Let's face it. We all try to make our Instagram aesthetically pleasing, hoping everyone gets jealous at the quality of the pics and the filters we choose. But what we really don't think when we post is how our Instagram profile effects others, besides our friends and peers, that see it. Would you be embarrassed to show a future employer your Instagram pictures?
Nowadays, it is becoming more common to see red solo cups covered by a sticker on college students' profiles.
It is clearly obvious that something is underneath that robot emoji you put on top of your friend's hand.
Social media is such an important part of today's society and how we interact with one another. We connect with future employers, friends, ex-coworkers, past professors and peers on all forms of social media.
Many of us do not realize how important a profile of square photos is to employers. It can show what you value in life, or fail to value. If you have many pictures posted with friends and the places you have visited, employers might say that you value friendship and having the ability to travel. Personally, my Instagram is almost all pictures of my friends, because their friendship is something I value higher than anything else. Post pictures of things that mean a lot to you, and show off your accomplishments.
Your future employers stalk you.
If you did not know, after college, your employers will stalk all of your social media and Google your name. They hope to find anything bad or misleading before they hire you, hoping to rule out others during the job search and find the best candidate for the job.
Your employers have social media too.
They run a business that needs to keep a clean image. Business owners strive to have a perfect company, with a large outreach, loyal customers and employees, and employees that don't cause any issues in and out of the work environment. If you put where you work on your Facebook page, you are wearing that brand, and it is put on anything you post, share, and like. If you decide to post something questionable, your coworkers or boss might find it and get you in trouble.
What can hurt your chances of landing the job?
Different posts can affect your chances, based on the job you are wanting to get. For a normal corporate job, employers will automatically throw away your resume if they see alcohol (21 or not) or anything illegal, bashing others or other companies, numerous amounts of profanity, and posting or sharing anything inappropriate. If you are in education and are looking for a teaching position, your employers will be even more strict and will look at your friends' social media and see if they can find anything of you.
How can you clean up your act?
You can certainly make all your accounts private, but it is possible to find pictures and posts of you on your friends' accounts. But instead of having to make your accounts private, it is simply easier to delete anything questionable and tell your friends to delete anything on their accounts that may possibly hinder you from getting the job. You can also Google yourself and see what pops up. If something needs to get deleted, log into the account that it is on, or contact the company to get it taken down.
Once your social media is clean, post the link to your resume and/or portfolio in your bios for employers to find after the interview. It will show them how you are interested in growing your career and that you are actually focused on your future. Lastly, stay professional at all times. You never know when a company could love what you are doing on Instagram, but then they find pictures of you with alcohol on your Facebook.