Social Assurity LLC

Our Social Media experts empower students to take ownership of their digital footprint, learning how to control their online reputation and to optimize their shared content. With our reputation management and personal branding methods, when admissions officers and recruiters look, they will be impressed. 

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5 Ways Students Can C.R.A.F.T. an Effective Social Media Presence

"When used properly, social media can positively impact college, graduate school,, scholarship, internship and employment opportunities. "

High school and college students are bombarded with reminders about the growing importance of their social media presence. When used properly, social media can positively impact college, graduate school, scholarship, internship and employment opportunities. Telling students to be smart with their social media without providing proper guidance can be a frustrating exercise. Here are five actionable steps students can follow to start building an informative and positive social media presence.

Create Compelling Content:  Most students must first break the habit of posting impulsively and spontaneously before taking steps to build a meaningful digital presence for their future. Posts made “in the moment” will leave a digital trail that is often shallow, unimpressive and inconsistent. An effective social media presence is built by way of deliberate and meaningful posts producing an accurate digital portfolio that is insightful, introspective and identifying.

Resume Replacement: Colleges and employers are using social media to search for, identify and recruit talented students and employees. Social media is replacing the resume as the primary source of relevant information on candidates. Also, the recently announced Coalition College Application will incorporate an online student digital portfolio as a key component of the college admissions process. Students must learn the necessary skills to effectively post work samples, write blogs, and other descriptive content to  build a discoverable and authentic social media presence. The academic and professional opportunities presented by social recruitment requires students to establish a social media presence on platforms such as LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. These are the go-to recruitment platforms and will serve to establish a stronger presence via Google Search.

Audience and Attributes: Most students post content geared towards impressing their friends. The fun part of social media lies in part on the thrill of receiving positive feedback via retweets, likes, shares, comments and new followers. With this limited perspective and purpose, it is easy for students to forget about their larger social media audience. College admissions officers, scholarship committees, coaches and employers will often form a first impression based on a social media review prior to meeting that person in real life. As students realize their public social media profiles are searchable and open to scrutiny, they will start posting content that reflects upon the skills and attributes they wish to convey to potential colleges and employers.

"While living in the moment has always come naturally to teens, the permanent and discoverable nature of social media and its growing impact on future academic and professional decisions will accelerate the need for teens to contemplate their futures earlier than ever before."

Future Focus:  Students must work to break themselves free from the fear of missing out (FOMO) and you only live once (YOLO) mentality. While living in the moment has always come naturally to teens, the permanent and discoverable nature of social media and its growing impact on future academic and professional decisions will accelerate the need for teens to contemplate their futures earlier than ever before. Even the new Coalition for Access, Affordability and Success advocates high school students to start their college applications during freshman year.  Here is where our advice veers off the beaten path – we doubt students will be negatively judged by colleges and employers for typical teenage sophomoric behavior portrayed on social media. This is all the more reason to produce content for a later date.

Tell Tales: Social media is all about storytelling. Students can tell their own stories using words, photos, audio and video. Rich content displays on Instagram create instant portfolios. LinkedIn provides a platform to communicate high school and college experiences beyond a checklist snapshot. Life experiences can be turned into blogs and posted on LinkedIn or Blogger. Activities, causes, interests and inspirations fit nicely into a Facebook profile. Twitter provides a great platform to share this content with others and to introduce students to people and communities who share their interests.

Students should follow the five elements of C.R.A.F.T. to guide them to create a compelling social media presence that will supplement their resume and applications. A thoughtful social media presence will positively set themselves apart from other candidates and will position them to benefit from the rise of social recruitment. By utilizing the powerful storytelling elements of social media, they will effectively be communicating their dreams and aspirations to an important future audience.

[socialassurity]

5 Ways Students Can C.R.A.F.T. an Effective Social Media Presence

"When used properly, social media can positively impact college, graduate school,, scholarship, internship and employment opportunities. "

High school and college students are bombarded with reminders about the growing importance of their social media presence. When used properly, social media can positively impact college, graduate school, scholarship, internship and employment opportunities. Telling students to be smart with their social media without providing proper guidance can be a frustrating exercise. Here are five actionable steps students can follow to start building an informative and positive social media presence.

Create Compelling Content:  Most students must first break the habit of posting impulsively and spontaneously before taking steps to build a meaningful digital presence for their future. Posts made “in the moment” will leave a digital trail that is often shallow, unimpressive and inconsistent. An effective social media presence is built by way of deliberate and meaningful posts producing an accurate digital portfolio that is insightful, introspective and identifying.

Resume Replacement: Colleges and employers are using social media to search for, identify and recruit talented students and employees. Social media is replacing the resume as the primary source of relevant information on candidates. Also, the recently announced Coalition College Application will incorporate an online student digital portfolio as a key component of the college admissions process. Students must learn the necessary skills to effectively post work samples, write blogs, and other descriptive content to  build a discoverable and authentic social media presence. The academic and professional opportunities presented by social recruitment requires students to establish a social media presence on platforms such as LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. These are the go-to recruitment platforms and will serve to establish a stronger presence via Google Search.

