Career 2.0: Are Your Social Media Profiles Career-Ready?

What does your online professional image look like? In other words, when prospective employers search for you on social networking sites—and almost 50% do—what are they likely to find out?

If you can’t answer this question definitively or if you feel the slightest bit of unease, it may be worthwhile for you to do a quick review and re-adjustment of your social media profiles. Below are some ideas you can use to get your social networking identity career-ready:

1.  Get Picture Perfect. One area where people unwittingly “expose” themselves to unwanted scrutiny is in photographs posted online. Whether the photos are in your Facebook album, or on some other social networking site, it makes sense to get a handle on what images are out there and to minimize the exposure. This isn’t about whether the photographs are vulgar (let’s just assume that they’re not); the issue is whether they are congruent with your professional identity. It’s important to note that everyone does not view or understand professionalism in the same way. If you have any doubt about a picture, keep it hidden from public view. To get help managing your photo privacy settings on Facebook, read this. For other social networks, visit their help sections on privacy.

2. Take Privacy Settings Seriously. It’s important to manage the level of access that people have to your personal information online, particularly if you have connections that you don’t know very well. Here are links to privacy information for Facebook and Linkedin (for other networks, visit the help section and search under privacy). Look carefully at the settings that determine whether information is publicly or privately available. When in doubt: err on the side of keeping things private.

3. Keep Alert! Sign up for Google Alerts (they’re free) to be notified every time your name surfaces on the Internet. You can elect to be notified immediately or periodically. If your name is common, expect see regular alerts. If something objectionable surfaces attached to your name (even if it relates to someone else with an identical name), you’ll know in advance and be prepared to discuss it.

4. Identify Yourself. Check your usernames, user IDs, email addresses, and avatars (the small photos that represents your online identity) and ensure that they are consistent with the image you want to project.

These tips may seem like an infringement on your personal life, but the reality is that the lines between professional and personal conduct online are already blurred. Employers (and anyone else who doesn’t know you) are forced to make decisions about you based on what they can see online; it’s in your best interest to ensure that your online identity is congruent with professionalism in your industry.