Current Web Based Presence

By Brooke Ignatowski Dietetics major at Arizona State University

November 2011

Table of Contents
Executive Summarypage 1 The Future Professional Me.page 2
Post-undergraduate Intentions..page 2 Current Job Openings in Dieteticspage 2 Professional Dietician Profiles on LinkedIn..page 3 Evaluation Criteria..page 4

The Current Me..page 6

Personal Searchpage 6 Criteria: Education Level....page 7 Criteria: Experience amount....page 7 Criteria: Experience type....page 8 Criteria: Professional Affiliations...page 8 Criteria: Philanthropic work.page 8

Bridging the Gap...page 9

Strengths..page 9 Weaknesses.page 9

Appendicespage 10
URLS for found information.page 10 Table summary of finds.page 11 Works Cited....page 11

Executive Summary
This is an analysis of my current web presence with an application of how it can both help and hinder my intentions following graduation. Initially, this report focuses on the topics of what I would like to do after graduation and the qualities that are appreciated in this profession. These qualities are determined by analyzing professionals already in the field as well as job advertisements. Next, in The Current Me, I attempt to determine what potential employers could discover about me based on my social networking profiles. Using the found information, I will evaluate the currently available information in relation to my intentions following graduation. Finally, this report discusses my current strengths and weaknesses based on what employers could potentially discover about me online.

The Future Professional Me

Post-undergraduate Intentions
Following graduation from Arizona State University with a bachelors degree in nutrition, I would like to pursue a nationally recognized certification in the same field before becoming a practicing dietician. Nutrition is a science based form of healthcare that can assist greatly in the prevention of disease states and/ or the complications stemming from a disease. Even though there are no specific qualifications necessary to give the public nutrition advice, I esteem to provide the most beneficial and relevant information available. I feel that in order to this level of service, a higher education is absolutely necessary. I have not yet determined the specific population subgroup on which I would like to focus, however I feel that a younger population may benefit most from a prevention perspective. I believe that my passion for nutrition and the prevention of unnecessary disease makes dietetics the most appropriate profession for me.

Current Job Openings in Dietetics

The position listing for a community educator for the Childrens Home Society of California is asking for a nutrition specialist to assist families working with the agencies to educate and mentor families about nutrition and healthy behaviors. The job requires both planning and implementing educational components in group and public settings. The minimum requirements include a bachelors degree, and Masters level certification, and a minimum of three years professional experience. In addition, the company desires demonstrated experience in providing direct nutrition education and conducting consultations, experience with home visits, and knowledge of family systems. A Fitness/ Wellness position for Shane Diet and Fitness Resorts position posting is asking for both nutritionists and interns to work with young adults in their weight loss clinics. This employer prefers a registered dietician or Masters level graduate and is also very interested in those persons capable of developing education programs and overseeing the foodservices for the entire program. The Clayton County Health Department is currently advertising for a Public Health Nutritionist . This employer places great value on accuracy and independent judgment as well as the ability to develop, monitor, evaluate, and revise nutrition care plans for individual clients, especially those with high risks. The health department is looking for people with abilities in data analysis, computer knowledge and understanding of human psychology and human behavior. The applicant must be a registered dietician. Although they vary quite a bit, I would be interested in pursuing any of these positions because they all aim at providing sound nutrition advice and education in order to prevent disease or reduce complications from an existing condition. Each employer is looking for different qualities, obviously

ones that would most benefit their particular position however, they also contain multiple common requests as well. The employers are looking for individuals with graduate degrees or equivalent professional experience. This means that the more experience that I can document, the more qualified I will be for a desired position. The employers are also looking for personnel with the ability to develop and implement education programs these tasks are greatly assisted by organization and leadership qualities. Many clubs offer good venues to develop these skills. Finally, while only one advertisement made specific mention of computer and analysis skills. These are definitely skills that are essential in effective job function. Without making good use of the tools available, the clients suffer from limited educational materials and the employee must work harder and longer to reach the same outcome; greatly diminishing the value of compensation.

