You’ve cleaned up and locked down your Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram for your job search, but is there anything you may be missing? Here are four things you can do to help keep your online presence from being a liability:
Google Yourself
Have you Googled yourself lately? You can bet that companies will search your name, and while you may have done a great job of locking down your own pages, you need to know what may be coming up from other sites. There might be a couple of errant photos from your friends’ sites that need to come down, or some questionable content from that blog post you forgot you wrote two years ago.
Purge Your “Following” List
Can you recall everyone that you have followed on Instagram or Twitter? There may be people you followed as a joke or as a favor to friends. No matter the innocent explanation, companies won’t have the backstory handy, meaning that everyone you follow will be taken at face value. Unfollow any pages that may seem controversial, and be aware that an inappropriate profile photo on a friend’s page may give a bad impression of your online habits.
Remember Your Myspace Page?
Remember that Myspace page you had back in college? Even if you haven’t been on it in a decade, your page still exists on the server. Long-forgotten social media pages you made for Myspace, Pinterest, or Google+ are searchable, and they may contain content that would make you blush. Search for and delete them now before a company finds them.
Review Your Reviews
Checking a candidate’s activity on review or ratings sites is becoming standard for companies. If you are a regular Yelper, take stock of what you have written and delete anything that may look questionable to a third party who knows little about you. A one-star review is fine, but don’t let Hiring Managers read your long rant on your waiter, even if they were obviously in the wrong. Always err on the side of caution when it comes to showing your best face on review sites.
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