When you’re searching for a new job or even prepping for college, your online presence is just as important as your physical appearance. More and more companies use social networking sites as part of their recruitment process and Google taps into not only Facebook, but also into your activity on Twitter, Google Plus and personal online blogs. So what does your cyber presence say about you? Does it boost your image or ruin it?
In a recent story, a young girl from Texas tweeted “Ew I start this f*** a** job tomorrow,” and was fired from her job before she even started. In more high profile news, social media slip-ups have gotten people like Justine Sacco and Elizabeth Lauten in pretty hot water.
So, in this age of over-sharing, it’s important to keep your virtual nose clean. Here’s how:
Google yourself: This will give you an idea of what other people will see when they search you. Don’t forget to google any maiden names or other aliases you’ve used.
Check your accounts: Sites like Facebook and Twitter, are usually first to show up in search results, so its best to tackle those first. Review your photo albums, profile picture and photos tagged by others and remove any photos that contain drinking, drugs, nudity or sexually explicit images. Get rid of any nasty remarks about your job or boss.
Lock it up: The easiest way to keep too many eyes off your social profiles is to set them to private or limit the access. Make sure to pay attention to what other people are allowed to tag you in.
All Sites are not created equal: Even if current or potential employers aren’t checking out your Facebook and Twitter profiles, they will almost always check you out on Linked In (trust me, I’ve worked in HR for years). Treat your Linked In page as your professional online resume and save the club photos for other sites.
When it comes down to it, the best piece of advice is to think twice about what you’re posting. If we’ve learned nothing from the MANY celeb social media scandals, it’s that once it’s out there, you can’t take it back. If you wouldn’t want it on the 9 o’clock news, don’t put it out there.
What say you BMWK? Has Social Media ever landed you in hot water at work?