“I don’t know what your generation’s fascination is with documenting your every thought… but I can assure you, they’re not all diamonds. ‘Roman is having an OK day and bought a Coke Zero at the gas station. Raise the roof. Who cares?’” Just like Mr. Griffith, from the movie Easy A declared, potential employers might find the habit of oversharing a reason to reject someone from a job.

According to a handout from Drury’s Career Planning and Development office, the following are some tricks to present your social media presence online in a professional manner to appeal to potential employers and currents ones.

Before applying for jobs

Keep your social media G-rated, which means no signs of alcohol, drugs or nudity. Sharing posts or content related to your career field will allow you to present yourself as proactive and thought-provoking – qualities employers are interested in seeing. Being involved and conscious with those engagements shows professionalism and will help build your online brand. It is also very important to do research before you share a post or make a comment. These guidelines apply to past posts too. Going through past posts to make sure they are along these same terms will help prevent potential employers from finding something unprofessional.

Separating personal from professional on social media is another way to clean up your social. It is also a good idea to keep your social media private as a way to monitor anything that interacts with your online presence. Employers look for candidates who are active on LinkedIn because it shows interactive professionalism. Being professional on any platform means being kind, positive and avoiding oversharing.

Another must do is to be careful and conscious of the company you keep. Employers will consider those you interact with. (Photo via unsplash.com)

After being hired

Companies love their employees being prideful of working for them and one way of representing that is by sharing positive news about the company online. Being aware of your company’s online policies and practices is important to know and follow as well. Using your company’s policies and practices as a guideline on how to behave online will help ensure that you’re keeping everything legal too.

Senior strategic communications major, Lauren Pyle, shares her practice of keeping a clean and professional social media.

“I think it’s very important to make a good first impression, even if your accounts are on private,” she said. “The question is, if they only knew you from your social media, would it showcase a good personality and good traits to be hired?”

For more tips, be sure to visit Drury’s Career Planning and Development office in Bay Hall, office 148.

Written by Kelli Volonte