Managing yourprofessional identity

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•How you are seen by your colleagues

•How you are seen by your peers

•How you are seen by the general public

Traditional identity

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• By your conduct• By the things you say• By the things others say

about you• By what you write• By the way you write it

• Through… face to face, papers, peer review, presentations…

How is that gauged?

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Professional and personal have

fused together thanks to…

Social networking particularly has changed the way we interact…

•Your friends; who they are / what they do

•Your personal life / interests

Identity now extends to…

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A window into your private life

(But it isn’t always a bad thing!)

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What you say…

How you say it…

“It aint what you do it’s the way that you do it”

• Current employers

• Prospective employers

• Students

• Colleagues

• Peers

Consider who might look you up

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Consider this…

Choose your friends wiselyhttp://www.flickr.com/photos/cerpntaxt/42348941/

You are Bob Smith…• You sign up to social

networking site• You add your colleagues• You also add your friend• You keep it professional /

managed• Your friend finds a pic he

took a couple of years ago and adds it to his page tagging it “Bob Smith – night to remember…”

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• DO lock down your profile if you’re not comfortable exposing your private life

• DO choose your friends carefully• If you wish you can:

– lock down your photos– and your wall

Social Networking

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• Blogging: Using the blog to ‘vent’ against employers/colleagues can go against you

• Twittering: Builds a picture of your life (in and outside work)

Getting lost in informality…

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• Consider what you say

• Be aware what othersmay publish

• Understand Data Protection

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Know your rights…

Consider…

What you say; on comments, blog posts, forums,

personal websites, social networks

How much information you make publicly

available; check privacy policies on sites

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ppdigital/2054207285/

• HUGE benefits to all these tools

• Can be used in a positive way

• This culture shift isn’t such a bad thing

• But BE CAUTIOUS

• We all use them

• We just choose what we’re comfortable exposing… and how we wish to present ourselves

Any questions?

The Web SessionsDelivered by Web Services, University of Bath