Audience and Attributes: Most students post content geared towards impressing their friends. The fun part of social media lies in part on the thrill of receiving positive feedback via retweets, likes, shares, comments and new followers. With this limited perspective and purpose, it is easy for students to forget about their larger social media audience. College admissions officers, scholarship committees, coaches and employers will often form a first impression based on a social media review prior to meeting that person in real life. As students realize their public social media profiles are searchable and open to scrutiny, they will start posting content that reflects upon the skills and attributes they wish to convey to potential colleges and employers.

"While living in the moment has always come naturally to teens, the permanent and discoverable nature of social media and its growing impact on future academic and professional decisions will accelerate the need for teens to contemplate their futures earlier than ever before."

Future Focus:  Students must work to break themselves free from the fear of missing out (FOMO) and you only live once (YOLO) mentality. While living in the moment has always come naturally to teens, the permanent and discoverable nature of social media and its growing impact on future academic and professional decisions will accelerate the need for teens to contemplate their futures earlier than ever before. Even the new Coalition for Access, Affordability and Success advocates high school students to start their college applications during freshman year.  Here is where our advice veers off the beaten path – we doubt students will be negatively judged by colleges and employers for typical teenage sophomoric behavior portrayed on social media. This is all the more reason to produce content for a later date.

Tell Tales: Social media is all about storytelling. Students can tell their own stories using words, photos, audio and video. Rich content displays on Instagram create instant portfolios. LinkedIn provides a platform to communicate high school and college experiences beyond a checklist snapshot. Life experiences can be turned into blogs and posted on LinkedIn or Blogger. Activities, causes, interests and inspirations fit nicely into a Facebook profile. Twitter provides a great platform to share this content with others and to introduce students to people and communities who share their interests.

Students should follow the five elements of C.R.A.F.T. to guide them to create a compelling social media presence that will supplement their resume and applications. A thoughtful social media presence will positively set themselves apart from other candidates and will position them to benefit from the rise of social recruitment. By utilizing the powerful storytelling elements of social media, they will effectively be communicating their dreams and aspirations to an important future audience.

[socialassurity]

5 Ways Students Can C.R.A.F.T. an Effective Social Media Presence

"When used properly, social media can positively impact college, graduate school,, scholarship, internship and employment opportunities. "

High school and college students are bombarded with reminders about the growing importance of their social media presence. When used properly, social media can positively impact college, graduate school, scholarship, internship and employment opportunities. Telling students to be smart with their social media without providing proper guidance can be a frustrating exercise. Here are five actionable steps students can follow to start building an informative and positive social media presence.

Create Compelling Content:  Most students must first break the habit of posting impulsively and spontaneously before taking steps to build a meaningful digital presence for their future. Posts made “in the moment” will leave a digital trail that is often shallow, unimpressive and inconsistent. An effective social media presence is built by way of deliberate and meaningful posts producing an accurate digital portfolio that is insightful, introspective and identifying.

Resume Replacement: Colleges and employers are using social media to search for, identify and recruit talented students and employees. Social media is replacing the resume as the primary source of relevant information on candidates. Also, the recently announced Coalition College Application will incorporate an online student digital portfolio as a key component of the college admissions process. Students must learn the necessary skills to effectively post work samples, write blogs, and other descriptive content to  build a discoverable and authentic social media presence. The academic and professional opportunities presented by social recruitment requires students to establish a social media presence on platforms such as LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. These are the go-to recruitment platforms and will serve to establish a stronger presence via Google Search.

Audience and Attributes: Most students post content geared towards impressing their friends. The fun part of social media lies in part on the thrill of receiving positive feedback via retweets, likes, shares, comments and new followers. With this limited perspective and purpose, it is easy for students to forget about their larger social media audience. College admissions officers, scholarship committees, coaches and employers will often form a first impression based on a social media review prior to meeting that person in real life. As students realize their public social media profiles are searchable and open to scrutiny, they will start posting content that reflects upon the skills and attributes they wish to convey to potential colleges and employers.

"While living in the moment has always come naturally to teens, the permanent and discoverable nature of social media and its growing impact on future academic and professional decisions will accelerate the need for teens to contemplate their futures earlier than ever before."

Future Focus:  Students must work to break themselves free from the fear of missing out (FOMO) and you only live once (YOLO) mentality. While living in the moment has always come naturally to teens, the permanent and discoverable nature of social media and its growing impact on future academic and professional decisions will accelerate the need for teens to contemplate their futures earlier than ever before. Even the new Coalition for Access, Affordability and Success advocates high school students to start their college applications during freshman year.  Here is where our advice veers off the beaten path – we doubt students will be negatively judged by colleges and employers for typical teenage sophomoric behavior portrayed on social media. This is all the more reason to produce content for a later date.