Professional Dietician Profiles on LinkedIn

In order to obtain a nationally recognized certification, I will need to attend graduate school and complete an internship. These are both highly coveted positions, and therefore require that I stand out from the crowd in order to secure a position much like a position in the workforce. This not only requires a high level of academia, but also other qualities of distinction. Many universities and employers also look for the candidates with soft skills in leadership, attention to detail, and organization. In addition, when working with the public it is important to be compassionate, professional, approachable, and timely. In order to determine the most suitable and coveted qualities, I have reviewed multiple LinkedIn profiles of professional dietitians. By looking at these profiles, I have determined that it is important to show flexibility, ability to adapt, communicate through speaking and writing both publically and individually, passion and a desire to stay current. A very easy to show a desire stay in the knowledge forefront is to have membership with the American Dietetic Association (ADA) which also offers several memberships to different areas of interest. This affiliation shows a greater commitment to the standards of dietetics and a desire to keep current with the newest research. Showing a willingness to use and improve these skills in different organizations and volunteer organizations groups is essential to obtaining a desired position in graduate school or the workforce. In Wendy Cuba-Dancas profile, she placed emphasis on flexibility and adaption to the individual in addition to her holistic nutritional studies. She places value on presenting an easy approach to long term health maintenance. Georgia Kostas M.P.H., R.D., L.D. represents a registered dietician that specializes in public speaking. The qualities that she possesses which I would strive to also develop are excellent communication skills, as evidenced by her public speaking and authorship. She has also been recognized by the ADA for her leadership qualities.

The skills that Barbara Ruhs M.S., R.D., L.D.N. shows in her profile on LinkedIn include passion for the subject, and staying abreast of the most current information. Her profile also shows the benefit of education and networking as a way to succeed.

Evaluation Criteria
In order to obtain reliable, unbiased, nutritionally sound advice I would look at the following information when evaluating the reliability of nutrition information: level of education, amount and types of experience, professional affiliations, and philanthropic work. As I mentioned previously, providing nutrition device to the public does not require any particular educational requirements or affiliations. The evaluation of a persons education level provides insight into whether the service they provide is a passing fancy, an attempt to make money, or a true desire to improve the understanding of nutrition. Higher education, often regardless of the degree type, shows a commitment to learning. In addition, every degree involves the learning of basic skills such as data interpretation and source evaluation each which help to sort truth from fiction or bias when looking as scientific information. The past work history of a person shows how long they have been in the work force and the types of experiences they have had both in and out of the nutrition field. This is an important evaluation criteria because depending on the type of position, a person would need a certain level of experience because they will have no one else to rely on for help, large budgets could be at stake, or the position may benefit most from someone able to network with large groups of people. Determining whether someone is prepared to handle these or other similar type of situations is essential. A persons affiliation in professional organizations is another good evaluation criteria to help determine someones level of commitment to proper nutrition practice. The American Dietetic Association requires a nominal fee as well as a differentiation of a persons qualifications for membership. A person that is not committed to the standards of a professional will not be willing to pay the fee. In addition, a person without the proper qualifications is still allowed to join the organization, however their membership is tagged in such a way that it is known they are a member with interest not qualifications. Also, if a person shows complete disregard for the profession their membership can be revoked. Finally, although philanthropic activity is not required, it can be a good indicator of a persons intentions in the field of nutrition. This profession requires compassion and understanding individual situations. Often volunteer opportunities present when a segment of the population needs assistance without being able to pay for it or has a small budget to work with. In addition, it is an excellent way to gain experience in a variety of areas, even a paid organization is not available. Although it is very possible to be a well educated, experienced, and humanitarian nutritionist without meeting these criteria, they continue to be good indicators of both success and intent. The

most important evaluation can only take place on a personal and individual level because what may benefit one company or person, may be completely wrong for another.

The Current Me
Imagine your employer viewing a video montage of every decision you have made throughout your life. This montage would include the high school nights when your parents went on vacation and your adventures during the first year in the college dorms. For most people, there is not very much to worry about, while some may be a little more concerned. Thankfully, any person that takes the time to get to know you would appreciate the person you have become. However, what if the images and quotes they see determines whether they want to get to know you at all. The internet, especially social sites, is equivalent to a video montage that all potential employers have access to by simply having your name and other basic information normally contained on a resume. This allows them to go beyond the information you present to determine whether you are a potential candidate for interview or hire.

