ABET Outcome F: Online Responsibility
What is a virtual footprint, and how can we as students create a positive one? The posts within this site will prescribe a set of guidelines that anyone can use not only to create the best impression on prospective employers and clients, but also to engage your professional network by maintaining updated information about your career and keeping informed about the careers of your peers.
According to a 2013 Pew Research study, 72% of all people use social media; however, most people still think that their online presence only reaches as far as their friends and classmates, and possibly an HR recruiter who may look them up on facebook when they are recruiting students out of college [1]. However, the 72% encompasses much more than that. For example, 43% of people 65 and older use social media. That probably includes not only the aforementioned recruiter, but also your future boss, his boss, his boss, and so on.
When most people think of a good virtual footprint, they often think that employers use it exclusively to learn more about a candidate's social life; and while some do use it for that purpose, that is not the only aspect of our lives that we need to maintain online. A former boss of mine said he doesn't care at all about resumes because people can write whatever they want on them. While that is true, qualifications are still very important, and social media can be one way that a job candidate can validate his qualifications. Read my first full post titled "The Resume Review" to learn how an employer can validate every piece of information that a student puts on his resume BEFORE an interview using only the internet.
According to a 2013 Pew Research study, 72% of all people use social media; however, most people still think that their online presence only reaches as far as their friends and classmates, and possibly an HR recruiter who may look them up on facebook when they are recruiting students out of college [1]. However, the 72% encompasses much more than that. For example, 43% of people 65 and older use social media. That probably includes not only the aforementioned recruiter, but also your future boss, his boss, his boss, and so on.
When most people think of a good virtual footprint, they often think that employers use it exclusively to learn more about a candidate's social life; and while some do use it for that purpose, that is not the only aspect of our lives that we need to maintain online. A former boss of mine said he doesn't care at all about resumes because people can write whatever they want on them. While that is true, qualifications are still very important, and social media can be one way that a job candidate can validate his qualifications. Read my first full post titled "The Resume Review" to learn how an employer can validate every piece of information that a student puts on his resume BEFORE an interview using only the internet.
References
[1] Joanna Brenner, Aaron Smith. (2013, August 5). 72% of Online Adults are Social Networking Site Users [Online].
Available: http://pewinternet.org/Reports/2013/social-networking-sites.aspx
[1] Joanna Brenner, Aaron Smith. (2013, August 5). 72% of Online Adults are Social Networking Site Users [Online].
Available: http://pewinternet.org/Reports/2013/social-networking-sites.aspx