Tell Tales: Social media is all about storytelling. Students can tell their own stories using words, photos, audio and video. Rich content displays on Instagram create instant portfolios. LinkedIn provides a platform to communicate high school and college experiences beyond a checklist snapshot. Life experiences can be turned into blogs and posted on LinkedIn or Blogger. Activities, causes, interests and inspirations fit nicely into a Facebook profile. Twitter provides a great platform to share this content with others and to introduce students to people and communities who share their interests.

Students should follow the five elements of C.R.A.F.T. to guide them to create a compelling social media presence that will supplement their resume and applications. A thoughtful social media presence will positively set themselves apart from other candidates and will position them to benefit from the rise of social recruitment. By utilizing the powerful storytelling elements of social media, they will effectively be communicating their dreams and aspirations to an important future audience.

[socialassurity]

5 Ways Students Can C.R.A.F.T. an Effective Social Media Presence

"When used properly, social media can positively impact college, graduate school,, scholarship, internship and employment opportunities. "

High school and college students are bombarded with reminders about the growing importance of their social media presence. When used properly, social media can positively impact college, graduate school, scholarship, internship and employment opportunities. Telling students to be smart with their social media without providing proper guidance can be a frustrating exercise. Here are five actionable steps students can follow to start building an informative and positive social media presence.

Create Compelling Content:  Most students must first break the habit of posting impulsively and spontaneously before taking steps to build a meaningful digital presence for their future. Posts made “in the moment” will leave a digital trail that is often shallow, unimpressive and inconsistent. An effective social media presence is built by way of deliberate and meaningful posts producing an accurate digital portfolio that is insightful, introspective and identifying.

Resume Replacement: Colleges and employers are using social media to search for, identify and recruit talented students and employees. Social media is replacing the resume as the primary source of relevant information on candidates. Also, the recently announced Coalition College Application will incorporate an online student digital portfolio as a key component of the college admissions process. Students must learn the necessary skills to effectively post work samples, write blogs, and other descriptive content to  build a discoverable and authentic social media presence. The academic and professional opportunities presented by social recruitment requires students to establish a social media presence on platforms such as LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. These are the go-to recruitment platforms and will serve to establish a stronger presence via Google Search.

Audience and Attributes: Most students post content geared towards impressing their friends. The fun part of social media lies in part on the thrill of receiving positive feedback via retweets, likes, shares, comments and new followers. With this limited perspective and purpose, it is easy for students to forget about their larger social media audience. College admissions officers, scholarship committees, coaches and employers will often form a first impression based on a social media review prior to meeting that person in real life. As students realize their public social media profiles are searchable and open to scrutiny, they will start posting content that reflects upon the skills and attributes they wish to convey to potential colleges and employers.

"While living in the moment has always come naturally to teens, the permanent and discoverable nature of social media and its growing impact on future academic and professional decisions will accelerate the need for teens to contemplate their futures earlier than ever before."

Future Focus:  Students must work to break themselves free from the fear of missing out (FOMO) and you only live once (YOLO) mentality. While living in the moment has always come naturally to teens, the permanent and discoverable nature of social media and its growing impact on future academic and professional decisions will accelerate the need for teens to contemplate their futures earlier than ever before. Even the new Coalition for Access, Affordability and Success advocates high school students to start their college applications during freshman year.  Here is where our advice veers off the beaten path – we doubt students will be negatively judged by colleges and employers for typical teenage sophomoric behavior portrayed on social media. This is all the more reason to produce content for a later date.

Tell Tales: Social media is all about storytelling. Students can tell their own stories using words, photos, audio and video. Rich content displays on Instagram create instant portfolios. LinkedIn provides a platform to communicate high school and college experiences beyond a checklist snapshot. Life experiences can be turned into blogs and posted on LinkedIn or Blogger. Activities, causes, interests and inspirations fit nicely into a Facebook profile. Twitter provides a great platform to share this content with others and to introduce students to people and communities who share their interests.

Students should follow the five elements of C.R.A.F.T. to guide them to create a compelling social media presence that will supplement their resume and applications. A thoughtful social media presence will positively set themselves apart from other candidates and will position them to benefit from the rise of social recruitment. By utilizing the powerful storytelling elements of social media, they will effectively be communicating their dreams and aspirations to an important future audience.

[socialassurity]

Why I’ve Stopped Doing Interviews for Yale

Last year, I conducted alumni interviews for Yale applicants. It’s an easy gig. You take a smart, ambitious 17-year-old out for hot chocolate, ask them about their life, and then report back to the university, “Yup, this is another great kid.”

I recently got an email asking me to re-enlist. Was I ready for another admissions season?

I checked “No,” mostly because “Aw, hell no” wasn’t an option.

Why my reluctance? No grudge, no beef, no axe to grind. It’s just that the whole admissions process is so spectacularly crazy that participating in it— even in the peripheral role of “alumni interviewer”—feels like having spiders crawling out of my eyeballs.

