Social media has a lot of power, but just like many other powerful things, you must use it correctly or you could get burned! Whether you are a high school student preparing college applications, a college student with career aspirations, an employee looking to get promoted or a profession looking for new opportunities you need to be very aware of your online presence. What they see is what they believe. A college or company can make a life altering decision based on what they find out about you. Here are the top 10 things you should do to see what they are seeing…
Top 10 Social Media Dos and Don’ts:
- Do create an online presence on LinkedIn. Be sure to complete your profile, add a professional picture and include your contact information. The more complete your profile the better you be represented. If you have a college essay and/or writing samples, be sure to upload those to your summary. You may include a hard copy of your resume here as well.
- Do clean up you Facebook so it looks professional. Remove any public pictures that you would not want your co-workers or admissions officers to see. Have a mentor review your page and give you their feedback.
- Do set your Facebook Privacy Settings – make sure that no one can see your posts unless they are connected to you directly. Review every album of every picture you are tagged in to make sure they are acceptable. Untag yourself even if it boarders unprofessional representation.
- Do create a network before you need to – Connect with all you teachers, co-workers, friends, parent’s friends and mentors on LinkedIn. You may not need them now, but that strong network may play a huge role later on.
- Do share thought leadership content that is original or from respectable sources that represent your views in your industry or your prospective industry.
- Do not ever post anything that you would not put on the desk of your future employer.
- Do not use verbiage on Facebook or Twitter that you would not say on an Interview.
- Don’t connect with everyone on twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn, who you follow and connect to represents you.
- Do not complain on Social Media or Self Depreciate – you don’t want sarcasm to be misinterpreted.
- GOOGLE YOURSELF – Do you like what you see? This is what they are seeing!
Please take this seriously – your future may depend on it!
CLICK HERE if you are in need of a social media make-over to ensure you are represented well.