Online Identity in a Networked World.

Job seekers like us students are definitely targets for companies to scour sites like Facebook, LinkedIn or any other social mediums for their applicants and depending on what they post, it can definitely mean acceptance or rejection. I completely agree with employers who want to look more into the job seeker’s social mediums to obtain a better understanding of who the person is to hire the best candidate possible. They want to make sure that the person that they are hiring are presents him or herself professionally and can represent the company.

Like most others, I also have social mediums such as Facebook but I make sure that my privacy settings are updated so that only friends can view my pictures or profile. In the case if there were a way to breach these security settings, I still make sure that the way I brand myself does not harm my public image. In the future, I do plan on creating a LinkedIn profile that professionally describes who I am such as the work I’ve done, my education, and a formal photo as well as using Quora to answer questions. Having a professional social medium such as LinkedIn can also give you that extra leverage to get yourself hired.

I completely agree that it is ethical for employers to check their job candidates’ social mediums for a number of reasons. For example, what if the scenario comes up where you find yourself working with an employee who doesn’t act professionally, hard to get along with and constantly slacks off? It could definitely be possible that because the company didn’t conduct a web search that the person was hired. Another possibility is what if you were a bank and someone wanted a loan? Wouldn’t it be logical to make sure that the person you are giving a loan to is trust-worthy?

Online representation has definitely opened up new means of access to look up someone’s information. I personally believe that social mediums help out job seekers as it gives more insight to who the person is other than a resume and an interview. It shows who the person is outside of a professional environment. It is just a matter of what you put in your profile and how you choose to to describe yourself to the public.

In conclusion, while you won’t know for sure if you got the job or not because of the employer prying on your social mediums, it is safer to either deactivate your social mediums during the application process if you think it might undermine your chances of getting that position or put information that won’t harm your public image.

Online Identity in a Networked World

With technology growing the use of social media grows as well, many people today are associated with some sort of social media such are Face Book and Google+. Social media profiles can either make or break your chances of getting a job, any public profiles can be viewed by everyone including employers.  Job seekers need to take caution in what they post online because it will “brand” them according to Ronda Scharlat in the article “Employers scour Web for details on applicants”.

Employers sometimes look online to check social media profiles for any inappropriate behaviors. So it will be wise to think twice before posting anything that may give you a negative view this can be pictures or comments of any sort. So be sure to erase any inappropriate activities online that may hurt your view on an employer. Social media profiles are easily accessible to employers, all it takes is a simple google search of the person’s name and anything set to public will be shown. This doesn’t imply that employers only base their recruits on only social media but often use them as a background check.

Social media can be used against any job seeker but why not use it to help them instead. In the article “Colleges Pay to Protect Students from Toxic Google Results” it shows that having an online profile can actually benefit job seekers. Posting comments and such in a professional manner can show how competent you can be to employers. A profile can reflect who the person really is, it can also show how responsible you are and the type of language being used also affects how employers will react. There are online services that can either erase or show your google result when your name is searched, Brandyourself.com is an example that provides these services its and as both a free service and a premium service.

Social media and social networking are used heavily in the present, and as the years go by more recruiters are using them. In the article “Guide to Social Media & Job Search” shows there are multiple things recruiters look for specifically in their searches and how much social media is being used by recruits over the past years.  Some things recruits look for in profiles are how people spend their free time, use of alcohol and illegal substances,  work and education history, and how well you are able to communicate with others.

As for myself I avoided unnecessary use of social media for the very fact that it’s used by employers so I wouldn’t have a particular “brand”, but using them in a professional manner can still benefit you in job searches. Personally I do not think its ethical for employers to “google” their job candidates but it is technically still in fair use due to the fact that users must accept the terms that states that the profile will be public so everyone can view it. Social media holds great power over what your job selection so use it wisely to not show a particular “brand” but how professional you can really be.