In the last 15 to 20 years, Yale’s applicant pool has gone from “hypercompetitive” to “a Darwinian dystopia so cutthroat you’d feel guilty even simulating it on a computer, just in case the simulations had emotions.”

Read more

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The New High School Essentials: LinkedIn, a Resumé, and a Digital Portfolio

In a world where more than a third of college admissions officers visit applicants' social media pages and 93% of job recruiters review candidates' social profiles before making hiring decisions, a digital presence is now an essential for hopeful college admits, entry-level apprentices, and future employees alike.

A decade ago, high school students were sent home with supply lists that included a backpack, binders, notebooks, and pens. Today, it is becoming increasingly important for a high schooler to come prepared with his or her digital records of achievement, including a LinkedIn profile, a resumé, and a digital portfolio. These tools increase a student's odds of success landing college admittance, job offers, and scholarships, interviewees told me.

One of the key tenants of storytelling is to show, rather than tell. Digital portfolios enable students to do just that by sharing their stories in engaging, visual ways.

Read More at Huffington Post

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Empowering Students, Parents and Schools with 21st Century Skills

NEW YORK, Sept. 2, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- As the college application season kicks into high gear, pioneers in social media, Social Assurity is launching a new eLearning platform called Social Assurity University. Social Assurity University is the first eCurriculum designed for schools, students, parents and job-seekers that makes social media education positive, empowering and goal-oriented, by teaching new skills and strategies for college admissions and job recruiting in today's world. Instead of focusing on what not to post, Social Assurity University teaches learners how to post with a purpose and get discovered. Social Assurity also expects these strategies and techniques will reduce incidents of cyberbullying by giving new purpose to teen social media activities. 

Social Assurity University's eCourses range from introductory, eye-opening content, to advanced skills and training in popular platforms like LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook. Individual courses can be purchased on socialassurity.com and cost between $44.95-$124.95. Social Assurity also offers group licensing packages to schools, parents associations, college counselors and career advisors.

In today's competitive world, college admissions officers and employers are turning to social media to help recruit and assess a candidate's character and accomplishments.  Over a third of college admissions officers have visited an applicant's social media page to learn more about them, according to Kaplan Test Prep's 2014 survey of college admissions officers, and a 2014 social recruiting study by JobVite revealed 93% of recruiters will review a candidate's social profile before making a hiring decision.

"Many people argue that job boards, resumes and cover letters are dead," says Alan Katzman, founder of Social Assurity. "We agree, and also believe that the traditional college application is fast approaching the end of its useful life. With technology enabling individual data to be published online and easily accessible, students and job seekers must learn to navigate and leverage this important new social marketplace. With this in mind, we are thrilled to expand our scope and reach with Social Assurity University."

After taking the courses himself, Game Theory College Planner founder Danny Umali said, "These are courses that EVERYONE should take, not just college applicants but parents and any professional in the workforce. It reinforces why we need to use social media as a way for colleges and employers to discover the best parts of ourselves, and not something we should hide.

[socialassurity]

College and Job Applications in a Social Age

At the beginning of the summer a close friend of mine waited anxiously to hear back from a company she had applied to for a summer internship when she informed me that she would be deleting her Facebook account until the end of the summer.

According to her, the company said it would conduct a sort of “social media background check” so she did not want to risk jeopardizing the opportunity for a photo or post that she may have been tagged in years ago.

After “stalking” her Facebook page to see what sort of things might be of that nature, I realized she had nothing to hide. She was an average, athletic, 21-year-old college student with a social life and a lot to offer. But this made me think.

If a college-aged female with an appropriate social media presence is intimidated by the idea of jobs looking at her Facebook and Instagram, how does everyone else feel? And, on the other hand, what are colleges and job recruiters looking for on these pages? And for what purpose?

Out of 100 high school and college students surveyed, 72 responded that they were either worried about, intimidated by, or self-conscious of the idea that college admissions officers and job recruiters look at social media accounts. This survey also showed that 16 of these same students previously deleted or deactivated an account in order to avoid backlash when applying to schools and employment positions.

Negative feelings toward social media recruitment may have even increased after Kaplan Test Prep conducted a survey in 2014 that found, “Over a third (35%) of college admissions officers have visited an applicant’s social media page to learn more about them”, the highest percentage since 2008 (Kaplan Test Prep).

With this percentage in mind and knowing that social media recruitment has become increasingly popular, I wanted to look into how various colleges and businesses use social media in regards to recruiting and hiring candidates.

Zach Wielgus, Assistant Director of Undergraduate Admissions at Boston College (BC), states that BC does not use social media in the admissions process, instead mentioning that “The purpose of our social media handles… are to disseminate information, provide a student perspective, and answer questions prospective students and parents have.”

But, while BC and many other schools may not actively seek out applicants on social media, their own online presences (on Facebook, Twitter, and even Instagram) show they are in contact with prospective and admitted students in other ways, so social media admittedly does play some role in the process.

