1. Assessing your online profile
Networking for Work: http://networkingforwork.org.uk

2. How do you
look online?
- The importance of checking your current online profile: even
if you don't look, a potential employer very well may!
- How to search online for publicly available information about
you.
- How to deal with your findings: tightening the privacy
settings on your own profiles and coping with content others
have posted online about you.

3. “One of the checks that I do is I use
social media.”
“Number one search: Google – type
your name in there and see what came
up.”
[Photo by: Elvert Barnes]
“Next Facebook, depending on your
privacy settings I should be able to
access your profile at least.”
“I also check Twitter…if you’re
moaning all the time on Twitter
you’re not going to get very far...”
(Teaching Agency recruiter interviewed by
[Photo by: Robert S. Donovan] Networking for Work)

4. Google yourself – what comes up?
- Check the 'Images', 'YouTube' and 'News' tabs as well as the main
Google search page.
- If you have a common name, try including your area name as well
(e.g. 'Sarah Smith Cardiff') to find yourself online.

5. Do you have a public Twitter account?
- If so, be mindful of what you say and how you say it (spelling and
grammar as well as subject matter).
- Consider making your account 'protected' if you do not want a
potential employer to read your tweets.

6. Do you have a Facebook profile?
- If so, go to your profile page and select 'View As...' from the 'Activity
Log' menu.
- This will show you what 'non-friends' can see on your Facebook
profile, including wall posts and photos.

7. How can we deal with this?
- What details about you are publicly available online?
- Is it things that you've posted on your own profiles/accounts,
or something that others have posted about you?
- If it's your own profiles that are presenting a problem, then
you can take control by logging into these and deleting the
content and/or changing your privacy settings so only your
online 'friends' can view them.

8. You can make a public Twitter profile private
- Simply log into Twitter, go to 'Settings', select 'Protect my tweets'
and save changes.
- Bear in mind that your Twitter profile picture and bio will still be
publicly viewable.

9. Changing your Facebook privacy settings
- Watch this how-to video from Digital Skills Network at:
http://youtu.be/cERsasYHRJA
- You can also access this video and other Facebook guides on the
'Resources' page of our website networkingforwork.org.uk

10. If it's content others have posted about you...
- On Facebook you can 'untag' yourself in photos or posts you're not
happy with.
- You can also remove the content from your timeline.

11. If the content is posted by a friend or contact...
- Try asking them politely to amend or delete the content.
- Explain that you're trying to improve your online profile to support
your search for work.

12. If the content is an
online news article
- Is what's posted true?
- Could things be rectified with a few words or new
juxtaposition (such as the above article)? Think about exactly
what it is about the content you'd like to change if possible,
rather than just saying you don't like it being there.
- If you're approaching a news organisation, find a named
editor and lay out your issue carefully in writing, being
specific about what is causing offence. An angry phone call
won't help your cause.

13. Counteract negative
content with positive [Photo by: winifredxoxo]
- The best way to balance out negative content about you
online is to build a more positive, professional profile for
yourself.
- Something simple like a LinkedIn profile will rank highly on
Google in a search for your name, as will a blog/Twitter
account/Facebook profile in your name.
- Take control of your profile and create your own online
spaces containing the content you want people to see.

14. More tips for controlling your online profile
- Google yourself and check your public-facing online profiles
regularly.
- Change the privacy settings on your more personal online
profiles so only our friends can view them.
- Do not be afraid to 'untag' yourself from unsuitable content
others post about you, or politely request friends to delete
content about you they've posted.
- Check and play with the privacy of new online profiles you
create.

15. Further support:
http://networkingforwork.org.uk
Email: hello@talkaboutlocal.org
Tel. 0121 288 2910