 

Online Identity in a Networked World

With social media on the rise where someone can post pictures and communicate with others, it has its good and bad points. I don’t really follow all the social media but the only account I have is facebook. There are quite a few other social media sites out there as well like instagram, twitter and myspace, just name a main ones, that do things in there own way. The only media site that definitely differs from the rest of them to my belief is linkedin and that is because its more a website that focuses more on professional work. With Linkedin, I have posted a resume and other data about myself on it and have seen the views and even had feedback from a few companies that viewed my resume from it. Over time I got to know that some, if not all companies look to these websites to find any kind of information on there candidates. What I found interesting was what were some of the things they companies were looking for that could of determined whether you were a possible candidate or another resume to be tossed out.

One I noticed was in the article, “Employers scour Web for details on applicants,” where they mentioned that recruiters are looking at Linkedin accounts to for “consistency in dates, titles, education as listed on a resume as well as see if there are recommendations posted and read them to see who wrote them in the employment hierarchy. . . . we might check a Twitter stream to see if a candidate posted his or her impressions on an interview,” mentioned by Jason Banks, VP, which meant to me is that companies are paying attention to posts so that there isn’t  any fraudulent acts or wrongful discussions of the company from the candidates. Not many people are aware of the damage that some of these social media sites can cause because they believe that once there data is private and there settings are setup that only there friends and family have access to it, they are safe. I believe that if the government can see everything that is being posted on them, there has to be a way for some of these enterprises and corporate companies to be granted access to these sites.

There were some good things I also recognized in some of the articles example, “Colleges Pay to Protect Students from Toxic Google Results,” which talks about how some of the schools are trying to find ways for students to bring a positive outlook on the media sites. Added to that, two schools which were Syracuse University and Johns Hopkins University as well as others were participating in a service called BrandYourself.com, an online-reputation tool that focused on helping students scrub and shine their Google results, which to me would be a good assisting tool. I believe that once someone has the qualities of being professional, that individual is going to succeed and with that being said, what this university did for its students in the article on “College Advises Students: Ditch the Selfies.” they demonstrated the purpose of making there profiles look professional and even offering professional pictures in the event a company was to view it whether it be on facebook, twitter or Linkedin, which could help them land a great job in the future.

When I looked up my name in google, the only place that showed it was on Linkedin. I am shocked to know that when it came to my name, they showed a lot of females and a few males from different states that appeared on facebook and twitter which meant to me that I haven’t broadcast myself. I do believe if that if a company was interested in your skills, they are going to do all the background research they can do on you and in some way but not all, it can affect the decision on if you will be given an opportunity or not for a job but as long as we pay attention to the things we post on these sites and adjust it to be a bit more professional, we stand a chance of having jobs. Technology is changing and is making it better for companies to have a little insight on there candidates because things like blogs and forums are assisting to help demonstrate what we as individuals can bring to the table for that special job, whether it be powerpoints or web designs, it all helps overall, as stated in the article “Online Identity & Networking for Academics.” Overall, it may seem that companies are trying to look into our private lives to find ways of not giving us the opportunities based on profiles and connections but I think if the companies met face to face and have conversations, they can tell the difference about that person.

References:

http://blogs.wsj.com/atwork/2014/03/27/college-advises-students-ditch-the-selfies/

http://blogs.wsj.com/atwork/2012/12/17/colleges-pay-to-protect-students-from-toxic-google-results/

http://www.newsday.com/classifieds/jobs/employers-scour-web-for-details-on-applicants-1.2133284

http://www.job-hunt.org/job-search-for-academics/online-identity-networking-academics.shtml

 

 

 

 

Online Identity

City is a great school and the curriculum is awesome.  I feel that the curriculum prepares me in the types of jobs that I am looking for.  The information in the class is very helpful and will be very useful in my job field that I will be joining when I graduate.  Most of my classes are historical because they show us a lot of information and old ways to do things like using Java script.  The classes that need to be added is C++ and other operation languages, also we need more workshops for more hands on material because most of the jobs in the CST major ask for other hypertext languages and City Tech should be able to let us take these classes. The communication that is needed is verbal and written all because we might have to speak I front of a big group and attend conferences, also we will have to write letters and memos in the work place.