Wielgus was not the only one who declined the use of social media in the admissions process, however. In fact, after contacting the top 40 colleges and universities on the U.S. News and World Report’s National University Rankings, 28 of them did not reply, 2 declined to answer any questions on the topic, and 10 said generally the same thing as Wielgus— to them, schools had no use looking at students’ social media profiles and it was, therefore, left out of the process.

As students, we are often taught to privatize or edit our online presences in order to protect our chances of getting accepted into schools or hired by employers, but all of these schools denied looking at applicants’ pages. Why then, did we get the idea that colleges and jobs would look at our social media accounts? One would think that the more competitive schools would be the ones looking, so why are they denying it? Do schools really not look at our accounts? Or are they denying it because it is not being used fairly?

When asked about the topic, senior Kyleigh McGrail of Stone Bridge High School in Ashburn, Virginia stated, “I’ve always been told, by parents and teachers and whatnot, that colleges look at your social media accounts. I’ve heard stories of recruited athletes that got their scholarships taken away because of what they put on social media. Because of this, my social media accounts have always been clean— I think it’s super important.”

While keeping a clean online presence is important for high school students, like McGrail, who will apply for college in the fall, social media recruitment in the job world has become increasingly popular as well.

Questions like, “Do you have a blog?”, or sections where you can attach your LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram links are increasingly common on today’s job applications, which are, in more cases than not, found and submitted online.

Mark Babbitt, CEO and Founder of YouTern and President of Switch & Shift, hires through LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter, often Googling potential team members. “I only want to know two things,” he states, “What are you really, really good at? And how would that help my team accomplish our mission?”

And, in reality, social media is the best way to display what you are “really, really good at” without having your whole life summed up in a resume, CV, and/or cover letter, which lack the personality and creativity job recruiters are looking for.

Using a piece of paper as a first impression is not always good enough because although you may be experienced, employers need another way to distinguish between qualified candidates.

Kristin Magaldi, a recent 2015 graduate of Fordham University, states, “I think keeping your social media profiles clean and appropriate is the best way to avoid employers getting the wrong idea of you before they even meet you.”

Adding that, even though she was lucky enough to get a job right out of college, she was aware of the importance of keeping her social media clean and appropriate, especially during the application process. “I say look at it as a first impression, and treat it that way,” Magaldi continues. “You want them to have a good first impression of you, and your social media should reflect that.”

Unfortunately though, not all individuals get the opportunity to create a good first impression with their social media accounts because some applications are overlooked. But once an application is in the door and interest is peaked, Internet users have the advantage of impressing employers on the “Big Four” social media accounts. According to Tony Restell, Founder and Social Media Marketing Director of Social-Hire, these accounts include LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and Google+.

“I always start on LinkedIn,” Babbitt states, “but value what I find on social media equally… I look for character first… If I see an applicant is clearly demonstrating passion for their chosen career path, industry, their community or volunteer work, or is exhibiting leadership, I am almost always impressed.”

But, according to Babbitt and Restell, many candidates end up ruining their chances at excellent careers because they do not appear professional online, so their applications and online presences do not match up. “To me, that means the applicant is being dishonest now… and will likely be dishonest later,” Babbitt concludes.

And since there is a variety of candidates applying to schools and jobs, employers are looking for those who are the same both on and off paper. So, the obstacle we face, in a world where not every company and university is as honest as “We are going to do a social media background check,” is not knowing whether we are being looked at online and choosing to make our online footprint attractive anyway.

"Like it or not, in the Social Age we are judged by the character displayed on social media."  -- Mark Babbitt

----------------------------

Taylor Mead is a Communication & Media Studies major at Fordham University graduating in May 2016 and an advisor to Social Assurity LLC, a company specializing in social media education and awareness for high school and college students.

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A Brief History of People Getting Fired for Social Media Stupidity | Rolling Stone

Not a day goes by, it seems, without a new story of someone posting an unbelievably tasteless, offensive, stupid, racist, homophobic, sexist or otherwise inappropriate thing on social media. Bigotry expressed in private is inexcusable, but bigotry voluntarily scribbled upon the un-erasable blackboard that is the Internet is a new kind of unbelievable. It boggles the mind that people will actually document and broadcast their terrible ideas online – especially given the documented and broadcast history of people getting fired over similar behavior. And yet, they do.

Read more at Rolling Stone

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Social Media and College Admissions

The following article was originally posted on LinkedIn by our friend Danilo Umani of Game Theory College Planners

A few months ago, I made a concerted effort to learn about social media because I suspected that this new cultural phenomenon was here to stay. When social media began to rear its ugly head with concerned parents and students, I was unable to offer any advice other than "be careful" and "don't get caught doing something stupid." Katherine Cohen from Ivy Wise labels this type of advice as the "grandma test" in her recent article from the Huffington Post. How does the test work? If you wouldn't want your grandmother to see it, don't post it.

