How to Stay Safe

Evaluate your social networking account and postings—how do you feel about your employers seeing what you have posted? How about your parents or grandparents?

Do not post private information, including your cell phone number, home address, class schedule, social plans, etc. unless you are prepared for anyone to find you/track you down, any time of the day or night. Do not post anything that might be embarrasing to you in a potential employment situation. People have been denied work because of information found on social networking sites.

Utilize the "Privacy" settings on your control panel—you can adjust your privacy settings so as to control who has access to aspects of your personal information.

Google your name to see how your name or identity is being used. Search for your name on sites like  WhitePages and  SuperPages. If you want to remove your listing, look for relevant links usually towards the bottom of the page.

Be prepared to answer questions about your social networking page or other social account in job interviews. It has become common for interviewers to ask applicants, "Are you on a social networking site?" and "What is on your profile?" Be prepared to either decline the question or answer honestly because employers will most likely look at your social networking account themselves… if they haven't already.

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