Don't hide your online self when applying for college or career

According to a study by Internet security company AVG, two thirds of HR managers will browse social media profiles of candidates. When it comes to college about 24% of admission officers admit to tracking applicants on various social media sites to check an applicant’s digital footprint, according to a 2011 Kaplan Test Prep survey. Those that snooped typically found something that hindered the applicant’s chances of acceptance, including photos of alcohol and drug abuse, vulgarity, and evidence of a plagiarized admission’s essay.

In response to this, it is common to hear students applying for college or a job say before doing so, they plan to take down their online profiles or change their name to something unidentifiable. Innovative educators know this is not the best strategy. Instead our job is to support young people in creating a responsible digital footprint that, rather than hinder, would attract colleges and employers. Knowing how to do that is the job of educator’s today.

Here are some do’s and don’ts that will help students not only clean up their online presence, but actually update it to represent the “me” they want the world to see.  
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