4 minutes
Have you ever Googled yourself? Would an employer like what you see?
Employers may search for your social media profiles and use them to help decide whether to hire you. Posts like party pictures and angry rants might not give them the best first impression.
We’ve got some tips to help you make your profiles more work-friendly.
Before posting anything online, ask yourself: ‘Could this get me in trouble at work?’
The first thing to consider is your privacy settings. These might depend on what you're using the account for. For example, you might use Facebook to catch up with family and friends, but you could be more open about who follows you on Twitter or Instagram.
If you’re using Facebook and want to keep it private, be careful about your settings. There are several levels of privacy to navigate. Even if your overall account is hidden, you might need to check individual posts to make sure they do not show up on a search.
You can also set custom audiences. This will be useful if you’re friends with people from work because you can decide what posts they see.
Take a look back through your timeline for anything controversial. And, if you’re using an account publicly, think every time you post.
If your friends like to “check you in” on a night out, think about how your epic pub crawl comes across on your feed in the cold light of day.
Check that anything you’re tagged in on Facebook is only shown to ‘friends’. You can also set your preferences so that you can review any post you’re tagged in before it appears on your own timeline.
If you’re tagged in Instagram posts, you can hide them from your profile or remove yourself.
Protecting your privacy on social media is not just an issue when you’re job-seeking. It’s important to make sure nothing you say or do online could get you in trouble at your current job. If you include the name of the company you work for in your profile information, anything you say could be associated with the company.
The best way to avoid career disasters is to use your common sense. Before posting anything online, ask yourself ‘could this get me fired?’ or ‘could this lose me a job interview?’ If the answer is yes, do not post it.