If you have a Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn, you have an online brand. Don’t let that
phrase scare you. It’s a good thing, especially in college when you’re actively looking for
internships. But just having these profiles isn’t enough. You have to use them the right way.
I intern for Brand-Yourself.com, an online management system to help maintain your
various online profiles and proactively use social media to promote yourself. Ever since I started
last summer, I’ve been obsessed with making sure I don’t tweet anything that could be
taken the wrong way and keeping my Facebook profile clean of swears and drama. I’ve learned a lot
about how important maintaining social media profiles positively is, so the least I can do is share
some of the wisdom.
When I’m on Facebook, I constantly see lots of pictures and albums of college
parties, people drinking, etc. This is fine for you and your friends to see, to laugh at your
experiences and relive the night. But should an employer see these pictures, it might not go over
so well. Even if your profile is private, it’s risky to have tagged photos of yourself
partying hard, drinking and doing whatever you want. You might not really care. You can call
my bluff. But if you’re serious about getting an internship and really promoting yourself for the
future, untagging or hiding these photos is a good start.
Now comes the real hard part for many: cutting back on the swearing. I know “wtf” and
inserting various other curse words in statuses and tweets or even as photo captions is basically
to be expected in our age group. Cutting out such words is a struggle. There are times where I
literally have to either delete tweets or change wording as I’m typing, since it’s become such a
habit.
But keep in mind, we’re adults now. We have to move away from the constant cursing
and inappropriate language–at least online (and yes, I realize there are many adults who still
use this language. My parents are exhibit A). Besides, taking out one f-word here and there isn’t
changing who you are or how you speak – it’s just editing and modifying so you sound more
professional and respectable. Take this challenge on gradually, carefully thinking about what
you’re going to post before you actually do so.
One last big tip on how to keep your online profiles an A+ for potential employers: from time to time, post intellectual, interesting articles pertaining to your field. Don’t abuse Twitter by merely tweeting where you’re located or what you’re up to 24/7. I’m sorry, but quite honestly, most people don’t care that you’re eating a bagel and drinking a chocolate milk and walking your dog and going to the gym. Find people to follow who are
in your major field or in an area of interest to you. Retweet some of their links and make sure to
post some of your own findings too–no need to be a copy cat. Remember not to let this tip keep
you from posting anything personal; it’s still your profile, so feel free to customize and also post
some day-to-day observations and whatnot.
Using social media profiles to your advantage will give you an edge overyour peers who do not. It’s a big task
and sometimes can be a burden, but don’t get overwhelmed. Though these can help impress
employers should they look you up, keep in mind your personality and success in an interview is what will truly win an employee over. You just have to present yourself well enough to get there.