Be Careful What You

Post

by Charlotte Sanders

Image: Pixabay, Kaboompics

88% of millennials maintain social media profiles...1

friends,

family,

and more...

Image: Pixabay, wilkernet

...where they share snapshots of their lives with

But in this increasingly digital age, who else might be tracing our digital footprint?

Image: Pixabay, UnSplash

1. UNIVERSITIES

Image: Pixabay, Mariamichelle

31% of admissions officers have visited an applicant’s online profiles...2

Image: Pixabay, Mariamichelle

...and 30% have rejected applicants based on what they have found.2

Image: Pixabay, Jedidja

2. EMPLOYERS

Image: Pixabay, tpsdave

80% of HR Professionals have searched for a prospective employee online...3

Image: Flickr, Gary Knight

...and 70% of recruiters have rejected an applicant based on their findings.3

Image: Flickr, CollegeDegrees360

Successful employees can even be

FIRED!for offensive tweets or posts made outside of

work hours.4

These employees are sometimes publicly shamed online...5

Image: Pixabay, SevenHeads

...making it difficult for them to find another job.6

Image: Pixabay, niekvarlaan

This is because the internet has a long memory...7

...With no

DELETE

button.8

Image: Pixabay, ClckerFreeImages

Q: What does this mean about the power of social media for prospective students and employees?

Image: Pixabay, geralt

vWe are now living in a...

REPUTATION ECONOMY3

Image: Pixabay, AngryTeddy

In this economy, your online presence will determine your success or your failure.3

Image: Pixabay, geralt

Q: How can millennials create a successful online presence?

Image: Pixabay, FirmBee

1. Use an app like Linkedin to build a network of professionals.

“93% of recruiters are tapping into Linkedin”9 - Jobvite Survey

Image: Wikipedia Commons, Linkedin Chocloates

2. Show off your personality...

“...a profile with no character has probably been scraped of some racy stuff or else the person has no social skills and won’t fit in.”10 - Forbes Image: Pixabay, UnSplash

3. ...But put your best self forward.

“Take down or secure anything that could potentially be viewed… as unprofessional, and share content that highlights your accomplishments and qualifications in a positive way.”11

Image: Pixabay, UnSplash

When faced with

? questions ?

on how to confront the

REPUTATION ECONOMY...

Image: Pixabay, Geralt

SOCIALMEDIA

...can be a double edged sword.12

...It is best to remember thatImage: Pixabay, schissbuche

Works Cited1. "How Millennials Use and Control Social Media." American Press Institute. N.p., 15 Mar. 2015. Web. <http://www.americanpressinstitute.

org/publications/reports/survey-research/millennials-social-media/>.2. Singer, Natasha. "They Loved Your G.P.A. Then They Saw Your Tweets." The New York Times. The New York Times, 09 Nov. 2013.

Web. <http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/10/business/they-loved-your-gpa-then-they-saw-your-tweets.html>.3. Schwabel, Dan. "The Reputation Economy Is Coming - Are You Prepared?" Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 28 Feb. 2011. Web. <http://www.

forbes.com/sites/danschawbel/2011/02/28/the-reputation-economy/>. 4. Love, Dylan. "13 People Who Got Fired For Tweeting." Business Insider. Business Insider, Inc, 16 May 2011. Web. <http://www.

businessinsider.com/twitter-fired-2011-5?op=1>.5. Ronson, Jon. "How One Stupid Tweet Blew Up Justine Sacco’s Life." The New York Times. The New York Times, 14 Feb. 2015. Web.

<http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/15/magazine/how-one-stupid-tweet-ruined-justine-saccos-life.html>.6. Gavett, Gretchen. "Why Do We Publicly Shame People Out of Their Jobs?" Harvard Business Review. N.p., 06 Apr. 2015. Web. 2015.

<https://hbr.org/2015/04/why-do-we-publicly-shame-people-out-of-their-jobs>.7. Rosen, Jeffrey. "The Web Means the End of Forgetting." The New York Times. The New York Times, 24 July 2010. Web. <http://www.

nytimes.com/2010/07/25/magazine/25privacy-t2.html?pagewanted=all>.8. Tibken, Shara. "Google's Schmidt: The Internet Needs a Delete Button." CNET. CBS Interactive, 6 May 2013. Web. <http://www.cnet.

com/news/googles-schmidt-the-internet-needs-a-delete-button/>.9. Bowness, Suzanne. "Five Ways to Be a Smart Social Media User in Your Job Hunt." The Globe and Mail. N.p., 10 Jan. 2013. Web. <http:

//www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/careers/career-advice/five-ways-to-be-a-smart-social-media-user-in-your-job-hunt/article7195188/>.

10. Casserly, Meghan. "Social Media And The Job Hunt: Squeaky-Clean Profiles Need Not Apply." Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 14 June 2012. Web. <http://www.forbes.com/sites/meghancasserly/2012/06/14/social-media-and-the-job-hunt-sqeaky-clean-facebook-profiles/>.

11. Smith, Jacquelyn. "How Social Media Can Help (Or Hurt) You In Your Job Search." Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 16 Apr. 2013. Web. <http://www.forbes.com/sites/jacquelynsmith/2013/04/16/how-social-media-can-help-or-hurt-your-job-search/>.

12. Singer, Natasha. "In College Admissions, Social Media Can Be a Double-Edged Sword." New York Times - Blogs. New York Times, 11 Nov. 2013. Web. <http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/11/11/in-college-admissions-social-media-can-be-a-double-edged-sword/>.