Putting Your Best Foot Forward: Make Sure Your Social Media Profile Presents the Right Message

Gone are the days when your personal life and your professional life are separate – and you have social media to thank for that. We aren’t bashing social media. In fact, as a social networking club of young professionals, a lot of the Jaycees’ communication and press thrives because of social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. But in an age where employers are monitoring our social media contributions more than ever, it’s important to make sure you are doing your due diligence to keep a professional image on social media.

• Pictures – Are you just entering the workforce now that you’ve graduated college? Or maybe you really take advantage of your local networking events? You may want to consider hiding, untagging or deleting all of your crazy party pictures. Employers are searching for candidates that are responsible, well represented and trustworthy. If your pictures aren’t screaming, “I’m the right choice for you to hire,” you need to address the issue. The same thing goes for being considered for raises and promotions, especially if you are connected with your employer on social media.

• Connections – You are the company you keep. So many of us have contacts on social media that we don’t even know how we connected to in the first place. If your friends/followers/connections don’t shine a positive light on what you’re about, you may want to consider severing ties.

• Content – Does your profile bio send the right message and is it up-to-date? Are you sharing or retweeting nothing but funny cat memes? Do you like every.single.page that comes your way? If you want your social media profile to work in your favor, think twice about what you are putting on your social networking sites – after all, it is out there forever.

Had enough social media doom and gloom? Don’t worry—when it comes to employers looking at your social networking profiles, it isn’t all bad. Most bosses actually like to see that future or current employees have a personality – you are human! When it comes to social media, just remember to use your platform of choice to best represent your most valuable asset – yourself!