How to Professionalize Your Social Media

How to Professionalize Your Social Media Photo by rawpixel.com on Unsplash Delete photos (or keep them private) that have illegal, or less than ideal, content Remember all those college ragers that you attended and just  needed  to keep documented on every social media platform imaginable. While it lasted a mere 24 hours on your Snapchat or Instagram story, they can easily be found on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram posts. Its no secret that many college-aged students drink or party, but you dont want to have that be the main theme of your social media profiles, especially if said photos were taken when you werent the legal age to drink. Save the photos before you delete them if you dont already have extra files saved somewhere else, but depending on the platform, hiding the photo by switching it to private or my eyes only so that you can still view it, but to the eyes of recruiters, it was never there. If you find yourself questioning what qualifies as professional or not, just imagine your manager coming across the post in question. If its something that would be the deciding factor in keeping your job, getting a promotion, or even getting hired its better off deleted and unassociated with your social media platforms. If you still find yourself questioning the post its better to be safe than sorry by deleting it. Remember those up-and-coming celebrities that have their career destroyed, or at least tampered, by a controversial tweet or photo from their past social media? You want to avoid being in the same situation with your future employers by  editing your social media now. Use your social media to advertise yourself as a potential employee showcase your work and network LinkedIn isnt the only social media platform you can use to accelerate your professional career. If used right, you can utilize your social media platforms to showcase your work and experience to hiring managers and recruiters when you professionalize your social media. For example, if you have had your work published on multiple sites, make sure to dedicate posts to your work. A new article published on a site? Dedicate a tweet to promoting it. Another video released that you took part in editing? Add a post on your Facebook linking to it. Dont be shy when it comes to bragging about all the effort you have put into building your career. If your social media profiles are going to be viewed by recruiters or hiring managers, you may as well make it into an opportunity to stand out among other applicants. After you have made an effort to professionalize your social media, you can use it to actively connect to people in your potential field. If youre not sure on where to start follow accounts that post open positions, career advice, or associated with the job you wish to pursue. Doing so will allow you to be up to date with the career you wish to pursue and help associate yourself and your social media with the field. Keep your audience in mind when you post and update your profile Now that you have put all the work into trying to professionalize your social media profile, make sure that you dont let your efforts go to waste by not filtering what you post in the future. This doesnt mean that you have to completely restrict yourself from letting your personality shine through your posts and profiles, but you do want to keep your audience in mind as you update your social media in the future. For a night out at the bar with your friends, you may have posted videos of you taking shots before adjusting to a professionalizing your social media profiles, but now it will be a better choice to post a nice group photo to commemorate the night before the shots even begin. This way, you can document your personal life and keep your personality and life on your social media, but you also wont turn off recruiters who come across your posts. When youve made an effort to professionalize your social media accounts, remember to maintain all the work youve put into the transition. If you find yourself struggling to do so or find that the efforts have come undone its never too late to switch your profiles to private if you dont want to risk your professional image.