When I entered the Faculty of Education, awareness of "my digital footprint" dramatically increased! The stories of people losing jobs, or not being hired in the first place because of a questionable presence online hit home. Security settings on social media? Change my name on Facebook? Why the heck would anyone want to look me up, anyway? Oh, wait... they might want to hire me! I googled my first and last name, and just found some geneology connections and an article in the "Souris Plaindealer" about me... quite wholesome, no? However, there are some other "Kelsey Penners" out there... yikes! Could an employer mistake me for them? I am going to get a tech savvy friend to google me more intensively and get their impression, as I know there must be lots of ways to get info that I am not aware of!
I also realize that I do not have a strong "positive presence" on the internet. Much of this is due to my lack of use of tech resources and communication in the past. I understand the benefit of people being able to see my work and connect with my website / portfolio etc. I will learn more about this avenue for sharing (again... get ready for my questions, tech-savvies!) and try to create a digital presence that reflects my professional goals.
I agree Kelsey. I fear an employer mistaking me for someone else with the same name (especially my maiden name). It used to be that you were able to take care of any possible misunderstandings in an interview, now that is not the case with the internet. A really scary thought!
ReplyDeleteI am also in the same boat as you with creating a professional online presence. At least internet for ed has given us a great starting point on creating a digital footprint that will benefit instead of hurt us!
I became more footprint conscious when I entered the faculty as well. Many classmates stated that they got emails saying that they should update their security or delete some photos on facebook before they started. I never received an email, so I was slightly relieved. I have always been smart on the internet, but I would also be lying if I said that I've never had a picture of me of Facebook with a beer in my hand. Is that really an issue though, should it be?
ReplyDeleteKelsey, I have also thought about "What if they mistake me for another Sarah Gurr when they google me?" What would happen then? I guess we have to trust that if they are going to research or "Google" us, then they are going to be knowledgeable enough to dissern between which digital footprint is ours or not. I sure hope so anyways! Great thoughts, I have the same ones!
ReplyDeleteI think a lot of the fear of being mistaken for a namesake on the internet can be alleviated if we give digital information about ourselves to prospective employers. I'm going to include http://about.me/tylerletkeman on all my resumes, so employers know which Tyler I am before they google me.
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