I knew that this type of advice was incomplete. I had a student call me just minutes after she Tweeted about her visit to Elon University. She needed advice. Elon Tweeted back and she did not know what to do! I was unable to offer her advice one way or the other. Even before this incident, I suspected that colleges were scanning social media to evaluate prospective students but how far did this type of "review" extend to the admissions process? What about scholarships and financial aid?

About a month ago, I discovered Social Assurity. I came across this organization on Twitter and saw that they specialized in educating students and families in managing their social networking. Instead of starting from an avoidance or "don't get caught" mentality, they approached from a stand point of leverage. Their message? Colleges are looking, but let's give them some insight into your student. Let's help the college discover the best parts of your student and give them an edge with college admissions. I reached out to Alan Katzman, Social Assurity's founder, and he validated a lot of my suspicions and educated me on some really interesting points I never even considered. We even recorded a podcast together and have many more planned on the horizon. I realized that social media is an even bigger deal than I originally thought.

Here is what I know now. We cannot ignore social media. It is definitely not going away. Based on my recent podcast with Alan Katzman, I want to sum up the basic points he made. Maybe by starting here, we can begin to look at social media in a more positive and exciting way. Happy social networking and see you soon somewhere in the Twittersphere?

1. We want a presence on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. These are the social networks where the colleges are looking. Colleges are making a lot of inroads with LinkedIn since they are beginning to correlate job positions and success with the colleges that led these individuals to these careers. It may lay the groundwork for a new ranking system. Many students are going to need LinkedIn to find their next job. Why not start now?

2. According to Alan Katzman,  It's OK to make mistakes. Just because you are "holding a red cup" in a photograph doesn't mean the college is going to blacklist you. Colleges do, however, want to make sure that they are getting "more than test takers." Do your stated passions align with what they are seeing on social media? Are the additional insights gained from your social network reinforce their admissions and scholarship award decisions? Do you come across as racist? Are you intolerant?

3. Not being on social media is a red flag. A large percentage of college applicants are on social media. Not having a presence can introduce more suspicion that can hurt your chances. At the very least, students competing against you will have the advantage of giving colleges more avenues to discover them. 

4. Many parents believe that their students shouldn't be reduced to a test score, an application, and an essay. Well, here is your chance. Leverage social networking as an enhancement to the application process. Give the colleges more opportunities to discover who your student is as a complete and well-rounded applicant.

5. College admissions is one thing and finding a job is another. Colleges and careers go hand in hand. Social networking is no different. Your student needs to embrace social media sooner rather than later. If you think colleges are flocking to social media, what do you think employers are doing? When your student learns to manage his or her social networking, they will have a leg-up when it comes to the job search.

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Fixing Up Your Facebook Page For College Admissions: A Booming Business

Lanre Badmus deleted his Twitter account before the start of his senior year at Westfield High School in Westfield, NJ. He also made his Instagram account private and changed his name on Facebook to a nickname. For all of this secrecy, you would think Badmus was trying to hide something from the government or law enforcement. Instead, he was simply applying to college.

“I was sort of afraid colleges would look at my profiles. I didn’t want any of my social media rants to come back and bite me in the college admissions process,” Badmus says, adding that he often posted angry Facebook statuses about his favorite sports teams losing big games and Instagrammed pictures of bikini-clad models.

When Badmus announced he would attend the University of Carolina, Wilmington next year, he immediately changed his name on Facebook back to his real name. “It took a weight off my shoulders,” he says.

Like Badmus, many high school students worry that admissions officers will disapprove of their online behavior. A recent survey by Kaplan Test Prep suggests this fear is not unfounded – 35% of admissions officers surveyed had visited an applicant’s social media page, and 16% had found something online that negatively influenced an applicant’s chances.

In response, a new group of online reputation management firms aims to optimize what admissions officers would see if they Googled an applicant. 

Read More at Forbes

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Students Beware: The Reality of Social Media Recruiting

Colleges and employers are increasingly relying on social media to assess a candidate's character, integrity, and cultural fit. From Kaplan Test Prep's annual survey of college admission officers to CareerBuilder's survey of employers, it’s clear that social media vetting has gone mainstream.

For the most part, students have come to accept this additional hurdle, although many still express fear, uncertainty, and doubt over how their typically one-dimensional social media activities will be interpreted by colleges and employers. In fact, the majority still choose to act defensively by deleting what they perceive to be questionable photos and posts, hiding behind an alias, or shutting down their social media altogether. This is a mistake.

Hiding one’s online presence directly conflicts with what is arguably the more important yet largely under-reported aspect of social media: college and corporate recruiters are learning to use the search capabilities of Google, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn to identify and then recruit targeted talent.

Read More at CollegeXpress

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Are You Social Media Savvy for College and Career?

Powered by Interact

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Showcasing Your Accomplishments on Social Media for College Admissions and Career Advancement

It is time to redefine Social Media's role in student life and to elevate the conversation. The debate is over. Having a robust social media presence is an essential element of college admissions and job search activities.

