2008 Woodie Awards
Online information too easy to find
Employers, colleges use Web to learn of student habits
By Steve Reed
Rocket Assistant Photo Editor
Issue date: 3/2/07 Section: News
With the widespread use of social-networking Web sites like Facebook and MySpace, college students have brought more information about themselves into the public eye than ever before. Because of the information available, college faculty members, employers and police across the nation have used these kinds of Web sites to gather information about students.
"We encourage students to use those sites with caution," John Snyder, associate director of SRU's Career Services, said about social-networking Web sites. "They're very similar to your résumé."
The most popular of these sites is MySpace, which was ranked as the No. 1 social-networking Web site in the U.S., with 38.4 million unique users between April 2005 and April 2006, according to the Nielsen/NetRatings.
Police on college campuses have been known to use sites like Facebook as a tool similar to a phone directory, or even use public information on individual sites for help in investigations.
Once information is posted, the best way for students to hide vulnerable information on a social-networking Web site is to use the privacy controls offered by many sites, Snyder said.
"Education majors need to be especially careful," Snyder said. "Since they're supposed to be of higher moral standards, the community can judge that and it can impede a job search."
Snyder said business majors should be careful also, since employers in that field are more concerned with image than other fields.
Some employers do use Google, Facebook and MySpace to search for anything related to a prospective employee, but most aren't doing it systematically, he said.
Since some employers use Google's search engine to find information on students, Snyder said that students should use this tool to search their own names and get a better idea of what potential employers could discover.
"You never know what a potential employer might find," Snyder said. "They might even find something positive, like information about volunteer work you do or an online portfolio. We often hear about the negative information employers get on students, but there might also be a positive reflection of you online, too."
"We encourage students to use those sites with caution," John Snyder, associate director of SRU's Career Services, said about social-networking Web sites. "They're very similar to your résumé."
The most popular of these sites is MySpace, which was ranked as the No. 1 social-networking Web site in the U.S., with 38.4 million unique users between April 2005 and April 2006, according to the Nielsen/NetRatings.
Police on college campuses have been known to use sites like Facebook as a tool similar to a phone directory, or even use public information on individual sites for help in investigations.
Once information is posted, the best way for students to hide vulnerable information on a social-networking Web site is to use the privacy controls offered by many sites, Snyder said.
"Education majors need to be especially careful," Snyder said. "Since they're supposed to be of higher moral standards, the community can judge that and it can impede a job search."
Snyder said business majors should be careful also, since employers in that field are more concerned with image than other fields.
Some employers do use Google, Facebook and MySpace to search for anything related to a prospective employee, but most aren't doing it systematically, he said.
Since some employers use Google's search engine to find information on students, Snyder said that students should use this tool to search their own names and get a better idea of what potential employers could discover.
"You never know what a potential employer might find," Snyder said. "They might even find something positive, like information about volunteer work you do or an online portfolio. We often hear about the negative information employers get on students, but there might also be a positive reflection of you online, too."
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