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karan733

New Member
So I've applied to an internship programme to work in New York for a year, and im currently in the candidate pool from which NYC companies will select/interview/hire me. All the candidates have been advised to protect their Facebook profiles as the employers look at these things over the other side of the pond, but a simple google of my name and username have thrown up hundreds of my old posts from different websites and forums through the ages!

So ive started off with cleaning up my privacy on facebook, and deleting my myspace account, but how do I go about becoming invisible on my forum posts?

Certainly very intrusive, this internet thing :smile:
 

Globalti

Legendary Member
You use your name on the web?
 
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karan733

karan733

New Member
No sorry, my name search brings up LinkedIn and Facebook results, but my forum username (karan733) and the assoc email address brings up a great deal of my posts from previous years.

Nothing im worried about mind, but I just dont want it there floating about the place.
 

jonny jeez

Legendary Member
karan733 said:
No sorry, my name search brings up LinkedIn and Facebook results, but my forum username (karan733) and the assoc email address brings up a great deal of my posts from previous years.

Nothing im worried about mind, but I just dont want it there floating about the place.

So how would a potential employer know your forum user name?
 
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karan733

karan733

New Member
jonny jeez said:
So how would a potential employer know your forum user name?

My email address is karan733@...., and if I was looking at that it'd be fairly easy to assume the best place to start would be 'karan733'. :rolleyes:
 

Globalti

Legendary Member
Facebook, eh? There was a lawyer on R4 a couple of weeks ago who specialises in identity theft and copyright, he ended his interview by saying "...and if I may just add a word of advice for your listeners: never, EVER, put your personal details on a website like Facebook or Myspace."
 
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karan733

karan733

New Member
Globalti said:
Facebook, eh? There was a lawyer on R4 a couple of weeks ago who specialises in identity theft and copyright, he ended his interview by saying "...and if I may just add a word of advice for your listeners: never, EVER, put your personal details on a website like Facebook or Myspace."

Yeah, id be tempted to agree with him! Unfortunately as you can see its very hard to undo this once you realise your mistake :rolleyes:
 

mark barker

New Member
Location
Swindon, Wilts
Have you really said or done anything that'd be so bad if they did see it? I've always viewed the internet as open to anyone, and wouldn't put anything on any site that I wouldn't be willing to show my family or friends.
 

Yellow Fang

Legendary Member
Location
Reading
Globalti said:
Facebook, eh? There was a lawyer on R4 a couple of weeks ago who specialises in identity theft and copyright, he ended his interview by saying "...and if I may just add a word of advice for your listeners: never, EVER, put your personal details on a website like Facebook or Myspace."

Yes, I received a letter from a mobile company who said they'd refused to process a mobile phone contract from somebody pretending to me. I had a friend who had the police knock on his door, about a stolen car I think, after someone had used his personal details. I went to Facebook and tightened up all my security settings as much as I could. I'd like to actually change my facebook name, but it doesn't seem to be an option.

I don't think any employer would worry about my facebook history, but they would my cyclechat history (cos I'm on here too much).
 

Twiggy

New Member
Location
Coventry
I keep an entierly sepperate email address for employers, back and forths, interview times, ect. It helps to keep a professional image as well.

It also means they can't dig around, searching for your email address, ect. It's basic information security. Not much you can do about it now, but in future dealings it mgiht be an idea to have an email account just for work.
 
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karan733

karan733

New Member
mark barker said:
Have you really said or done anything that'd be so bad if they did see it? I've always viewed the internet as open to anyone, and wouldn't put anything on any site that I wouldn't be willing to show my family or friends.

Not really, but the problem is you cant view whats said in context.

For example, some of the things posted are from when I was much younger and more immature, and although looking back at them now I dont find them embarrasing, they do not project an accurate reflection of who I am today to a prospective employer.

Ive grown up over time, but a google search of my username/email throws up my posts from a long time ago, and not in reverse chronological order either. To someone who is pushed for time and is deciding between candidates, they will not have the time to check what the dates are, or what the conversation I was responding to was about. If its something negative, thats my chance shot.

So all I want to do is remove posts from a few years ago which dont represent who I am or what I think anymore. But not sure how to go about this!
 

ianrauk

Tattooed Beat Messiah
Location
Rides Ti2
I have been very careful about this from the very first day I started using the internet (Jan 1999) and to this day you will not be able to find my real name on the internet. (Though no doubt someone could if they really dug deep enough) Ianrauk, yeah that's all over the place.
 

jonny jeez

Legendary Member
mark barker said:
Have you really said or done anything that'd be so bad if they did see it? I've always viewed the internet as open to anyone, and wouldn't put anything on any site that I wouldn't be willing to show my family or friends.

family and friends isnt the question...its potential employers, who will instantly make judgements (rightly or wrongly) over the slightest suggestion that any image, post, poke, nudge, wall, or tweet can provide.

I'm totally bored of facebook for these types of reasons, my friends know me already, i dont need any more friends and i dont need to show my friends what i did with my friends earlier that day.

Oh, and while I'm on a rant, I cant help laughing when I hear of someone posting stuff like "Just heading out to the club for a real fest" when actually the post should read "just sitting in front of my computer telling a bunch of strangers that I am excited to actually be going out"

GRRR
 

jonny jeez

Legendary Member
karan733 said:
My email address is karan733@...., and if I was looking at that it'd be fairly easy to assume the best place to start would be 'karan733'. :rolleyes:

blimey, you are a bit buggered then Karen.

is it too late to set up a professional secondary email address (MSN Yahoo Goolge mail etc) and provide them with that address?
 

mark barker

New Member
Location
Swindon, Wilts
jonny jeez said:
family and friends isnt the question...its potential employers, who will instantly make judgements (rightly or wrongly) over the slightest suggestion that any image, post, poke, nudge, wall, or tweet can provide.
If an employer is that shallow that they'd make judgments like that then personally I'd rather not work for them! If they are that quick to make judgments then you'd be paranoid for the rest of your career.
 
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