I do feel that college should prepare us for jobs only because if they want us to be successful in he real world they will need to supply us with real life information instead of giving us classes like biology and calc 2.  My skills are setting up and fixing all Apple products and also setting up laptops and desktops.  My education in these skills came from finding out through YouTube videos and also having to be put in the situation to have to fix a product.  I also am able to set up routers, modems and wifi.

i feel that the department should do a lot more hands on work with the students because the things that are needed in this field is a lot of experience over book smarts.  Also we need bigger computer labs only because the lab now is always packed and the computers are always taken and you have to either go to the library or go to the 6th floor to get to a computer lab to just print out homework or even complete and assignment.  The reason why I feel like this is because not everyone is fortunate to have a computer or printer in their homes so the college should be able to accommodate those students with a better facility.

I do have a Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and a open lab and when I google my name nothing pops up for me because I do know that jobs do look at all these things so I never sign up with my real name because I cannot be held responsible for what my friends post and that can affect if I can get the job that I am looking to obtain.  I do think it is not ethical to google candidates but I do understand why they do so and that simple off the fact that the employers want to know if the candidate is worth working in their environment and on the other hand they cannot judge somebody off of their Facebook friends.  Like i read in an article that your Facebook friends can effect your credit score and I find that to be completely unbelievable because you have no control over other people and they can’t negatively or positively condemn you based off of who your friends with on a social network.

Online Identity on Networked World–Tony Chi

 With the growth of social media, more and  more people are relying on this online application as their daily communication tool than ever before. I used to be one of those people who post, share, and comment on online social world. yet, ever since i step into City Tech, I tended to stop using social media not only because I lose the interest of posting selfies and update daily statue, but because I though it would be waste of time commenting, posting, and reading other posts. As I read through the article Colleges Pay to Protect Students from Toxic Google Results, I noticed that social media such as Facebook and Twitter are not only affecting one’s online identity in a negative way, it could boost up one’s reputation in a positive way when the future employer is looking for candidates.

In the article Colleges Pay to Protect Students from Toxic Google Results, the author stated that “few realize they should spend just as much time highlighting the good news about themselves on the web.” I agree to what she says because I have a Facebook account, when I just start using it, I would spent hours  just to scroll up and down to check others news feed. Thinking backward, I realized that people doesn’t really cares about the contents of the post. some posted negative attitudes toward their life, some upload pictures of him/her getting hyper and drunk, and some also upload violence contents. these are all factors that could negatively impact our future career, so instead of posting unhealthy contents, we should spent some time branding our self into a good shape.

I also came across another article that I found it interesting is Employers scour Web for details on applicants.  I found it interesting because before I read these article, I was never inform that employer do actually google their potential candidates before they make decision. I assume the reason why they do so is because it is some sore of background checking before they hire anybody. As I went through the article, it make sense to me that if I am the one who’s posting  a picture of mine getting drunk or smoking hookah, and one day my employer sees it, I’m pretty sure he would  dump my  resume to the trash the moment he sees my innocent pictures.

Another article that I though it would be helpful for undergraduate is Recruiting, Reinvented: How Companies Are Using Social Media In The Hiring Process. In the article, the interviewee answers some questions about the process of how employer search for candidates and what most employers are looking forward to when it comes to recruiting. In addition, the article mentioned about “privacy rights and employers crossing ethical and legal boundaries”, as well as suggestions to job seekers. the interview reveals that there are some employer request password of candidates social media account.  In my point of view, I think it is ethical for the employer to do a background inspection, but I don’t think it is ethic for them to ask the password of either Facebook or Twitter account because it’s part of our privacy and our privacy are protected according to constitution. So I think this shouldn’t be happen unless it’s just a general information gathering of a candidate.

when I google myself online, the only thing that’s related to me is  Google+ account. As I mentioned before, I used to have Facebook and Myspace, but I deactivate all of them couple years ago. therefore, I’m sure that those employers can barely find anything about me other than Google+.

In conclusion, I think it is very important for all undergraduates to spend more time on branding themself and keep their profile in a decent shape when it comes to finding a job. and also to very careful of what contents is appropriate  to be shown to public.

Colleges Pay to Protect Students from Toxic Google Results

Employers scour Web for details on applicants

Recruiting, Reinvented: How Companies Are Using Social Media In The Hiring Process

 

Online Identity in a Networked World

It seems that social media is everywhere today and it can make a difference whether you get a job or not. On one hand social media can help you network with other people in your field of working. On the other hand social media can be bad for you, if you post something about the company that you are applying to and the employer read it. It will affect your the chance you getting a job.