Social media has quickly evolved from a peer-to-peer platform to a public showcase of an indivdual's talents, skills, activities and accomplishments. Colleges and employers have been integrating social media review into their recruitment and assessment processes at a rapid pace. Whether students realize it or not, their social media has become their resume, cover letter, personal statement and recommendation letters all rolled into one.

Browse our previous articles for in-depth discussions and analyses of the drivers behind this paradigm shift. At the heart of this movement is the perceived ability to judge a candidate's integrity, credibility and character by way of social media. Accelerated by real-time social media conversations, candidates can stand out and impress decisionmakers simply by packaging their experiences in a smart and deliberate way.

Many students will be traveling, working and volunteering this summer as they build their portfolio for college and career. Social Assurity  believes that these experiences should be showcased on social media to build a digital dossier for their future. Whether it is LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, Google+ or Instagram, posting about one's experiences creates a rich mosaic for interaction, recruitment and consideration. The persuasive power of social media dwarfs traditional methods of recruitment and a blind adherence to traditional tools will leave those users in the dust. 

The world wants interesting people! Grades, test scores and resumes are boring, uninformative and dated. Utilize the story telling power of social media to stand out, be heard and be seen.  Start today.

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5 Reasons Why Social Media Prep Must Be Part of the College Planning Process

Social Assurity has written extensively on the topic of social media’s growing influence over college admissions decisions. Our core belief is that social media preparation should be a key part of the college planning process. High school sophomores and juniors should now be dedicating time to work on optimizing their social media profiles to create compelling content accurately reflecting their activities, interests and accomplishments. Here are 5 reasons why:  

Reason #1: Admissions Officers Are Looking at Applicant Social Media

Thanks to Kaplan Test Prep and its annual survey of college admissions officers, we know that 35% of admissions officers in the United States have looked at applicant social media during the 2014 admissions process. What we don’t know are which colleges are looking nor the reasons they look nor the extent of their social media inspection activities. In other words, all we really know is that more than a third of all admissions officers examined at least one applicant’s social media during the 2014 application season. Given this frustrating lack of guidance, the responsible applicant needs to assume that admissions officers will be assessing character by looking at their social media activities as part of the college admissions process.

Reason #2: Since They’re Looking, Give Them Something to See

College admissions officers have neither the time nor the interest to search social media simply to find reasons to reject qualified applicants. At best, temporarily shutting down a social media profile or using a fictitious name during the college application process will only raise suspicions when that applicant cannot be found. If and when colleges look, logic dictates they look because they want to learn more about the applicant, opening the door of opportunity for the prepared applicant to set themselves apart from other qualified applicants.

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Reason #3: The Best Offense is a Good Defense

Almost all colleges now have a prominent social media presence and encourage applicants to interact with them on sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube. Interacting with school officials, alumni and current students is a positive for applicants if, and only if, the applicants' social media is in proper order.  Remember that whenever an applicant sends a message to a college official using a social network's native messaging system, that applicant is also necessarily transmitting a digital dossier containing all profile information specific to that social network. This includes all past posts, photos, friends and followers. As a result, colleges are routinely receiving full access to applicant digital DNA by way of these social interactions. By having their social media optimized for inspection, applicants can freely and safely interact with colleges using social media and may very well impress the right people as a result.

Reason #4: Many Colleges Use Social Media to Proactively Recruit Students.

This is all so much more than simply creating a LinkedIn account. Many college recruiters are searching for talent on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter as well. Therefore, this is also about learning how to leverage the capabilities of Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to their full potential by going beyond the basic post and like functions. This is about how a thoughtful, transparent, content rich and balanced social media presence across networks can help college applicants stand out in a crowded field. The ultimate goal is to be found when a college taps into social media’s big data function by understanding your personal search metrics and the proper keywords needed to describe your unique set of skills, talents and qualities.

Reason #5: Proactively Managing Social Media is an Essential Life Skill

Social media is here to stay and will continue to influence character assessments made by colleges, scholarship committees, coaches, internship selection committees, employers, landlords and future significant others. It is time to learn how your social media can work for you rather than against you by accurately reflecting your persona, skills and attributes for people to see and view.

[socialassurity]

5 Reasons Why Social Media Prep Must Be Part of the College Planning Process

Social Assurity has written extensively on the topic of social media’s growing influence over college admissions decisions. Our core belief is that social media preparation should be a key part of the college planning process. High school sophomores and juniors should now be dedicating time to work on optimizing their social media profiles to create compelling content accurately reflecting their activities, interests and accomplishments. Here are 5 reasons why:  

Reason #1: Admissions Officers Are Looking at Applicant Social Media

Thanks to Kaplan Test Prep and its annual survey of college admissions officers, we know that 35% of admissions officers in the United States have looked at applicant social media during the 2014 admissions process. What we don’t know are which colleges are looking nor the reasons they look nor the extent of their social media inspection activities. In other words, all we really know is that more than a third of all admissions officers examined at least one applicant’s social media during the 2014 application season. Given this frustrating lack of guidance, the responsible applicant needs to assume that admissions officers will be assessing character by looking at their social media activities as part of the college admissions process.

