Website offers students with free service to pursue employment with better social media image
By casting its customers in a better light in their online profiles, BrandYourself aids Syracuse University students seeking employment.
BrandYourself is a service that promotes flattering information about its customers to the first pages of search engines and hides negative information.
The creators of the website, SU alumni Pete Kistler, Patrick Ambron and Evan McGowan-Watson, partnered with SU to give students free access to the service so they can clean up their online presence, according to an Associated Press article published Dec. 26.
Ashley Lawton, a senior psychology major, said she didn’t know the BrandYourself service was being offered to SU students, and that she would be interested in looking into the service and taking advantage of it.
“You can tell a lot about a person by their online appearance, like their Facebook photos, and those are what employers look at,” Lawton said. “I’m not sure that people should just rely on BrandYourself and keep posting drinking pictures online, but I’m sure the service can help significantly.”
Mike Cahill, director of Career Services, said BrandYourself is a beneficial service that he urges students to take advantage of, even if it requires waiting to make an appointment.
He added that Career Services promotes the website because it can help manage students’ online presence.
“The Internet is an easy tool for employers to find out more about someone they’re considering,” Cahill said. “Besides, BrandYourself is a service that many people are paying for, and the university has paid for all its students to use it, so why not?”
William Ward, a social media professor in the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, said he believes BrandYourself is a great product and is proud of what its creators are providing to the university.
“Syracuse is all about homegrown success,” he said. “It’s the spirit of Syracuse. Alums are always giving back to the school and the students.”
Ward said that while the service is helpful, students should not rely solely on the tool. He said it is important for students to take social media classes and learn how to use them responsibly.
Ward warns all of his students that they can have “digital skeletons” hiding in their closets if people do not take social media outlets seriously.
“Employers understand that we are human: We all get angry, and some of us have tendencies to vent online,” Ward said. “But employers are searching for those who are responsible, smart and mature enough to control themselves online.”
Published on January 13, 2013 at 11:20 pm
Contact Charlotte: cmstockd@syr.edu
