Cleaning up your Social Media Presence Before Graduation

It’s approaching that time of year again. Soon colleges and universities across the country will be graduating a new crop of individuals ready to enter the job market. It can be a daunting time in your life, full of change and uncertainty. But before you put on that cap and gown, and walk across that stage, it’s time to think about what your social media presence says about you.

Did you know that 45% of hiring managers and HR professionals say that they look at social media sites when considering candidates to hire? And 1 in 3 of these professionals say they have changed their mind about a candidate based on what they saw online!

Don’t let those pictures of your college frat parties, spring breaks, and formals negatively affect your job search.

Here are some quick tips for cleaning up your social media presence before you begin your job search:

  1. First, Google yourself to see what comes up.
  2. Check out all of your social media pages to see what you look like to the general public.
  3. Set your Facebook and Instagram accounts to private, so not only your pictures, but ones you are tagged in are visible for friends only.
  4. Read through your Twitter account. Do you post about topics not suitable for work or use vulgar language?  Then set that to private too. However, if you use Twitter to engage with thought makers and industry leaders for the type of job you want, then keep it public.
  5. Have you set up your LinkedIn page yet? If not, now’s the best time to do so. This is an excellent place to make yourself visible to and connect with HR managers and Recruiters, letting them know you are searching for entry-level opportunities. Just make sure you use a professional looking headshot as your profile picture, not one you’ve cropped your friends out of.
  6. Finally, take a look and make sure your profile pictures on all sites are appropriate and more professional looking. Even with your social media pages set private, your profile pictures are often visible to the public.

And one last tip for making sure your social media presence is positive:
If you wouldn’t say something to your grandma or in front of your parents, don’t post or share it online.

For more tips on getting your job search off to a great start, check out some of our other posts here.

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