According to a recent Associated Press article, 1 in 2 new college graduates are jobless or underemployed. And job opportunities in popular fields, including education, healthcare, fine arts and humanities are in limited supply. The highly competitive job market forces all job seekers, especially recent grads, to step up their game, and social media provides the perfect opportunity to do so.

In Reppler’s recent survey, 91% of employers said they use social networks to screen applicants. Social networks can go beyond the scope of resumes and cover letters, granting employers insights into your personality and character. These insights can help assess your compatibility with both the position and a company’s overall culture. Take advantage! Your personality, achievements and interests need to convince employers that you’re a great fit–and a wise investment.

Unfortunately, for all the benefits social media provides, you can’t ignore its dark side. Everything written or published on the web stays. According to a recent Careerbuilder survey, 34% of hiring managers find negative and inappropriate material on social networks that causes them to eliminate candidates. This material includes, but is not limited to (Hint: This is what you want to avoid!):
·         References to alcohol and drug abuse
·         Sexually explicit photos
·         Derogatory language
·         Bad-mouthing former employers/co-workers

To show our support for new graduates (and, of course, anyone else in search of a job), we’re going to be providing a series of posts around job searching with social media throughout May. Stay tuned to find out what potential employers want to see on social networks, what pitfalls to avoid and which networks to leverage in your job search.

If you’ve come across negative information about you online, here are steps to help build yourself back up:

1.   Know what’s out there, so there are no surprises.
Google your name, and take a close look at the first few pages. Since online screening has become an important part of the hiring process, it’s key to be aware of the information that’s out there about you. If you know what’s out there, you’ll be prepared to address any inquiries.

2.   Be upfront and proactive.
If you do end up having to field questions regarding negative online content, take the proactive approach. Be honest about what’s being said and why, and share how you are going to respond.

3.   Have it removed (or remove it yourself).
The longer you wait to remove unsavory content, the further it could spread. If you posted something inappropriate on your social media accounts, simply delete it. If someone else posted a negative comment, ask them to remove it. If the other party is unwilling to comply, consider raising the stakes and taking legal action. Also, if the damage to your reputation is substantial, consider a professional reputation management service that will help you remove content.

4.   Create your own content.
Many employers will only look at the first few pages after entering your name in search engines. By posting your own content, you can help push down any negative content and showcase your own positive content. Traditional blogs, video blogs and social media profiles rank high on search engines, so create as much positive content as possible. Also, consider deleting unused accounts that might contain outdated personal information.

With vigilance and initiative, negative online content can be resolved. But it’s always a good idea to be proactive–taking steps to ensure that YOU are the one dictating your online reputation.

Your personal information can be found through:

• Search people databases such as Spokeo or Intelius
• Major search engines like Google, Yahoo and Bing
• Social networks such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn
• The deep web – the part of the web that cannot be accessed through ordinary search engines

How does your information get there in the first place?

That’s easy. You offer it up. Consider all the things you do online: emailing, shopping, social networking, banking and many more. All of these actions require us to surrender personal and, oftentimes, financial information. It is difficult to always consider carefully where your information goes before sending it into the infinite abyss of the Internet

Here are a few pointers:

1. Check a company’s privacy policy before you sign up for their service. Is it going to sell your information to the highest bidder? If so, think twice before entering your information.

2. If a company doesn’t disclose a privacy policy, don’t provide them with any personal information.

3. Always opt-out when asked to if you are OK with sharing your information with third parties.

We face a serious trade-off between privacy and convenience. Short of never going online, it’s almost impossible to keep all personal information off of the Internet, but that doesn’t mean we have to give up online privacy all together. We just need to make more of an effort to be stingy and vigilant behind the keyboard.

“In five or 10 minutes, our raters could look at the tone of a subject’s wall post, note the number of friends they have, peruse their photos to see how social they were and assess their tastes in books and music. It’s a very rich source of information,” says Don Kluemper, lead researcher of the study.

Other major takeaways of the study include:

• Facebook scores were a better predictor of future academic success (based upon grade point averages) than personality and IQ scores combined.
• Facebook profiles are more authentic than personality profiles questionnaires.
• Emotional extremes displayed on Facebook can translate to “emotionally unstable.”

What can I do to make sure my profile is the best reflection of my personality?

Reppler helps you monitor your Facebook profile, and generates an “Image Score” to evaluate the tone of the language on your wall (positive, neutral or negative). Our “Common Word” widget keeps record of the words used most often by you and your connections. Like to “vent” on Facebook? Chances are your score will indicate a higher level of emotional instability (not exactly something a potential employer wants to see). When it doubt, choose something positive to post.

