A career as a Personal Support Worker (PSW) is uniquely rewarding. That’s because PSW’s have an opportunity to take a hands-on role in caring for others. Their work makes it possible for others to live more independently and with dignity.

Because the Personal Support Worker carries such important responsibilities, employers are cautious about whom they hire. The interview process for a PSW position is arduous, and references are thoroughly checked.

However, the advent of the Internet has provided employers with even more ways to get to know applicants. It’s becoming increasingly common for employers to Google a prospective employee’s name, look at their Facebook profile and investigate their Twitter feed. They’re looking for information that doesn’t come out in an interview, the kinds of things that most applicants don’t want their employer to know.

It’s this kind of online check that makes it so important for PSW’s to monitor their online reputation. When you take charge of the way you appear in the virtual world, it can make you look more attractive to potential employers. It can mean landing that job as a Personal Support Worker instead of having to keep looking.

How to change Facebook settings?

Perhaps the most important step toward maintaining a positive online reputation is managing Facebook privacy settings. Most people have a Facebook account, and post to it regularly. The posts may be highly personal and expose information that the user doesn’t necessarily want their employer to see.

Accordingly, it’s important to click on the cog symbol found on the screen’s upper right corner. Select “Privacy Settings” to determine who can see profile details and future posts. Choosing anything other than public is appropriate. The user can decide exactly who has access to their posts, and that means keeping prospective employers out.

In the same screen, it’s possible for the user to control how other Facebook users are able to search for them. Prospective employers probably have access to an applicant’s phone number and email. Typically, they can use this data to search for a Facebook profile. By only allowing friends to locate the user via this search method, the employer won’t be able to find the profile.

How to use Google Alerts?

Another valuable online reputation management tool called Google Alerts has recently become available. Google is always finding new search results, and it’s possible for the user to ask to be informed when there are new mentions on the Internet relating to their name. The mention might be from a press report, blog post or other text. Regardless, the user is immediately informed of the post and can take appropriate action.

With social media privacy settings and useful tools like Google Alerts, it’s very easy for PSW’s to control how potential employers view them on the Internet.

Image credit: Facebook icon picture used under a Creative Commons Attribution from ideagirlmedia on Flickr.

Image credit: Google icon picture used under a Creative Commons Attribution from juancho 507 on Flickr.

If you enjoyed this article, please consider sharing it!