Smile! You’re on the World Wide Web!

I am a Resident Assistant as well as a young business student.  In both situations I am constantly reminded of the impact of my actions on my future.  As a Resident Assistant I am always told to be careful of what I put on Facebook or any social networking site.  We even have had training sessions showing “Do’s and Don’ts of Facebook”.  There are even pre-made bulletin boards to explain the dangers of putting everything you do on Facebook.

From the business world I’ve been told by many employers at “Meet the Firm” nights that future employers may or may not look at social networking sites.  Whether it’s the employer or the data mining company the company hires does the looking at you’re still going to be evaluated by your online profile.  Seth Godin shows a real-world example of your Online Presence Affecting your Offline Future.

This makes things a bit more positive and empowering rather than making people feel bad about using social networks or putting their work online.  One presentation I attended recently was by Bob Dean.  His presentation was amazing but not my point.  Instead the first thing he did was show us his VirtualCV.  Initially I was unamazed.  So he put his Resume online.  Big deal.  He explained that it was not just a resume, but instead a portfolio of his work, giving concrete examples of his activities.  That’s something worth putting online.

Tags: Bob Dean, Facebook, Online Presence, Seth Godin, Virtual CV