When you’re looking for new job opportunities or want to advance your career with your current employer, cleaning up your social media presence is essential. Depending on what’s posted, the information hiring managers or company leaders find can harm your chances.
Ideally, you want to ensure that everything that’s publicly accessible reflects well on you as a professional. If you aren’t sure where to begin, here are some tips that can help you clean up your social media presence.
Remove the Right Photos
Having some photos accessible on your social media profile can work in your favor, as it allows hiring managers to learn more about your personality. However, any images showing you engaged in questionable or controversial activities can alter their perspective on you as a candidate, and not for the better.
Generally, you want to take down or hide any photos that show you in compromising positions or participating in activities that may be divisive. This can include those referencing alcohol or drug use (even if it’s legal), as well as those relating to political or religious activities.
Go Through Your “Friends”
While you would likely hope that a hiring manager would limit their social media exploration to your content, that isn’t always how things unfold. Many may review your friends list to learn more about your connections.
Often, the main goal is to see if you have contacts in common or whether you engage with people and groups that provide professional value. However, some hiring managers may also see if you’re friends with controversial figures, organizations, or businesses, effectively judging you based on those associations.
In most cases, you want to comb through your friends list to determine if any connections may be questionable in the eyes of a hiring manager. If so, it may be best to sever them.
Examine Any “Humorous” Content
Humor is highly subjective. What may be amusing to one person could be offensive to another. As a result, it’s best to look at any posts, comments, or likes relating to that sort of content.
Consider how the joke may be viewed by members of different groups. If there’s a chance someone wouldn’t see the humor in it – or worse, deem the content offensive or inappropriate – it’s better to ensure you’re not associated with it. That can include removing posts, unliking content, or deleting comments.
Search for Old Social Media Accounts
In many cases, when a person transitions away from a social media platform, they don’t always delete their account. Instead, it simply lingers unused. The issue is that those profiles may be discoverable, which could cause long-forgotten content to come back to the surface.
Often, it’s best to search for any old social media accounts you didn’t close. You can start with a simple Google search to find ones that may still be open. Checking your email accounts for notifications from the platform may work, as well as submitting password reset requests using your email or phone number. Then, if that profile has content that you prefer didn’t resurface, you can delete it.
Are you looking for new job opportunities? Partner with the Staffing Resource Group to get your search headed in the right direction. Contact us to learn more about our services today.
