7 Things College Grads MUST Do Online to Be Employable

4. Cancel Community Memberships



Speaking of social media sites, just how many do you belong to? Probably a lot more than you realize. Cancel all inactive accounts and consider distancing yourself from communities that incite its members or are otherwise unproductive.



5. Reread What You Wrote



The best censor online is you. Remember, anything you publish may never disappear even if you delete the files. Internet archiving ensures that what you wrote in 1996 and 2001 will be readable in 2010 and beyond. You may not need to delete what your wrote, but modifying an article could help. Oh, by the way, get rid of any YouTube or other video file sharing work that reflects poorly on you.



6. Check Your Blog Comments



Your comments on someone else’s blog or forum could come back to bite you. Even words said in jest can be misinterpreted. Chances are you can recall one of your more colorful exchanges — even though you may not be able to modify what your wrote, be prepared to explain it to the interviewer if that conversation is brought up. Otherwise, forget about it and move on.



7. Remove Negative Search Results



Everyone should Google their name and variations of the same to read what was written about them. The Search Engine Results Pages or SERPs can reveal much about you, some of that information could be misleading or false, while other material could be true, but regretful. You may need to hire a professional to help remove negative search results, especially if particularly damaging information appears.



Free speech defenders may howl over some of the points made, but in reality employers don’t have to hire you if they uncover unfavorable information about you. Worse, you’ll likely never learn the reason why, but if you suspect that your online presence is the culprit then you must clean up what you can.



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Career Center - by Matthew Keegan Monday, June 29, 2009http://www.getdegrees.com/articles/career-resources/7-social-media-warning-flags-for-job-seeking-grads/

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