Reason #2: Since They’re Looking, Give Them Something to See

College admissions officers have neither the time nor the interest to search social media simply to find reasons to reject qualified applicants. At best, temporarily shutting down a social media profile or using a fictitious name during the college application process will only raise suspicions when that applicant cannot be found. If and when colleges look, logic dictates they look because they want to learn more about the applicant, opening the door of opportunity for the prepared applicant to set themselves apart from other qualified applicants.

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Reason #3: The Best Offense is a Good Defense

Almost all colleges now have a prominent social media presence and encourage applicants to interact with them on sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube. Interacting with school officials, alumni and current students is a positive for applicants if, and only if, the applicants' social media is in proper order.  Remember that whenever an applicant sends a message to a college official using a social network's native messaging system, that applicant is also necessarily transmitting a digital dossier containing all profile information specific to that social network. This includes all past posts, photos, friends and followers. As a result, colleges are routinely receiving full access to applicant digital DNA by way of these social interactions. By having their social media optimized for inspection, applicants can freely and safely interact with colleges using social media and may very well impress the right people as a result.

Reason #4: Many Colleges Use Social Media to Proactively Recruit Students.

This is all so much more than simply creating a LinkedIn account. Many college recruiters are searching for talent on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter as well. Therefore, this is also about learning how to leverage the capabilities of Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to their full potential by going beyond the basic post and like functions. This is about how a thoughtful, transparent, content rich and balanced social media presence across networks can help college applicants stand out in a crowded field. The ultimate goal is to be found when a college taps into social media’s big data function by understanding your personal search metrics and the proper keywords needed to describe your unique set of skills, talents and qualities.

Reason #5: Proactively Managing Social Media is an Essential Life Skill

Social media is here to stay and will continue to influence character assessments made by colleges, scholarship committees, coaches, internship selection committees, employers, landlords and future significant others. It is time to learn how your social media can work for you rather than against you by accurately reflecting your persona, skills and attributes for people to see and view.

[socialassurity]

5 Reasons Why Social Media Prep Must Be Part of the College Planning Process

Social Assurity has written extensively on the topic of social media’s growing influence over college admissions decisions. Our core belief is that social media preparation should be a key part of the college planning process. High school sophomores and juniors should now be dedicating time to work on optimizing their social media profiles to create compelling content accurately reflecting their activities, interests and accomplishments. Here are 5 reasons why:  

Reason #1: Admissions Officers Are Looking at Applicant Social Media

Thanks to Kaplan Test Prep and its annual survey of college admissions officers, we know that 35% of admissions officers in the United States have looked at applicant social media during the 2014 admissions process. What we don’t know are which colleges are looking nor the reasons they look nor the extent of their social media inspection activities. In other words, all we really know is that more than a third of all admissions officers examined at least one applicant’s social media during the 2014 application season. Given this frustrating lack of guidance, the responsible applicant needs to assume that admissions officers will be assessing character by looking at their social media activities as part of the college admissions process.

Reason #2: Since They’re Looking, Give Them Something to See

College admissions officers have neither the time nor the interest to search social media simply to find reasons to reject qualified applicants. At best, temporarily shutting down a social media profile or using a fictitious name during the college application process will only raise suspicions when that applicant cannot be found. If and when colleges look, logic dictates they look because they want to learn more about the applicant, opening the door of opportunity for the prepared applicant to set themselves apart from other qualified applicants.

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});

Reason #3: The Best Offense is a Good Defense

Almost all colleges now have a prominent social media presence and encourage applicants to interact with them on sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube. Interacting with school officials, alumni and current students is a positive for applicants if, and only if, the applicants' social media is in proper order.  Remember that whenever an applicant sends a message to a college official using a social network's native messaging system, that applicant is also necessarily transmitting a digital dossier containing all profile information specific to that social network. This includes all past posts, photos, friends and followers. As a result, colleges are routinely receiving full access to applicant digital DNA by way of these social interactions. By having their social media optimized for inspection, applicants can freely and safely interact with colleges using social media and may very well impress the right people as a result.

Reason #4: Many Colleges Use Social Media to Proactively Recruit Students.

This is all so much more than simply creating a LinkedIn account. Many college recruiters are searching for talent on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter as well. Therefore, this is also about learning how to leverage the capabilities of Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to their full potential by going beyond the basic post and like functions. This is about how a thoughtful, transparent, content rich and balanced social media presence across networks can help college applicants stand out in a crowded field. The ultimate goal is to be found when a college taps into social media’s big data function by understanding your personal search metrics and the proper keywords needed to describe your unique set of skills, talents and qualities.

Reason #5: Proactively Managing Social Media is an Essential Life Skill

Social media is here to stay and will continue to influence character assessments made by colleges, scholarship committees, coaches, internship selection committees, employers, landlords and future significant others. It is time to learn how your social media can work for you rather than against you by accurately reflecting your persona, skills and attributes for people to see and view.