Important Social Media Tips

Besides using common sense, consider these tips to maintain a positive and professional online presence:

• Clean up your digital presence, if needed. Remove any pictures, content, or links that can send the wrong message to employers. Ask yourself, “How do I show up in the world?” Try a Google search on yourself periodically to see what comes up.
• Remember the internet is a public space. They are called social networking sites for a reason. It is becoming commonplace for employers to do an online search for candidates before making job offers. A good guideline: don’t put anything out on a social networking site that you wouldn’t want to see on the front page of the newspaper.
• Use social networking sites to your advantage. Maintain your online profile by portraying an image consistent with how you want to be perceived. Demonstrate to employers your communication skills by, at a minimum, always using proper grammar and spelling. Convey your professional image by choosing your photo and your screen name carefully. Include great references on your profile from a variety of different people to present a positive professional image of yourself