How to Keep Your Personal and Professional Life Separate Online

In today’s connected world, many employees have faced professional consequences because of postings on social media or because other online content has gone “viral” and come to the attention of employers.  You don’t want to jeopardize career opportunities because of your Internet activity, so you should take steps to keep your personal and professional life separate.

 

• Keep your social media profiles private

If your social media posts are public, anyone and everyone can access them. Even if you’re not posting anything especially controversial, you may not want to give potential employers an inside glimpse into all of your family activities you post on social media. By setting your profiles to private, you don’t make yourself so much of an open book.

 

• Don’t “friend” all of your colleagues online

When you invite colleagues into your personal online spaces, those spaces become de facto professional spaces. You don’t want to have to be careful about what you post lest you become the target of office gossip that eventually gets back to your boss.

 

• Don’t let others post pictures of you on their social media

No matter how careful you are about posting photos that paint you in a compromising life, it will all be for naught if your friends or family post pictures with you in them that you don’t want potential employers to see. Make clear you care about your online reputation and don’t want to be tagged or have your pictures posted on anyone else’s accounts.

 

• Use a nickname or abbreviated name on personal accounts

If you can use a nickname that’s not the same as your professional name, it is less likely your employers will be able to access all of your social media sites and learn things about you that you’d rather keep private.

 

• Avoid posting things you definitely don’t want employers to see

No matter how careful you are, something could get back to an employer. Don’t post anything that you think would be especially damaging to your career.

 

By maintaining separation between your personal and professional online lives, you won’t have to worry about what comes up on a search engine when employers inevitably Google your name. The Reserves Network can help you to find those employers who your online profile can impress, and can make it easier for you to land a great job opportunity in your chosen field. Give us a call today to find out more.