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As a recent graduate, a lot of the conversations I heard while with friends was about how much fun they had on the weekend and then I’d see pictures all over Facebook with them out partying, holding others hair back and generally having a good time. When you’re under 21, having pictures of alcohol and you on social media is a big no no. Like, you can get in some serious trouble when applying for a job.
“But I’m 21 now! It doesn’t matter! I’m an adult. I can make my own choices.”
Yes, yes that is very true! You can drink until you pass out and kill your weekend, of course. But, you need to think about your digital footprint and what your future employers can see. And what kind of job you want to have.
Now, if you are going to have a relatively lax job and you truly feel that your ‘out-until-4-am’ attitudes and photos won’t hurt you, that is one thing.
But for most individuals who work a 9-5 job, you need to at least present some from of professionalism. Or at least lock that Facebook down!
If anyone can google your name and see your photos, then maybe you should edit it so only your friends can see it.
Even then, I’d say just not post it. If you don’t feel comfortable sharing it all over the place and happily showing it to a future boss, then maybe just keep it in your camera roll to laugh about later.
Why Should You Listen To Me?
At my internship in college, I helped with recruiting new interns to replace me when I was leaving. I’m no detailed hacker but I know how to get my way around the internet. So, my job was to do basic background searches on individuals.
We had one individual who was perfectly qualified for the position and was really smart too. He would have been perfect.
However, his Facebook told another stories.
Photos with red cups at parties from before he was 21 (which my employers didn’t like) and photos of him smoking illegal substances a few years prior, in another state.
Most likely he was just having fun with friends and being a kid. But, immediately he was disqualified and banned from being able to apply again. I believe what he did was legal in the state he had done it in, however in the state the future job was, it didn’t matter. He just looked like a bad candidate because of it.
Maybe they would have found out about the drugs later, maybe not. But because there was physical evidence, they physically couldn’t even interview this candidate that was well equip for the job.
In the modern day and age, employers don’t even need to meet you to get an idea of you. A quick google search and they can find a lot about the average individual. It doesn’t take some genius hacker to be able to get an image of you. Now, this may not be an accurate image. Maybe your Facebook shows you partying on the weekends but during the week you’re a straight-A student. Your employer (while they will get your resume) will still see all these photos and have a preconceived idea.
It’s better to let them wonder rather than having a wrong image of you. You would hate to have to work hard in an interview to prove someone wrong versus just being you.
Rule of thumb for college kids: if you wouldn’t be okay showing your parents, then maybe don’t post it.
You may not think that what you are posting now matters but in 2 years it could bite you in the butt.
Learn how to lock down your social media accounts at the following link.