Social media can have a negative affect you job search. A employer are looking for someone who act in professional manner and not someone post inappropriate picture of themselves or post online. Cisco use social media by going on gaming chat room and blogging site to recruit people to work for them. Facebook is use for personal but most employer can use it against you. Fundamentally individual and utilized for correspondence in the middle of loved ones, Facebook is not regularly considered an instrument for occupation looking for. That does not imply that businesses aren’t taking a gander at your Facebook profile, however. Only on the grounds that Facebook is utilized basically for standardizing doesn’t imply that it has no spot in the quest for your next employment. Don’t be reluctant to put the saying out to your Facebook contacts that you’re on the chase for another position. Any systems administration is great systems administration, and you never know who among your Facebook companions may have an extraordinary lead for you.

Some employer to take social media into consideration, if you apply for a job in the media in the music field, new reporter, or having your company entirely online. Social media can help your company grow. In the article “Guide to social media and job search”, As the years go by more and more employer look at social media before hiring someone. Online networking is utilized within various ways. It helps enrollment specialists have an all the more clear thought of who you are and what you have done before they even chat with you. They likewise get intimations about your identity and how you may fit into their corporate society. In another “How Social Media Can help or Hurt you in your job search”, First and foremost they found that 37% of superintendents use interpersonal organizations to screen potential occupation hopefuls. That implies around two in five organizations peruse your social networking profiles to assess your character and personality–and some even build their procuring choice with respect to what they discover.

I did use google to find myself, my Facebook, open lab, and myspace came up. When i click on my name, i can view my profile, but since my open lab profile is public i can view my information. My myspace and Facebook profile is private not one can view my information. Social media can play important part in getting a job but from a professional point of view it can be dangerous. We aren’t all specialists in exploring this new and developing universe of digital data, particularly with regards to how it may affect a pursuit of employment.

 
Work Cited

Smith, Jacquelyn, “How Social Media Can Help (Or Hurt) You In Your Job Search.” Forbes. Forbes Magazine, n.d. 16 April. 2013
http://www.forbes.com/sites/jacquelynsmith/2013/04/16/how-social-media-can-help-or-hurt-your-job-search/
“Guide to Social Media & Job Search.” Job-Hunt.org. N.p., n.d.
http://www.job-hunt.org/social-networking/social-media.shtml
Lobosco katie, “Facebook Friends Could Change Your Credit Score.” CNNMoney. Cable News Network, 26 Aug. 2013.
http://money.cnn.com/2013/08/26/technology/social/facebook-credit-score/
Quirici Lauren, “Social Media Changes Landscape for Job Seekers in Good Ways and Bad.” GazetteNet.com. N.p., n.d. February 2, 2014.
http://www.gazettenet.com/businessmoney/10348551-95/social-media-changes-landscape-for-job-seekers-in-good-ways-and-bad

 

Jason’s Post on Online Identity in a Networked World

The job market has changed drastically over the years, and these articles serve as good examples to show us how.  Applying for jobs is not as easy as it once was.  Today is all about social media; being interconnected to your family, friends, your friends’ friends, and so on, through the internet.  This is now something we have to take into account when searching for jobs, and it can work against us.

No longer do you just need an appealing, professional resume and cover letter.  It can be extremely beneficial to represent or “brand” yourself online in a professional manner (Korn, Melissa. “College Advises Students: Ditch the Selfies.” At Work RSS. N.p., 27 Mar. 2014. Web. 23 Sept. 2014.). There are even websites and services to help one achieve this, though they haven’t had overwhelming success yet. (Weber, Lauren. “Colleges Pay to Protect Students from Toxic Google Results.” At Work RSS. N.p., 17 Dec. 2012. Web. 23 Sept. 2014.).

