessary attachments on friends or family members before sending them to the hiring powers-that-be.
8. Don't flaunt your IM acronym vocabulary. You may feel cool because you know that FMTYEWTK stands for "far more than you ever wanted to know," but an employer won't be impressed. Write in complete sentences, don't use all lowercase or all caps, and utilize a formal, professional tone to maintain a positive online persona.
9. Don't forget to spell-check. It's a simple step, but it can make the difference between a positive first impression and a trip to the cyber trash bin.
10. Remember to be yourself -- the best, cleanest version of yourself, that is!
online persona
? What?!If you haven't thought about the role your Web activity and e-mail personality play in your hiring potential, it's time to give it some consideration. Because in our current tech-savvy culture, employers can learn all they need to know about you before you even get an interview. Here are some tips on successfully managing your online persona, and boosting your hiring potential.
Regulating Your Recreational Web Activity:
1. Don't use your real name. Whether you're blogging, sharing photos, or posting on message boards, it's important to use shorter names or nicknames. Your potential boss does not need to stumble onto your online gripes about your current job or photos of your latest pub crawl. Keep your personal information personal.
2. Make use of privacy settings. Many social networking sites offer settings that allow you to keep your site private and control viewing and posting privileges. That way, if you post some edgy content, you can make sure it reaches its intended recipients -- and no one else.
3. Watch what you share about current or former jobs. When you were hired, there's a good chance that you signed a confidentiality agreement restricting your communication of information acquired on the job. When in doubt, don't post it.
4. Google your name. You might be famous for something you weren't even aware of. If anything questionable arises, contact the site and try to get it removed.
5. Use your Web activity to your advantage. Instead of fretting over what employers might discover about you, play a proactive role in creating your own online persona. Boost your hiring potential by building a site to market yourself, highlighting your qualifications, professional affiliations, and accomplishments.
Polishing Your E-mail Personality:
6. Use an appropriate e-mail address. If you just can't part with your "babygrrl0101" moniker, create a separate e-mail account using your first and/or last name for all professional correspondence.
7. Use attachments sparingly. Crashing a potential employer's computer with a giant attachment will not bode well for your hiring potential. Test any necessary attachments on friends or family members before sending them to the hiring powers-that-be.
8. Don't flaunt your IM acronym vocabulary. You may feel cool because you know that FMTYEWTK stands for "far more than you ever wanted to know," but an employer won't be impressed. Write in complete sentences, don't use all lowercase or all caps, and utilize a formal, professional tone to maintain a positive online persona.
9. Don't forget to spell-check. It's a simple step, but it can make the difference between a positive first impression and a trip to the cyber trash bin.
10. Remember to be yourself -- the best, cleanest version of yourself, that is!
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