Interestingly enough, however, social pictures on your profile are not always a bad thing. They indicate extroversion and friendliness. Does this mean anything goes? Certainly not. Some pictures, and you know which ones, should remain for your eyes only.

Whether we like it or not, Facebook is being used as a reliable job-screening tool. It is important to ensure that your profile is consistent with how you would like to be perceived by others, personally and professionally.

Location-sharing services are popular features on social media sites, but they can also expose another layer of personal information that puts your security at risk. Criminals monitor Facebook and Twitter pages to secretly track their target’s location. And considering that the average home burglary takes just over 10 minutes, a quick trip to the grocery store could grant enough time for a potential break-in.

A quick Google search reveals multiple incidences of criminals using social networks and other interactive websites to target victims. Here are some simple steps to protect yourself:

• Don’t announce that you will be out of town for trips and vacations.
• Limit the usage of location-based services like Foursquare and Facebook Places.
• Don’t share pictures that reveal your address or landmarks near your home.
• Don’t give detailed accounts of your daily routine online.

It is also important to pay close attention to your privacy settings to ensure that you don’t “overshare” with complete strangers. Only trusted friends should be able keep track of where you are.

Most recognize that no one should ever share Social Security and driver’s license numbers, but there is other, less obvious, information that can be used against you in malicious ways. Exposing the following information increases your security risk:

• Full name (in particular your middle name)
• Date of Birth
• Hometown
• Phone Numbers
• Relationship status
• School Location/Graduation Date
• Pet names (popular security questions for password recovery!)
• Travel/Vacation information

With the serious consequences of “over-sharing” in mind, we put together a Top 10 ways to protect your online privacy:

1. Review the privacy and security policies of any third party apps (e.g. Farmville).
2. Don’t offer up sensitive or personal information (see previous list).
3. Only invite people you know to join your social networks.
4. Don’t accept friend requests from people you don’t know.
5. Set privacy settings to only allow friends to see your content.
6. Never open links from someone you don’t know.
7. Create unique passwords and user names for all social media accounts.
8. Make sure you log out of public computers completely.
9. Use a social media monitoring service like Reppler to help you identify potential security risks.
10. Google yourself regularly to see what kind of information people can find about you.

Some of these tips may seem obvious, but a lot of people continue to use social networks with little concern for potential dangers. And if these don’t seem like enough, and you want to take additional steps to protect your identity, we recommend signing up for identity protection service from TrustedID to help you monitor all of your personal information.

Users need to recognize the risks involved with Timeline. Once you have Timeline, it reveals pictures, status updates and events chronologically from when you first started Facebooking to the present time. This means that people will be able to scroll through your history, potentially discovering posts or pictures you’d rather leave in the past.
Here are four simple steps to help you “clean” your Timeline—so you can continue to convey a positive Facebook image:

1. Make your profile private: Go to Privacy Settings > “How You Connect”. Switch “Who can post on your Timeline” and “Who can see posts by others on your Timeline?” from “Public” to “Friends”.

Go to Privacy Settings > “How Tags Work”. Switch the settings for “Maximum Timeline Visibility” from “Public” to “Friends.”

2. Limit your audience for past posts:  Go to “Limit the Audience for Past Posts”. Click “Manage Past Post Visibility”, then “Limit Old Post”. Now, your past posts are visible to your Friends only, even if you initially made them public.

3. Hide or delete posts:  Click on the edit button at the top of the content item and choose “Hide from Timeline” or “Delete Post”. You’ll need to click on each month and hide or delete all of those posts individually.

4. Delete posts from other Timelines: Go to “Activity Log”, click on “All” to see all of your posts, comments, likes and events, organized by date. Click on “Your Posts” to see all your posts and comments on other people’s Wall, and delete anything that could be considered inappropriate

5. Monitor your profile:  Use a monitoring service like Reppler to ensure that your profile always projects the “you” that everyone from your parents to your buddies to a potential employer should see. Set up your Reppler account so that you will be notified as soon as flagged content shows up on your profile.

If you’ve been on Facebook for a long time, “cleaning” your Timeline can be time consuming. But it’s well worth the effort!

According to the 2011 Federal Trade Commission (FTC) report, identity theft remains the top consumer complaint. And in this digital age, we are constantly sharing personal information online–essentially granting outside access to this information.

