Manage your online identity.

In another article sent to us a few times, The New York Times reported Saturday on the increasing student awareness that companies looking to hire are also looking online for additional clues about their applicants. It is a growing reality for these students, and for the rest of us, that what happens online is part of who we are and what we’re projecting to others. And that it matters more than ever.

“I think students have the view that Facebook is their space and that the adult world doesn’t know about it,” said Mark W. Smith, assistant vice chancellor and director of the career center at Washington University in St. Louis. “But the adult world is starting to come in.”

The adult world, as well as the rest of the world, is catching on to what we’ve seen around us on campus. Students are sharing more information and aggregating it in ways that are unprecedented. Job applicants should take control of what they project online, and be aware of how the images and stories they’re posting reflect on them as people, reflect on their character and their decision making capabilities.

“I was just shocked by the amount of stuff that she was willing to publicly display,” Ms. Homayoun said. “When I saw that, I thought, ‘O.K., so much for that.’ “

It will matter to all of us, it’s just that the students of today are the first ones to test the waters of our new everpresent, highly interconnected digital identity. It’s not supposed to be scary, it’s just the way it’s going to be - and you should be prepared by thinking through the possible ramifications ahead of time.

ClaimID can help you take some control.

Manage the discussion of what is already out there - in addition to being smart about what you post and share in the first place.

This entry was posted on Sunday, June 11th, 2006 at 4:15 am and is filed under claimID.