An online presence that portrays the right image, as far as the naked eye can see, can help in the application for scholarships or jobs in ways that you least expect.

by Wendy Ng

The youth of today are experts in the field of social media. While academic knowledge might befuddle us at times, most of us can weave intricate webs of wonders with a computer and the various tools of web 2.0.

Social media plays a crucial role in keeping us up-to-date with the people around us. It is also a medium which we use to portray ourselves to the world.

From Facebook, Youtube and Twitter, to the various forms of blogs, we have a smorgasbord of outlets to express ourselves. We update our Facebook statuses religiously and tweet our latest thoughts almost instantaneously.

Blogs provide daily insights to our schedule and lifestyle, and in more gossip-worthy instances, our deepest, darkest secrets.

It is natural for most people to shed their facades or break down personal restraints once they’re online – the world wide web’s element of anonymity allows many to suddenly proclaim their obsessions over melted cheese and turnips without fear of implications.

Despite the TMI (Too Much Information) nature of Facebook and other social networking sites, friend requesting your boss seems to come too easily for most people.

Unfortunately, according to a survey developed by Robert Half, the chances of your boss feeling squirmy over clicking the ‘Accept’ button is just under half: 48% of executives admit that they are uncomfortable with being ‘friended’ by the employees they manage.

Similarly, 47% of the employees surveyed too don’t feel entirely comfortable seeing their manager's face in a drunken nightclub snapshot beseeching for a friend request.

“In Singapore, there are already more than 500,000 people who are Facebook members. While the majority uses it for social networking, an increasing number are using it as a tool to engage in business-related activities including sales, marketing and promotion, product research and recruitment,” says Mr Tim Hird, Managing Director of Robert Half Singapore.

The term ‘social networking’ has extended its field into business and professional grounds – hence almost completely eradicating the ‘social’ half – and while this tends to create a friendly, personable relationship between colleagues and employers, there still ought to be limits.

Robert Half shares some tips on handling tricky Facebook situations:

Digital dirt. By now, you know that this term refers to negative information about you that’s found on the Internet, including social networking sites. You may even have some of your own digital dirt to contend with, such as

- Profiles on social networking sites that contain unprofessional content

- Unprofessional website and blog content, both content on your own sites as well as comments you leave on other sites

- Inappropriate photos or videos

- Contradictory information (what you tell an employer doesn’t match your LinkedIn profile, for example)

- Negative news stories about you or your company

- Critical comments others make about you online

- Comments or reviews you post online, such as on blogs or sites like Amazon.com

If you’re new to social networking, the thought of developing a solid pool of key contacts can be a bit overwhelming. Downright daunting, in fact, for those who place any form of networking—online or off—way down on their list of favorite things to do. Relax. In many ways, developing your online network is easier than an in-person network.

Your existing contacts are critical to social networking success. Without them, you have no network. If you’ve explored many social networking sites, you’ve undoubtedly come across people with only one or two contacts—or worse, no contacts. On every site, there are people who never do anything beyond signing up, or who accept an invitation from a colleague and never return to the site. If you want your social networking experience to be a powerful one, however, you need to connect with enough people to make it worthwhile. READ MORE

When Seth was downsized from his corporate marketing job, he knew that the tools and techniques he used to land a good position 12 years ago wouldn’t work in today’s world. The web was in its infancy back then, and concepts like social networking and online recruiting were far from the mainstream. Seth tapped his marketing acumen and previous experience with in-person networking to launch an online social networking job search.

He joined several business-oriented social networking sites, created profiles that emphasized his extensive experience, developed a large network of online contacts, and implemented a regular follow-up strategy. With time and perseverance, his networking strategy paid off. In three months, he started a new job at a much higher salary than his previous position offered.

The good news is that Seth’s story isn’t uncommon. Millions of professionals have posted profiles on social networking sites, and many of them have advanced their careers through their participation on these sites. Major companies such as Microsoft, Google, Yahoo!, CBS Television, Amazon, Toyota, American Express, and many others use social networking sites to recruit employees. READ MORE

Online, image is everything.

Most of the people who encounter you on the web don’t know you and haven’t met you, so they don’t have the opportunity to form an opinion about you in the traditional sense. They don’t know what your qualifications are, whether people they respect recommend you, whether you have a good sense of humor, what’s most important to you in life, or anything else for that matter. Their entire opinion is based on the information they view online - on your website, your blog, or your social networking profile.

By now, you’re well aware of the importance your profile carries in the world of social networking. But your individual profiles on social networking sites are also part of a bigger picture - your online brand.

Your online brand is what drives your reputation and your success; it’s how the online world sees you. Do it right, and you could achieve stellar results. Do it wrong, and your results could be minimal, or worse, you could end up with a negative reputation. READ MORE

LinkedIn (www.linkedin.com) is one of the top social networking sites for business, with profiles of more than 19 million professionals. Twenty-five new members join every minute of every day. The site is also extremely active with recruiters—both from recruiting firms and major companies such as Microsoft, eBay, and L’Oréal—which makes it a prime hunting ground for job seekers. Everyone from top CEOs to presidential candidate Barack Obama has a LinkedIn profile.