Recent graduates across the country are poised with their diploma in hand, ready to take the workforce by storm. They have the right degree, great grades and an adequate amount of community involvement. They may look good on paper, but how do they stack up online? In a competitive job market, online missteps should be avoided at all costs.
McAfee’s “Graduating with Online Honours” Infographic
McAfee Canada today released simple tips to help Canadian youth maintain an online identity they can be proud to call their own. A study conducted by McAfee shows that 46 per cent of Canadians aged 18-34 are concerned about colleagues or bosses seeing personal online material such as images and emails1.
This high level of concern makes sense considering 16 per cent actually know someone who has been fired because of personal images or messages that were posted online2. A shocking 40 per cent of Canadians do not password protect their smartphones3, even though 60 per cent store personal and intimate information on these devices4.
The experts at McAfee Canada urge young Canadians to take a few simple precautions to protect their careers and avoid being haunted by the ghosts of social media past:
Simple Tips for Maintaining an A+ Online Reputation:
- Polish It: Treat your online social image the same as you would your resume.
- Secure It: Use the privacy and security settings on social media sites to limit what others can see.
- Hold It: If it’s not something you want your boss, colleagues or grandma to see, it’s better not to share it.
- Protect It: Use a password or PIN to keep your devices locked and your information safe, and don’t share your password with anyone.
1 McAfee Canada, Love, Relationships and Technology Survey. January 2013.
2 Ibid.
3 Ibid.
4 Ibid.
