Job seekers warned about online activity

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Job seekers warned about online activity --

Fri, 09 May 2014 10:54

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Your digital footprint tells a lot more than you might think. A few clicks of the mouse and your prospective employers could find out a lot more information about you than you may be comfortable with, warns Simon Campbell-Young, CEO of Phoenix Distribution. As the head of the software publishing, localisation and distribution company, Campbell-Young believes it is important for internet users to safeguard their identity and therefore, their online reputation.

The trails which people unknowingly leave behind in their daily online activity are difficult to delete and Campbell-Young remarks, The growth in identity theft, as well as the rise in corporate tracking, has madke it more crucial than ever before for us to delete and control our digital footprint.

Google is one of the offenders, and has been appropriately accused of collecting user s data. This is done in order for the search engine to execute targeted advertising in the form of pop-up adverts, based on a particular user s previous searches on Google.

Luckily, Campbell-Young says there are a number of ways to ensure a person s digital footprint doesn t ruin potential employment opportunities.

Start by Googling yourself to do a comprehensive self-search. Before you can manage your digital footprint, you need to be aware of what is out there, and what other people who search for you might find. Should you find anything that you feel could be harmful to your reputation, have it removed. This would include removing tags from pictures, as well as flagging information for removal, he explains.

Increasing awareness on what privacy settings are available on various social media sites will aid in avoiding making certain content public, and Campbell- Young adds, You will have to accept at the start that you won t be able to get rid of everything. Should there be any potentially damaging information that you cannot erase from the nNet, then at least be prepared to answer any questions that might arise from it. In a job interview, it helps to be able to address how a particular action could impact on your ability to do the job well. Although the chances are any potential transgressions may not come up at all, it never hurts to be prepared.

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