How Social Media is an Online Privacy Risk for You [INFOGRAPHIC]

How Social Media is an Online Privacy Risk for You [INFOGRAPHIC] The spread of social media has its risks for all of us. Those same sites that we use to connect to family, friends and our community can also compromise sensitive information. According to Carnegie Mellon researchers, information listed on social media may be enough to guess a social security number, the key to identity theft. And with mobile banking apps, more and more people are logging sensitive information from their smart phones. Add confusing Terms of Service agreements into the mix (they take an average of 10 minutes each to read!), and it’s easy to see why online privacy can feel mystifying. The following infographic (from frugaldad.com) helps explain some of the biggest issues in web safety and gives tips on how to keep yourself protected, from passwords to privacy policies. With a few steps, you can be confident that you control what you share online. RELATED:  How To Protect Your Online Personal Brand and Reputation [INFOGRAPHIC]

College Admissions Officers Use Social Networks to Conduct Background Checks - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

College Admissions Officers Use Social Networks to Conduct Background Checks - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career Yesterday, I blogged about how corporate recruiters are using social networks to conduct background checks. Today, I want to talk about how the same is true for high school students looking to enroll in colleges. When it comes to personal and professional development both of these posts are extremely important and mark periods in your life, when a single decision or opportunity can make you or break you. There is a high-school graduating class nationwide of 3.3 million students. Colleges are expected to be sifting through a record number of applications this year. Personal branding is important for this crowd as well, especially for those wanting to gain acceptance from ivy league schools, such as Harvard University. If you dont stand out or make the grade, you might have to settle and no one wants to do that. This is especially hard with parents that really put the pressure on. Today, Im going to go over some brand new research on how high school students should be mindful of what they put on social networks, then give you a quick analysis and a few tips. The research Kaplan survey (Top 500 colleges) Conclusion: Despite the sheer amount of applications colleges get, social networks are so accessible that they turn to them and uncover positive or negative information about applicants in an instant. 10% of admissions officers acknowledged looking at social-networking sites to evaluate applicants 38% said that what they saw negatively affected their views of the applicant 25% of schools checking social networks said their views were improved 21% of colleges used social-networking sites for recruiting prospects and gathering information about applicants. Monster survey (3,400 college-bound students) Conclusion: High school students are much more disciplined today than they were years ago. They recognize the competition to not only get into college, but what they will face when they graduate, so they are preparing early. The economy isnt helping. ?? 86% plan to work this summer 66% intend to work while in school (86% part-time) 40% will begin their search before arriving on campus! 87% anticipate having at least one internship during their college career The admissions officers speak The school will do an Internet search, including Facebook and other sites, if an application raises red flags, such as a suspension from school. Thomas Griffin, director of undergraduate admissions at North Carolina State University in Raleigh The school hasnt rejected any applicant because of information posted on the Internet. Princeton doesnt have time to look at all applicants online information, but if an offensive Facebook post came to the colleges attention, the school would examine it. Janet Lavin Rapelye, dean of admission at Princeton University My staff is free to check out anonymous tips about social-networking sites or make use of the information if the admissions committee is evaluating a tight decision. Greg Roberts, senior associate dean of admission at the University of Virginia “My feeling is that only in rare exceptions would we go and look at Facebook or MySpace because we have so much information to look at already when reviewing applications.” Jacqueline Murphy, St. Michael’s College Admissions Director The students speak There are some things I might think about getting rid of. Nicholas Santangelo, a senior at Seton Hall Prep “I don’t do anything that bad, and if I did, I wouldn’t put it on the Internet.” Jonathan Kahn, a 17-year-old “I think that it’s definitely something that a lot of kids worry about â€" even for things like summer internships.” Tess Russell, a 21-year-old junior at Middlebury College. My thoughts First off, how hard is it to Google someones name? What about search for their name on a social network? The accessibility and ease of search makes it obvious for admissions officers to use social networks as a background check for applicants. If you read between the lines and really think about this, Id say that they are using it more for applicants that are on the line with being accepted or rejected or ones that are in the good pile. Why might you ask? Well, they dont want to take a chance that some student gets accepted and misrepresents their (corporate) brand. Remember, when a company or school accepts you, they endorse your brand, meaning that you represent their corporate brand as an ambassador. When it comes to students on the line, its obvious that a social network may help some cross the line into the acceptance bin and others getting tossed in the trash. Personal branding tips Take a good look at your online presence and then a great big look at the college you are gunning for. If you find anything inappropriate, I want you to ask yourself do I want to risk acceptance to the school of my dreams? Find a teacher you can trust and show them your Facebook page. Ask them to examine it and give you feedback. Locate your school adviser and get guidance on what to include on your social networking page. Try and take an internship in high school, as it will help differentiate you substantially when applying to schools and its great experience (I did one).

Careers Christmas playlist University of Manchester Careers Blog

Careers Christmas playlist University of Manchester Careers Blog I’ll be driving home for Christmas next week (well my brother in law will be) and as we head back up the A1 we are sure to be blasting out the Christmas tunes!  It’s become a bit of a Christmas tradition as has my annual Christmas   themed blog. This year I thought I would combine the two and create my own Christmas themed careers playlist  Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer  Santa appreciated Rudolf’s red nose, in fact he couldn’t have done his job without it. In the same way employers are looking for people who stand out from the crowd but unlike the song employers aren’t going to approach you (out of the fog) instead the onus   you to demonstrate that you the right candidate for the job.   To do this you’ll need to tailor each CV or application you write, making sure that you highlight all the skills and experiences listed on the job descriptions. It’s unlikely that many employers will want you to have a red nose unless the jobs in the North Pole ….. All I Want For Christmas Is You It’s a little known fact that Mariah uses these lyrics in every job application she makes.   OK so that might not technically be true (How many job applications do you think Ms Carey has had to complete?) but if she did she’s certainly doing the right thing.  Everyone loves a compliment and employers are no different.  Employers want to know why you want to work for them, why they attracted you, what made them stand out and why they are special. Try to avoid using cliches such as ‘I’ve always wanted to work for you’ they will have heard this 100s of times.   Instead do your research, find out about the organisations values do they align with you own and if so how? Does the culture of the company attract you? You can find out more about how to do this by using our Covering Letter Guide. Last Christmas Just like being dumped  not being successful at an interview can be difficult to come to terms with.   However just like after a break up its important to remember that there are plenty more fish (or in this case employers) in the sea. To get over the disappointment start by reminding yourself that even   getting to the interview stage was a success as to be invited the employer must have been impressed by your application . See   the interview   you had as a learning experience- youll now have better idea of what to expect next time. You can also learn from the employer by asking them for feedback on why you were not successful. Although it may be difficult to hear hearing where/what you need to improve on will enable you to rectify it before your next interview. Do They Know Its Christmas? Charles Dickens got it wrong. The real Scrooge isn’t Ebenezer its actually graduate recruiters! There a still a number of graduate schemes yet to close before the end of December. It doesn’t matter if you’ve been naughty or nice this year when it comes to graduate recruitment there is no rest for the wicked (sorry)! To make life a little bit easier my colleague Hannah has compiled a list grad scheme closing dates. It’ll Be Lonely This Christmas Well here at the Careers Service we might be! Christmas vacation is always a quiet time for us here at the Careers Service as many students head home. If you’re a recent graduate why not take advantage and book a careers appointment it could be a great start to the New Year. Don’t worry if you no longer in the Manchester area you can book a telephone Skype appointment. Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas Finally from everyone here at the Careers Service Merry Christmas and a happy new year! All Graduate Graduate-highlighted