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Posted June 9, 2014
Postgrads and Internet Privacy
According to Facebook's own research, up to 96% of students maintain a Facebook profile. As many postgrads are international students, Facebook, Twitter and other social media sites are not only an excellent way of keeping in touch with friends and family at home, but also a good way of organising their social life at university. Facebook is also a rich resource for research, and maintaining social links with your peers, lecturers and other experts in your field of study can reap academic dividends for you. Obviously, indiscriminate use of Facebook can be something of a distraction from your research. One idea to help you avoid this problem is to set up a separate academic profile, and use it just for your studies and professional life. Keep this profile well-ordered and professional-looking.
Thinking about how others see your profile helps to avoid another of the pitfalls of Facebook . When you are job-hunting, the last thing you want is for a prospective employer, who may check your profile, to be able to see those embarrassing photos you posted of your teenage nights out! The key things to remember are to edit your profile with employability in mind and to set your privacy settings to their highest level. Try Googling your own name and check that the information that comes up is as professional-looking as possible. Edit your profile accordingly. It is increasingly important for postgrads to maintain a visible presence on the internet, whilst bearing these issues about privacy in mind. Social media sites can lead you to unforeseen job opportunities, maybe from your friends, their parents, or even friends of their parents: by communicating your interests, ideas and experience on your profile you have a great chance to sell yourself to prospective employers.
Twitter is another very useful social media site for creating and maintaining a highly-visible online presence. By creating a Twitter account you can get yourself noticed, and show the world something of your personality. Once again, this needs to be balanced against the need for discretion. Prospective employers will be able to check you out by following your Twitter feed, so keep your Tweets clean and professional.
Professionals working in certain fields need to use social media sites with caution. Whilst postgrad students in public health nursing, for example, have groups on Facebook, which are a great resource for communicating with colleagues and researching academic information, it is often recommended that they use an alias, for reasons of confidentiality and personal security.
Many professionals prefer to use the networking site Linkedin to maintain a purely work-related visibility on the web . Creating a Linkedin profile will help postgrads to keep up with the latest developments in their field, and will also be a good way of socialising with your peers and hearing about the latest job opportunities.
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The web is essential for today's post grad students, and with their knowledge of some of the issues surrounding privacy, postgrads can use it with confidence. It will both improve their academic career and their chances when seeking employment.
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Blogging: why all postgrads should have a go!
Thinking about how others see your profile helps to avoid another of the pitfalls of Facebook . When you are job-hunting, the last thing you want is for a prospective employer, who may check your profile, to be able to see those embarrassing photos you posted of your teenage nights out! The key things to remember are to edit your profile with employability in mind and to set your privacy settings to their highest level. Try Googling your own name and check that the information that comes up is as professional-looking as possible. Edit your profile accordingly. It is increasingly important for postgrads to maintain a visible presence on the internet, whilst bearing these issues about privacy in mind. Social media sites can lead you to unforeseen job opportunities, maybe from your friends, their parents, or even friends of their parents: by communicating your interests, ideas and experience on your profile you have a great chance to sell yourself to prospective employers.
Twitter is another very useful social media site for creating and maintaining a highly-visible online presence. By creating a Twitter account you can get yourself noticed, and show the world something of your personality. Once again, this needs to be balanced against the need for discretion. Prospective employers will be able to check you out by following your Twitter feed, so keep your Tweets clean and professional.
Professionals working in certain fields need to use social media sites with caution. Whilst postgrad students in public health nursing, for example, have groups on Facebook, which are a great resource for communicating with colleagues and researching academic information, it is often recommended that they use an alias, for reasons of confidentiality and personal security.
Many professionals prefer to use the networking site Linkedin to maintain a purely work-related visibility on the web . Creating a Linkedin profile will help postgrads to keep up with the latest developments in their field, and will also be a good way of socialising with your peers and hearing about the latest job opportunities.
.
The web is essential for today's post grad students, and with their knowledge of some of the issues surrounding privacy, postgrads can use it with confidence. It will both improve their academic career and their chances when seeking employment.
Related articles
Blogging: why all postgrads should have a go!
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