Be careful about your personal “Internet footprint”!

Written by Rejean Bourgault on Wednesday, 15 July 2009 15:22

So you are an avid internet user. You are born with the Web. You are already on multiple social networking site; you are for instance on Facebook, MySpace or Netlog. You have already a few of your favourite events, parties or clips demonstrating your personal talents on YouTube. You write on blogs and frequently use Twitter to share your thinking. If you are a bit older, you are probably also on LinkedIn and have your resume on-line for anyone in the world to see. If we do Google Image on you, we find one or even multiple pictures of you on the web. Your name is also pretty unique, so you are happy, because your identity is easy to find online.

Then, you should be careful on your image and your identity presence on the Internet.  In a recent article in PC World magazine, they explain why an employer, who was quite interested in a candidate, simply rejected him after seeing a YouTube of that person being pretty loud in a party.

What about your picture all over the place in your friend’s Facebook? And your opinions about politics widely available on Twitter?

More and more, employers today, before making an offer to a potential candidate, verify his “Internet footprint”. Your colleagues “Google” and “Bing” your name to see what they can find about you and the same goes for your local competitor. Your parents might even “Google” your new boyfriend as well… you are aware of this right?

Today, if you are 15 years old, you might not think that those things matter much, but when you are 23, and about to graduate and enter the professional market for your first job, your “Internet footprint” might haunt you…

The other day, one of my colleague, was sitting alone at dinner time in a restaurant on a travel trip. She called me, and said: “Rejean you would love to hear this”. The table next to me is composed of ten university students about to graduate to become teachers. For about an hour, the key topic at that table, is what they should do with their Facebook profile and if they should simply close their account… before becoming teachers.

So just be careful, starting today, on your personal footprint and be aware of what can be done with the information that there is online about you!

You can download this article to share with your friends and colleagues [here].