In fact, with something as simple as your name, address or phone number, identity thieves can gain access to your Social Security number, credit cards, and more. At Reppler, we recognize that monitoring your online image across various social media accounts is a large part of identity protection, as users often unintentionally reveal information that pose reputation and security risks.

While integrating Reppler into TrustedID’s services marks the beginning of a new chapter for us, we want to ensure our users that your service will not stop. For now, you will receive the same service you’ve been using, and we will keep you updated about any further developments in the future. If you have questions or concerns, feel free to get in touch with us on Facebook.

Whether you are a student, currently employed or looking for a new job, creating and maintaining a professional online presence is more important than ever. However, in order to build that professional online presence, your have to know who you are communicating to. Who is the audience of your posts and status updates, and how would you like to be perceived by them? The abundance of social networks available on the web makes it difficult to keep track of who you added on what network. Imagine you forgot that you added your boss or coworker on Facebook, and you just posted about the long weekend in Vegas which you supposedly spent in bed with a fever, or your friends decide to post pictures of your last night out, one of your not so stellar moments.

It takes one bad judgment like that – an unflattering photo, an inappropriate comment or something more serious- and your professional reputation will take a serious hit. Also, keep in mind that the different networks show different sides of you. While Facebook zooms in on your social life and personal interests, LinkedIn emphasizes your professional accomplishments and allows you to make connections with other professionals. You may want your current employer to see your professional side on LinkedIn or Twitter, but do you really want him or her to see your party habits on the weekend?  And even if you did not add your boss to your Facebook connections, you might have added one of your coworkers who is secretly showing your employer the inappropriate content on your Wall. It is easy to lose track of all the people with whom you are sharing personal information, so there is a high risk that damaging information reaches the wrong audience.

Reppler’s new Your Network section shows how many network connections you have on each individual network, and it also displays how many connections you have across all networks combined. However, the most valuable information for users to observe is how many connections overlap within their networks. You will be able to see how many of your Facebook friends are also on your Twitter and LinkedIn network or how many of your professional contacts on LinkedIn are also connected to you on Facebook. You now know who you are communicating to, which allows you to better manage your profiles and your connections in order to maintain a professional online image. Take a look at Reppler’s Your Network section, and make sure that next time you post an update on one of your networks, you know exactly who your audience is.

We recently conducted a survey of 300 professionals who are involved in the hiring process at their company to understand the use of social networks for screening job applicants.  The results of this survey are shown in this infographic:

So what do these results really tell us?  From our perspective, there are three key takeaways:

1. Whether you like it or not, hirers are using social networks to screen job applicants.  This means it is important to carefully manage your image on these types of sites.
2. Facebook and Twitter are being used a lot to screen job applicants.  On Facebook and Twitter, we believe hirers are trying to get a more personal view of a candidate, rather than the resume-like view they will see on LinkedIn.
3. Hirers are looking at the social networking profiles of candidates very early in the process.  This means that job seekers need to have their online act in order before they begin looking for a job.

The bottom line is that it is important for users, whether they are looking for a job or building up their professional reputation, to manage their online image across the different social networks they use.  And this is the big picture problem we are addressing with the new version of Reppler.

The features in the new version of Reppler include:

• Support for Twitter and LinkedIn – Reppler now supports Twitter and LinkedIn, in addition to the support for Facebook it currently has.
• Cross-Network Analysis – In addition to monitoring each of these services to provide you feedback on the tone of language used, inappropriate content found, and other potential issues and risks identified, Reppler provides cross-network analysis in a couple areas.  It looks at all of your connections across the social networks you use to inform you on the makeup of your connections.  For example, Reppler will show you how many of your professional connections on LinkedIn are also friends of yours on Facebook.  Reppler also provides a comparison matrix of your profile information on each social network so you can see if there are any inconsistencies in how you are presenting yourself.
• The Reppler Image Score – Reppler calculates what we call the Reppler Image Score, a measure that takes into account a variety of elements that can affect your online image – the completeness of information in your profiles, the consistency of your information across different social networks, the tone of your content, the appropriateness of your content, the number of people you are connected to, etc.
• Weekly Updates – Reppler automatically sends you a weekly email that summarizes activity across your social networks that could affect your online image.  This keeps you abreast of any issues and gives you the opportunity to take action before it is too late.

That’s a quick overview of the new version of Reppler.  Now you can effectively manage your online image across the different social networks you use.  Reppler is a free service and you can sign up by going to www.reppler.com.  If you have any feedback or questions, go to our Facebook Page and leave us a message on our Wall.