what’s your digital footprint?

What's your Digital Footprint?

Jessica GrampDigital Education

digi-ed@ucl.ac.uk

What’s we’ll cover?

• How can social media help you find a job?• Why is your online presence important?• What’s your digital footprint?• Tips for improving your online presence.– Keeping your private life private.– Promoting your digital skills and experience.

What’s a digital footprint?

• When you go online you leave a ‘footprint’ of personal information behind you.

• Some of this can be seen by others and is often referred to as your ‘online presence’.

• This workshop will help you identify your own digital footprint and suggest ways to improve it.

How can social media help you find a job?

• Create your “online brand”.• Network.• Show off your skills.• Backup your qualifications and experience.

How can social media help you find a job?

Employers are increasingly realising the benefits of utilising social media in the workplace*.

BUT

“Many job seekers are device savvy - but not in a business context!”

– IT employer, 2014

* Jue, A.L. (2010) Social media at work: how networking tools propel organizational performance. 1st ed. San Francisco, CA, Jossey-Bass.

Tales from the real world

Youth Police Commissioner resigns…

People who’ve lost jobs through social media blunders!

http://mashable.com/2011/06/16/weinergate-social-media-job-loss/

What’s ok to tweet?

A. Keep it purely professional.

B. Mix in uncontroversial personal topics and opinions.

C. Controversial opinions using a pseudo name.

D. Controversial opinions using your real name.

Keep it purely professi

onal.

Mix in unco

ntrove

rsial p

e...

Controve

rsial o

pinions usi..

Controve

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pinions us...

25% 25%25%25%

Why is your online presence important?

• 93% of hiring managers (surveyed by Jobvite) review a candidate’s social profile before hiring.

• Contentious topics to avoid include:– illegal drugs (83%)– sexual posts (70%)– profanity (67%)– alcohol (44%)

http://time.com/money/3510967/jobvite-social-media-profiles-job-applicants

Why is your online presence important?

• A 2014 study found 51% of employers rejected candidates after checking their online profiles:– Provocative images / text (46%)– Drinking & using drugs (41%)– Lying (38%)– Badmouthing their company/colleagues (36%)– Poor communication skills (32%)– Discrimination (28%)

http://www.careerbuilder.co.uk/share/aboutus/pressreleasesdetail.aspx?sd=6%2F26%2F2014&id=pr829&ed=12%2F31%2F2014

Why is your online presence important?

• The same study found 23% of employers hired candidates based on their online profiles, which conveyed:– personality (46%)– confirmed professional qualifications (45%) – professionalism (43%)– wide range of interests (40%)– strong communication skills (40%)– creativity (36%)– good references from others (20%)– interaction with company social media (24%)

http://www.careerbuilder.co.uk/share/aboutus/pressreleasesdetail.aspx?sd=6%2F26%2F2014&id=pr829&ed=12%2F31%2F2014

What social media tools do you use?

A. Facebook.B. Google+C. LinkedIn.D. Twitter.E. WordPressF. Blogger.G. YouTube. H. Instagram.I. Pinterest.J. Others…

A. B. C. D. E. F. G. H. I. J.

10% 10% 10% 10% 10%10%10%10%10%10%

What’s your digital footprint?Now it’s time to find out

Have you googled yourself?

A. TrueB. False

A. B.

0%

100%

What did I find when I did this?

• *My address!• *My age :o• *Who I’ve lived with in the UK But also:• Blog posts• My public LinkedIn, Google+ & Facebook profiles• Academia.edu papers• Conference presentations• My websites

*On www.192.com – you can request this information is removed

What do you think you’ll find?

http://www.barbarapachtersblog.com/2013/11/on-job-search-avoid-these-6-social_20.html

Try googling yourself (also check images and videos)

Keep your personal profiles private#1

A. Yes.B. No.

Yes. No.

50%50%

Have you locked down your Facebook account?

Keeping Facebook private

Do you manually approve your name being “tagged” and posts to your wall on Facebook?

A. Yes.B. No.

Yes. No.

50%50%

Keeping Facebook private

Tales from the real world

A friend asked to remove (innocent) content that she was not comfortable being public…

Check your Facebook profile!

Of 220 surveyed doctors who had Facebook accounts*:– 63% had activated their privacy options.– 37% had publicly available accounts. Of these:• 46% showed photos of the users drinking alcohol.• 43% indicated their relationship status.• 37% revealed users’ sexual orientation.• 16% revealed their religious views.• 10% showed photos of the users intoxicated.

*MacDonald, Joanna, Sangsu Sohn and Pete Ellis. 2010. "Privacy, professionalism and Facebook: a dilemma for young doctors." Medical Education 44(8):805-813.

http://equilibriumnetwork.co.uk/facebook-should-you-lead-a-double-life/facebook-logo/

Use LinkedIn to market yourself and network

Improve your online profile.

#2

LinkedIn

• Used by 95% of employers to search and contact candidates*.

• Over 433 million members in over 200 countries and territories#.

• Students and recent graduates are LinkedIn's fastest-growing demographic with over 40 million currently#.

*https://timedotcom.files.wordpress.com/2014/09/jobvite_socialrecruiting_survey2014.pdf#https://press.linkedin.com/about-linkedin

LinkedIn

Advice from LinkedIn

Use keywords to be found!

Look at job descriptions for your dream job. • What skills are listed as requirements? • What job titles are they using? • What specific terms are listed in these descriptions? • Is the same concept listed three different ways by three

different companies?

Make sure your resume incorporates popular ways way of saying the same thing.

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/20140401012957-460284-5-things-jobseekers-need-to-know-about-linkedin

Lynda.com

• Video tutorials for software, creative & business skills.• Free to UCL staff and students.• Display completed courses on your LinkedIn profile.• Learning paths for particular careers.• www.ucl.ac.uk/Lynda

Learning Paths

LinkedIn is not the full story…But remember that

Create (or curate) online content to showcase your skills

You should also…

#3

Top social networks (UK)

http://wearesocial.com/uk/special-reports/digital-in-2016 - slide 491

What content might you create or curate?

• Tweets• Blog posts• Discussion forum posts• Images• Videos• Portfolios• Websites

Tales from the real world

There was an apprentice who…

UCL Student Blog

*minimum contributions required

Want to get started with developing your digital footprint? We’re looking for students and staff to get involved. Sign up to the UCL Student Blogging project:– Write video reviews for your modules.– Write app reviews to help others at UCL.– Receive writing support and guidance.– Get recognition with HEAR*.

Register interest:https://blogs.ucl.ac.uk/ucl-student-blog

Have you used Creative Commons to license your own work?

A. Yes.B. No.C. I don’t know what it is.

A. B. C.

18%

45%

36%

Creative Commons helps you share your knowledge and creativity with the world.

Visit https://creativecommons.org

Tips for improving your online profile

#1. Keep personal profiles private.

#2. Use LinkedIn to market yourself & network.

#3. Create (or curate) online content to showcase your skills:

E.g. tweets, blogs, discussion forum posts, images, videos, portfolios, websites.

Social Media Examples

• Blog– Anthony Finkelstein - Dean of UCL Engineering until 2015:

http://blog.prof.so

• Twitter– Melissa Terras – Director, UCL Centre for Digital Humanities

https://twitter.com/melissaterras

• Video– Matt Jenner – UCL Distance Learning Facilitator:

http://www.youtube.com/user/shangrulawhatnow/videos

• Portfolio– Domi Sinclair – UCL Learning Technologist:

https://myportfolio.ucl.ac.uk/user/view.php?id=5094

Questions?

Interested in using digital tools ? Contact UCL Digital Education

digi-ed@ucl.ac.uk