Keep it Clean

Keeping a positive digital footprint is important. It helps in a lot of situations and can help you stand out more than other people. Keeping it clean and making sure everything you post is appropriate can help get a following on different social medias.

A lot of things have transitioned to being online. When you are applying for a professional job, they will often look you up online, and see your past and how you are as a person, “Employers are increasingly making use of Internet search engines to locate and evaluate online information about potential employees.” (Jalger 1) With how big the internet is nowadays, all you have to do Is search for someone’s name on whatever you want and you’ll be able to find them. It happens a lot more in higher-paying jobs and real professional jobs because they want you for a long period of time. When you are in your career job, you want to make more money because there are a lot of opportunities for promotions. Agencies in general do a lot of looking to see if you are a great candidate, “Many recruitment agencies share lists of ten negative things which employers don’t want to see online. But what about positive things employers look for online?”(Jalger 1) The employers focus on a few things, they want to see progress in growth in responsibilities, how your career has progressed, your interests, and goals you want to target as you move forward. They like to see things you want to do in the future and focus on your goals, and not as much being in the past. They want someone who has included their past, but they don’t want that as their only focus.

Having a digital footprint doesn’t just help businesses, it helps you as a person. It can help boost your social media profiles and can help you get following, “For a great example of a person who has shaped their positive digital footprint, do a search for George Couros. He is a school Principal in Alberta, Canada who has his own blog, Youtube channel, social media accounts and an online digital resume. All of these are done in a social, yet professional context.”(Jalger 1) This high school principal has created a huge fanbase doing what he loves and has kept everything professional, so nothing can go against him. Some companies and businesses if he ever decides to switch his profession would like the fact that he is proactive and has people who support him. If you put hard work into tasks online they typically pay off, “Especially if a student wants to get a job in the growing field of digital media or design, then an online resume that showcases their skills and abilities to use different tools could be what gets them noticed. LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional network site and is also worth exploring.” (Jalger 1) LinkedIn is a very useful site, it helps you build a base that people can look at and it helps companies and businesses look into it. If you update it frequently with different things you’ve accomplished on your resume it will be better for yourself so you don’t have to do work later on, and it helps companies know how you actually are.

Having a positive digital footprint helps everyone. It causes you to stand out more than other people especially when applying at a job if you have a a great footprint, they will choose you over someone who has a bad digital footprint.

“Footprints” by Peter Nijenhuis is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

“Earliest known human footprints – australopithecus afarensis – Smithsonian Museum of Natural History – 2012-05-17” by Tim Evanson is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.