Week 12 - Creating a Professional Web Presence

This week we learned about creating a professional web presence. Basically this means having a positive, appropriate web representation of oneself online (other than a social networking site such as MySpace or Facebook). This could be in the form of a website that describes your achievements and goals, such as the one required for Educational Technology class. The purpose is to have a web representation that you would want a potential employer to see.

A professional web presence wouldn't really be useful in my field of elementary education, however it could definitely be useful in finding a job in my field. Although I have nothing inappropriate on my Facebook, it still isn't the first thing I would want a potential employer to judge me on. A professional web presence would be a way to positively represent myself online, and could even give me the edge over someone competing for the same job.

In this video, people on the street were asked what social networking sites they used and how they affected their work. But the most interesting part of the video is when employers are asked if they look at or consider a potential employees internet profile when hiring for a job. All the employers asked denied that they looked at them, saying that they considered their qualifications. It was interesting to hear, although I'm not sure if I believe it is true.