Personal Search
Because I have a name that is not very typical, a Google search using my first and last name alone provides mostly me specific responses. I was bothered to find out that my Facebook page was not as private as I originally intended, even though I had marked it as private. When I discovered this, I actually took the steps immediately to make it more private. Since, I do not use this social site very often, I may consider disabling my profile all together in the near future. At this time however I will continue to allow it to exist. On a second search, I was not able to locate my Facebook profile again. Other pages that the Google search engine found were MyLife.com which touts itself as a people search engine for past and present relationships. This was somewhat surprising, however only my name age and city were available. The next listing was for my ASU Directory Profile. This listing was also not very informative, only providing my name, college within the university, and declared major. I am glad that I have not added anything to this site before understanding and considering what the provided information could do. The other results on the first page of the Google search included links to my Animoto creations, Glogster account and Wordpress blog, each of which are professionally appropriate since they include work for a university English class. There were two other links that I did find to be somewhat surprising; a link to my mothers obituary which lists my siblings along with myself, but does show that I have a daughter (something that is not allowed to be asked in interviews) and a quote in The Guilfordian, the Guilford College newspaper, about the importance of trees on campus from 2000. Using Dogpile.com as a search engine did again indicate that I do have a profile on Facebook, but the link shows simply that my page is not viewable. This search also directed users to pipl.com another people search engine which was aware of my parents names as well as current and past addresses but required a fee to see anything more than the city. On this site, much of the information was also incorrect including my email address. While I am sure that some companies might pay for this type of information, I believe that the information they would find would be out

dated and not overly reliable. After all, no one had cell phones when I was learning how to make appropriate decisions. There were no other links to me personally. Using Altavista, also known as Yahoo! Search, I was not able to find any new links or affiliations, however the Facebook unavailable notification, MyLife.com and Pipl Profiles, as well as the obituary and Glogster links were again present. Following a satisfaction of my initial curiosity, I did attempt to locate other online identities and web affiliations that I know to exist using Google as well as going to that particular sites homepage and search for myself. Please see the following results: Online Identity Location Facebook My Space Yahoo LinkedIn Wordpress Animoto MindMeister Diigo NC School of Science and Mathematics (high school) Guilford College Public Status Private Public Public Public Public Public Public Partially Public Able to Find Unviewable Page Some pictures from before 2008, cancelled account Nothing Minimal information, full profile not created Full Blog with links to other sites for this class Two videos TWC MindMap TWC Links No mention No mention

Criteria Application:
Education Level: There is strong evidence of higher education in my online profile. Unfortunately, the first easily found articles mentions that I am a sophomore at Guilford College in 2000. The ASU information is current and shows that I am still in college. This can be interpreted several ways, I will

need to make more of a presence showing that I am a committed student for this to be a truly positive find for potential employers. Experience (amount and type): My online presence does very little at this point to show the amount of healthcare experience I have, especially in the areas that require a true understanding of individual experience. I will be able to show more of this on LinkedIn as I build my profile and network. I will also need to focus on continuing to build experiences offline so that I can add them to my profile. Professional Affiliations: I am a member of the American Dietetic Association which shows a commitment to quality work. I will also be joining other groups and organizations that are beneficial in gaining and building my skills. My affiliations are not currently evident online, nor are they a large part of my social life at this point. Philanthropic work: There is very little online about my involvement in my daughters school or other volunteer opportunities. Unfortunately, being a single mother working and going to school do not allow for much time to sleep or volunteer. I will need to focus on doing some high profile work to include in my online personality. Currently, there is very little online about me in any regard except schoolwork from this class.

Bridging the Gap

Strengths:
The greatest strength that my online profile currently possesses is the lack of negative or incriminating information. While I have led my life with integrity, there are things that can easily be misconstrued when viewed out of context. As I continue to monitor my actions and online identity, I will do so with a deeper understanding of the consequences to maintain this clean image. Not having to work to undo any negative information is very beneficial because there is no chance of it accidentally being discovered by a computer savvy searcher. The second strength that my online identity suggests is my commitment to education. My LinkedIn and ASU profiles both show that I am a student and my other online profiles give numerous examples of work that I have pride in. In addition, being quoted in the school paper means that I am out on campus and approachable which are also beneficial qualities.

