Social Media Shenanigans:Professional Problems

I don’t know if this happens with you but when I try to give advice to my children, I get a roll of the eyes, a flip of the hair and a growling “urgghhhhh”. However, let someone else give them the same piece of advice and it’s as if Moses came down the mountain with two tablets personally inscribed for them. Maybe your young adults don’t want to take your advice about their behavior on social media. Perhaps you want to point them in the direction of this post and they might just listen to Aunty Lynne’s Litany on taking the following precautions with their online reputations.

Whether you are looking for a part-time job to keep you going while you’re a student or you have just obtained that hard-earned degree and looking to launch your career, rest assured that potential employers will check out your social media pages as part of the recruitment process. In fact, some companies have written it into their hiring policies. Posting your social activities is all fun and games until it costs you the coveted job you have been waiting for, to make your mark in world. Take the following things into consideration as you navigate the difficult world of job hunting.

Illicit activities

Think twice before you post that video of yourself breaking the law. Whether it’s an innocent prank or a dangerous dare, whenever something crosses the boundaries of law and order, you will save yourself a lot of unwanted anguish by not posting your activities. No one wants to hire someone who publicly makes it known that that they cannot follow the rules.

Trash Talk

Check prior posts where you may have expressed vehement dissatisfaction over a brand, activity or a previous employer. Potential employers don’t want to employ people who bad-mouth companies publicly. It conveys to them that you may be the sort of person who posts while emotional. It also raises alarm bells that you may do the same to them if you find yourself dissatisfied whilst within their employ.

Google yourself

You may want to undertake this simple task and see what comes up. Take the time to go back to posts and delete anything questionable that may cast a slur on your good character. This includes shady photos, dubious posts and controversial comments on someone else’s post. If you cannot edit your posts, de-activate your accounts temporarily until you can attempt to repair your online reputation. It may limit what can be dug up on you.

Reputation management

Many corporates and big brands hire professional people to monitor the state of their reputations on the web. These services are offered to individuals as well. If you think your online life is going to seriously jeopardize your chances of landing a job, hire a professional to take care of this for you. It may cost a bit but you will reap the benefits in the long run.

My final thoughts on this would be:

• Do use common sense

• Do take advice when it comes to your online reputation

• Do be honest with prospective employers about past exploits on social media, which may affect their perception of you, but may not necessarily be true any longer