Hey! How’s your social media looking these days? Pretty good? Let me check…
Dude, dudette … that one meme, hilarious! But aren’t you looking for a job?
It was pretty easy to look you up; I wonder if a recruiter could do the same thing?
I wonder…
AHHH! Clean-up time. Stat!
You have no idea how to clean up your social media? Seriously? Do you realize would-be employers do utilize social media to check out applicants? Let’s not talk about the ethics of it. I admit, I’m not a fan of the idea either, but hey, reality, it happens.
So how do you clean up your personal interwebs space? How do you make your social media employer friendly? I got some tips and no, you don’t need to make it look professional and perfect, but you should keep a few things in mind.
Delete
How bad is your account? Is it four years worth of nudity and not-so-nice jokes? Maybe you just need to pull the plug to get away from it. Delete that thing, or just suspend the account so no one in the professional world can see it before they even get a chance to call you for an interview.
If you don’t want to go that far, it may be just a simple task of deleting posts in your history that may show you in a poor light. This includes any complaints about a past or current employer. If you have been on a campaign of work frustration, your emotional sharing can easily become over-sharing for a potential employer.
Be honest with yourself, your level of acceptable may not be the same for others. This is especially the case for a company within certain industries, like security or intelligence.
Change Your Privacy Settings
All private, all the time. Yup, change that stuff so no one but those who are already your friends can see. I would also suggest making your posts not shareable during your job search. That way posts are not linked back to you.
Change Your Pictures
Does your profile picture feature your unconscious mug from last Friday night? Not a good idea. Even if you have your profile set to private, both your profile and cover photos are visible. Change it. The pic doesn’t have to feature you in your professional best, but it should be simple. Please don’t stick out your tongue; that only works for the members of Kiss.
Be Mindful
I don’t mean become Buddhist, but being aware of what you post and re-post can be important. Once you’ve got things cleaned up, keep it that way. Monitor what is posted on your account and what you choose to put up as well.
With all of that said, don’t freak out. Your social media is under your control; you can easily change its tone. There’s no need to stop being yourself, just a better representation of that self.
Good luck!
