91吃瓜网

by Jordan Chapman

According to a recent study conducted by the , about 95 percent of students graduating in 2012 have a profile on social networks. That’s a lot of insecure information.

When it comes to the job search after college, Mark Fogel, part-time faculty member at Adelphi and chief human resources officer at the , said students should be more wary of the kind of content they upload to social networking sites.

鈥淭here is such a thing as an online reputation, and it鈥檚 either good or bad,鈥� Mr. Fogel said. 鈥淭he biggest thing students need to know: Anything you do that goes on the Internet, it鈥檚 there forever.鈥澨�

In other words, when recent graduates who had a couple of wild nights during their student years begin to delete posts and pictures from social networking sites, the information isn’t gone. Secondary and third party websites can access and store information and pictures for their own uses.

In case it still isn鈥檛 clear, 鈥淚f you post pictures of yourself or something inappropriate, people can find it,鈥� Mr. Fogel said, waving off the legalities and rules recruiters and employers must abide by when it comes to searching out candidates on or .

Bottom line鈥攖here are ways around the red tape.

鈥淩ecruiters are on the Internet all day long,鈥� Mr. Fogel said, citing it as reason enough for how they find a candidate鈥檚 pictures and perhaps discover the interesting antics those candidates chose to display.

The two most common mistakes in privacy protection are the most obvious. 鈥淵ou go in your interview and you have your profile blocked, but what if the recruiter knows someone who you鈥檙e friends with,鈥� Mr. Fogel asked. 鈥淭hese websites are tools for instant feedback. After an interview, if you post on Twitter how much you hated the interview, they can see that,鈥� he continued, explaining that, unlike Facebook, employers don鈥檛 need permission to follow you on Twitter.

NACE reports that about 71 percent of graduates today expect employers to look at their profiles, while only 39 percent think that鈥檚 okay.

Okay or not, if future employers are looking at the digital you, it鈥檚 time to look professional. According to Mr. Fogel, the best way to look good online is to create a account.

鈥淟inkedIn is basically a short r茅sum茅. Join groups, put down what clubs you belong to, the community service you鈥檝e completed and hyperlink to as many positive things as you can,鈥� he said, suggesting students Google Image themselves to ensure they don鈥檛 produce results and, if they do, that it’s only in a positive way.

鈥淲hen it comes to the Internet, if you don鈥檛 have anything positive to say, don鈥檛 say anything at all,鈥� Mr. Fogel said.