Section Four: Professional Online Presence
Pritchard (2013) stated at the 18th world conference on cooperative and work-integrated education that students do not understand the risks involved in posting inappropriate content online. With social recruitment (Pritchard, 2013) being used at an increasing rate in the hiring process it is something students should be thinking about even before they start exploring the professional job market.
This is something that I have been aware of for quite some time and it has influenced the way that I post and interact online. As I move towards a profession in teaching I will continue to only post content I am proud of, and restrict my posts to minimally exposing content. I will also make an effort to go though my profiles such as Facebook and Instagram to remove any photos of my younger self I believe are no longer relevant to who I am as a person, and may be demonstrative of someone who an employer would not be looking for. Not only do I believe that I need to be careful of what I post on social media, I believe it is important to post content online that portrays me as a professional and involved member of the teaching community.
I will do this by creating a LinkedIn profile that displays my prior work, interests, skills, volunteer work and future degrees. As 39% of employers use social media to find future employees (Pritchard, 2013) it is important to have a positive portrayal of myself on sites such as LinkedIn. Following people on Twitter, Pinterest and Facebook who are influential in the teaching profession is another way that I will portray myself as involved in the teaching community.
In conclusion this project has identified the similarities and differences between myself and my fellow students digital personas following an online survey, I have examined the extent of my digital footprint and the practical implications of it in my future employment, and finally the use of social recruitment by potential employers and how much of an impact my social profile could have on my future prospects.
