We often view social media as our own personal platform, somewhere we can portray ourselves in any light we so choose, we share our lives, our emotions and for a large number of people, our opinions for the world to view anytime they search our name but with the leap in technology comes a leap in how our potential employers research and view us.

As avid users of social media we often forget that once you post something, you may delete it but you can never take it back, other users could have screenshots or have saved the post, the things we share on these platforms are often shared forever. 

Which is why in the day and age of technology, we have to be hyperaware of the image we create of ourselves online. More and more employers look at a prospective employee's social media platforms to gain a better awareness of the type of person they would be bringing into their company. If they choose to look at yours, would you prefer they see a respectful, kind individual or would you allow them to see someone who may be argumentative, who advocates drug use or is unkind to other individuals? 

You have probably seen a lot in the media regarding historic tweets of celebrities that could be viewed as racist, transphobic or homophobic. These tweets, some from as long as 10 years ago, cost these celebrities their followers, some lose their jobs and their reputation. The cost of sharing everything is inordinately high and more often than not comes back to bite people in the future. Something as seemingly small as sharing a drug related meme, that gets viewed by your seniors, could put you out of their minds for a promotion.

Make sure prospective employers and current employers get the best possible first impression of you by following our challenge below.

Challenge:

Look at your social media platforms the way a prospective employer would. Would you want to hire you?

What changes could you make to present yourself better online?