Keep It Clean

Why it’s important to maintain a professional social-media presence
By Sarah Benzuly
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Photo of college student posting to social media

The Internet remembers. What you post on any of your social media channels stays with you. It’s your digital footprint that reflects who you are as a person—to your followers and, more importantly, to a potential employer.

Don’t believe it? Google yourself. I’ll wait.

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Cringing at a Facebook rant you posted a few years back? Or did you really bad-mouth a former company on Twitter? Maybe that photo you uploaded to Instagram isn’t what you would want a recruiter to see.

Could your social presence be the reason why you’re not getting that interview?

A CareerBuilder survey from a few years back shows some eye-opening data:

“Seventy percent of employers use social networking sites to research job candidates, while seven percent plan to start. And that review matters: Of those that do social research, 57 percent have found content that caused them not to hire candidates.”

On the flip side, according to that same survey, prospective employers are interested in these positive candidate traits:

37%
Background information supports their professional qualifications for the job—share occasional articles to convey your connection to the industry.

 

34%
Creativity

 

33%
Conveys a professional image

 

31%
Shows a wide range of interests—try out volunteer opportunities to expand your purview!

 

28%
Great communication skills—proofread before posting!

 

26%
Awards and accolades—great for LinkedIn, but don’t forget about your other social spaces!

 

23%: Others post good references about the candidate

 

Your social presence goes beyond sharing funny memes, status updates and the like to your followers. You may also be sharing it with a potential employer. So before you hit share, re-evaluate the content because your next boss is looking.

Take some time in the next few days to audit your social presence and ensure it’s accurately reflecting the professional image you want to convey to the world. If it’s not, now’s the time to get it cleaned up!

 

And if you need additional guidance, make sure you reach out to our Career Services team.