Weaknesses:
Unfortunately, the other side of not having a negative web presence is not really having a presence online at all. This means that someone searching for me online will find very little information. This could be construed as not having done anything or everything being taken down due to being inappropriate. Neither are excellent impressions. I will need to continue to build a positive web based presence showing that I am social and able to interact with people on a personal and professional level while continuing to showcase my skills. Online, I can choose to spread the word about all of my accomplishments for whoever would like to find them. When looking at my online identity, it is obvious that I am not involved in many social or professional affiliations. Those that I am involved with, I am still not very active. While I can explain this when asked, I am often not given the opportunityespecially if it is an employer trying to decide whether I am worth a moment of their time. I will need to really work on giving myself a positive online experience that demonstrates my skills. I will most likely do this through LinkedIn by having it be all inclusive professionally and then creating links to this informative profile online in other capacities.

Appendix A
URLS
Job Openings http://nutritionjobs.com/ Childrens Home Society of California http://nutritionjobs.com/job.php?job_id=9594 Shane Diet and Fitness Resorts http://nutritionjobs.com/job.php?job_id=9678 Clay County Health Department WIC http://nutritionjobs.com/job.php?job_id=9687

LinkedIn Wendy Cuba-Danca http://www.linkedin.com/pub/wendy-cuba-danca/17/b78/59 Georgia Kostas http://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=77423934&authType=OUT_OF_NETWORK &authToken=cZLl&locale=en_US&srchid=2290e981-f944-47f6-886a-b2e438d2605e0&srchindex=5&srchtotal=490895&goback=%2Efps_PBCK_Georgia+_*1_*1_*1_*1_*1_ *1_*2_*1_Y_*1_*1_*1_false_1_R_*1_*51_*1_*51_true_*2_*2_*2_*2_*2_*2_*2_*2_*2_*2 _*2_*2_*2_*2_*2_*2_*2_*2_*2_*2_*2&pvs=ps&trk=pp_profile_name_link Barbara Ruhs M.S., R.D., L.D.N. http://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=2083490&authType=OUT_OF_NETWORK& authToken=kp1Z&locale=en_US&srchid=494b1001-4518-4129-a87c-5cb1e6c982920&srchindex=9&srchtotal=2061&goback=%2Efps_PBCK_nutritionists_*1_*1_*1_*1_*1_ *1_*2_*1_Y_*1_*1_*1_false_1_R_*1_*51_*1_*51_true_*2_*2_*2_*2_*2_*2_*2_*2_*2_*2 _*2_*2_*2_*2_*2_*2_*2_*2_*2_*2_*2&pvs=ps&trk=pp_profile_name_link

Appenix B
Search Engine Results
My Life www.mylife.com ASU Directory https://webapp4.asu.edu/directory/person/1584433 Animoto http://animoto.com/play/0kip8Gb1cpVeOkrWJcXasA Wordpress http://ignatowskitwc301.wordpress.com/about-the-author/ West Valley View (obituary) http://www.westvalleyview.com/m/Articles.aspx?ArticleID=39917 Glogster http://www.glogster.com/glog/6m2g6fqpmvb9qs0tk4s62a0?old_embed=True The Guilfordian http://www.guilfordian.com/sports/petree-begins-three-year-tree-plantingproject-1.332320#.Tr9iXEMUq7s Facebook http://www.facebook.com/people/Brooke-Ignatowski/100000120561751 Pipl http://pipl.com/directory/name/Ignatowski/Brooke Public Status Private Public Public Public Public Public Public Partially Public Able to Find Unviewable Page Some pictures from before 2008, cancelled account Nothing Minimal information, full profile not created Full Blog with links to other sites for this class Two videos TWC MindMap TWC Links No mention No mention

Online Identity Location Facebook My Space Yahoo LinkedIn Wordpress Animoto MindMeister Diigo NC School of Science and Mathematics (high school) Guilford College