The big problem for most people will be employers discovering embarassing photos or information online.  People like to use social media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram) to humiliate themselves in front of the world, by posting photos and/or videos of themselves partying drunk, passed out, etc.  If an employer discovers this, there’s a good chance you won’t even be a candidate for that job anymore.  One article I read talks about ways to hide yourself online, such as using a common Facebook name (Ryan, Rachel. “Yes, Employers Will Check Your Facebook Before Offering You a Job.” The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 04 Mar. 2013. Web. 23 Sept. 2014.).  That article also suggests that you just use common sense when posting on social media websites, and then it shouldn’t interfere with your job application.

I’m not really represented online at all.  I don’t have a Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, or anything like that. Sure I’m on OpenLab, but there’s nothing to see… just my classwork.  Plus, chances are employers won’t even find it (no offense).  When googling my name, I don’t find anything related to me.  I only find other people named Jason Choy.  This is what I expected since I choose to not participate in social media.  Still, this isn’t exactly a good thing.  A professional LinkedIn profile would actually give me an online identity, which may be beneficial as some of those articles discuss.  Perhaps one of these days I’ll consider making one.

I don’t think it’s unethical for job employers to do background checks on candidates using the internet and social media.  It’s good that they do this, because it can reveal important information.  If someone has a habit of partying and being wasted on Monday mornings, and this is evidenced on their Facebook page, an employer should bring this up in the job interview.  However, it would be wrong if they based their decision almost entirely on what they find or don’t find, but as long as it’s not the most outstanding decision in their job hiring or promoting process, I don’t have a problem with it.  I don’t know if I agree with Facebook friends affecting one’s chances to get a credit card though… just because you might be friends with someone irresponsible, that doesn’t make you irresponsible as well.

Ryan, Rachel. “Yes, Employers Will Check Your Facebook Before Offering You a Job.” The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 04 Mar. 2013. Web. 23 Sept. 2014. <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rachel-ryan/hiring-facebook_b_2795047.html>.

Online Identity in a Networked World

We are living in the time where with a couple for click we can find a lot information about anything we want to know, it doesn’t mean that is truth. As technology advances and we became more independent of it. We do not realize it’s a double-edged tool that can give us a hand or get into very big problems in other cases. Social media is one of the most effective’s way that we use now in day to find more that the basic information. The use of internet is very scary in relation of identity theft, this is not a recently is something that is heard for many years but now we the technology at the fingertips of all is more easy to find it.

The first time I Google myself it was couple of years ago with the idea to find some information about my family tree but I didn’t find anything, but the last time that I google myself I found more information about me and close friends  or members of my family. At first I was happy because I didn’t realize the danger that could be. For this assignment I Google myself one more time and the information that I found it was kind of surprise, nothing wrong about it but with the use of the Open Lab and other services I could find more information that I never thought could be find it.

I really like the articles I don’t agree with all the point that they made but in general help me to realize that everything that I do in my personal life and it is post it in different Social Medias could affect the decision of my future employers. I think the use of Facebook is one of the most common problems that most of the people had because they didn’t realize that every single post that they made could be find. In my personal life I use many different social medias as a platform for make connections, but also help me to think before I post something in the internet or even to leave a comments could affect many future opportunities. Private social medias are the new thing in this day but if you think about it you can realize that is more safe but doesn’t mean that you could post whatever came to your mind. In my experience I try to use for show some work that I did in the past and I think that show the progress that I have achieve in the process in school. I don’t feel proud of all of them but also give me the inspiration to do better the next time.

In the other hand I don’t really agree with the use of this medias in order to get information from the candidates for a job, I don’t think is the best way to find if the candidate have the capacities that the company is looking. What they are doing is “judging a book for the cover” the inside or the qualification that the employee is what is matter. One funny picture of something that you wrote I don’t believe enough information to make a decision, but at the same time I don’t think is really wrong to do it because if you put yourself as an employer and you have the responsibility to find the wring person to work site to site with you and bring your company to the top, you really want to know and find out about his or her background information. As employer I don’t going to judge you for one of many pictures that I could found about you and your friends or the comments that you wrote in your personal page, but I could have a better idea about who is the person, what are the expectation of this person, maybe I could found why he or she was fired from previous jobs and have a better picture of who is the person that is going to work with me.

