Why is cleaning up your social media important?

Companies know that most students spend time on social media. During the hiring process, recruiters often go online to check the social media activities of potential hires. Make sure that your online presence will not cost you a career by keeping these tips in mind.

Be wary about sharing information on the internet. Much that is posted will never be truly removed from public view. Here is a list of content you should never share online:

• Don’t ever post negatively about an organization by mentioning them by name. Many companies have alerts set up to notify themselves whenever their name is brought up online.
• Don’t publicly complain about your job, boss, coworkers, or customers.
• Don’t overshare details about your intimate relationships.
• Don’t post or associate yourself with bad habits. 
• Never write or take pictures of yourself skipping classes, playing games, and sleeping at school or work.
• Never reveal your drug and drinking activities online.
• Never discriminate or make rude and inflammatory comments.
• Never post confidential information, whether personal or professional.

Now that you know what information to keep from posting online, here are some steps to clean up your past and current online activity:

Google yourself

Set up a search alert using your name so you can be notified when someone posts something about you online. Next, search for your name and add some identifying modifiers, such as location, school, or associated organizations. Don’t forget to search your name on every social media platform you have used.

Remove all unflattering or unprofessional content

If anything unprofessional comes up in your searches, be sure to delete it or privatize the content. For content that wasn’t posted by you, message or email the poster to take the information down on your behalf. Be aware of things you like, share, or are tagged in. It is best for you to review every tagged post on social media so you can screen your profiles for professionalism. Watch your attitude, so don’t write mean, aggressive, or obscene commentary anywhere. Make sure you don’t annoy people with over-promoting/bragging about yourself on social media as well.

Use social media effectively on your job search by creating a LinkedIn account to network professionally with industry contacts online!