In general the social medias as I mentioned before is a platform with unlimited power, that could be used in favor or against you, be careful with what you write,  public or even the comments that you leave in some blogs, that could do the difference in the future to achieve the perfect job

References

Online Identity

I’ve read an article in regard to the topic “Online Identity” on huffingtonpost.com 37 Percent of Employers use Facebook to Pre-Screen Applicants (Article). A survey was conducted by a job listing website CareerBuilder. Research data was gathered by Harris Interactive in February and March of 2012. They asked more than 2,000 hiring managers if they use social media to prescreen their applicants, and, if their findings affect the candidates. It shows 37% of the hiring manager use social networking sites to predetermine their candidates. The managers state they check the applicants to see if they present themselves professionally. While some wanted to learn if the applicant qualifies for the job. However, some companies have a practice of asking applicants for their user and password to log into their accounts, which does not limit only to social networking website. That started a debate of privacy invasion. A reason provided for their action is, they want to conduct a background check before offering employment in a public trust position.

I have a Facebook account that does not allow anyone besides my friends to read my information. I don’t accept friends whom I do not know. I don’t want anyone I don’t know looking through my information because I am afraid of identity theft. Especially when logging onto bank accounts. Most of the login security questions require answers to “what city was your elementary school”. That kind of information can be found on social network.  Online identity does reflect upon your true self, because most people feel comfortable hidden behind their computer, and they express themselves thoughtlessly. So when applying for a job, potential employers may find something they dislike on your social network, and it’ll affect your employment success rate.

I keep my online presence low because I don’t like telling people my life activity. So when I googled myself I only found my facebook account, which is set to private. I don’t think its ethical to base people’s promotion or employment on their online social life. But, I do understand, so I am not against it, because employers should know the type of person they are hiring, or promoting. Anything online is considered as open information, which can be obtained by anyone. However, no one should be allowed to ask for login information.  If employers or hiring managers can’t find anything on that candidate, their employment should not be affected.

 

Article in HuffingtonPost.com

Your online identity and you

Nearly everyone has an online identity nowadays. Most people don’t even realize that they have one. Many people have public facebook accounts, twitter accounts, tumblrs, blogs, and the list goes on. Without realizing they post things there that they might not otherwise say in their offline day-to-day lives.

Most of the people who have accounts don’t actively “brand” themselves or at least not intentionally. Why should they? I know I don’t. I am who i am online and offline. Just like Amber from the article, I post things online that I do not mind other people seeing. If i do not want someone to see it or comment on it, i simply won’t post it. This is not the case for a lot of people because they don’t realize this. What’s worse is that employers will look into these things. They will google you or search for you on facebook to see what kind of person you are.

There tend to be 5 Things Employers Look for When They Google You. They first look for “Character Cues.” They will look at a profile picture and see if it’s classy or obnoxious and get a little insight as to how you present yourself.  Next they may look at the “Size of Your Digital Persona.” If they google you and find nothing, they may take it negatively. It may not count against you, but they may think you’re trying to hide something or just don’t socialize. Afterwards they may look for your “Online Portfolio.” If they google you and see yourname.com that will make you look a lot better. It shows how relevant you are and that people are looking for you, you’re in demand. Another thing they can do is look for “Supporting Documentation” by googling you. This can help them determine how accurate or embellished your resume is. Last and probably least they can google your name to look for References. This is very unlikely as most people would not put up public references unless they are running some kind of business.

All of these things are true and happen. However, I do not like it and completely disagree with it. Employers have been know to ask for people’s facebook account passwords so they can see their activity and what kind of person they are. I have been asked this at an interview once and walked out. I refuse to work at a place where they want such control over you and show so little trust. I do not think it’s ethical to pry into the lives of other people so much. I feel as though it’s okay to google a name of a person and if they have publicly available information (usually a twitter) then sure, look at it. If you see the person is hugely obnoxious and acts like a moron don’t hire them. However, it’s wrong to go beyond that. Private lives are private and personal matters should not spill over into your work life. Everyone, including employers, always says not to mix work and play and this would be just that.
5 Things Employers Look for When They Google You
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michaelprice/5-things-employers-look-google-job-search_b_5486074.html