Are you sending the wrong message socially? 😬

Published: Sat, 01/30/21

Are you sending the wrong message socially? 😬

In this new year, I've covered how to break up with bad habits and toxic friends, as well as how to live 2021 with no regrets. As we progress into 2021, I want to cover another topic to help make your year ahead the best yet -- your social media image.

So the other day I spoke with young man who is concerned about the image that he’s projecting both in-person and online. Well, this situation centers around whether or not he should tone down his social media posts due to job hunting. His fear is that potential employers might search his social media and cast judgment on him -- that his presence and personal presentation on social media *could* send the wrong message to a potential employer.

This got me thinking – the image we project online is not just a concern for those job hunting. It’s a concern for ALL OF US, even if we aren’t actively seeking a job. Our online image is essential for career advancement … trying to gain admission into college... growing & maintaining relationships ... and just merely advancing our social lives.

Your online image speaks volumes about who you are, so you need to make sure it’s saying what you want it to.

We talk a lot about what your image projects and represents. Image is not just when you meet somebody – it’s part of the equation, sure – your image and presence are the collective whole of how people perceive you. And it would be an absolute shame for you to have a momentary lapse in judgment and for that momentary lapse to come back years later and bite you in the ass. We have seen how that scenario has played out to the detriment of politicians, YouTubers, celebrities, and the like recently.

You need to think about EVERYTHING that you comment, EVERYTHING that you post, EVERYTHING you put out there.

We have been given so much through technological advances, but we've also lost a few things in the process -- those being anonymity and privacy. These two things are starting to slip through our fingers, and the more social you are, the more potential is available for you to plant a social media landmine.

Making sure that your social media is saying what you want it to is CRITICAL to your success.

Like it or not, it’s increasingly difficult to fly underneath the digital radar. And what you’re presenting to the world is public access – public knowledge via Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram – my god, the list goes on and on.

The pictures you post, the things you like, the topics you discuss – they’re all on display. Even if you think you have your settings on lock-down, you really don’t want to take the chance. It’s not worth it. The benefit you get from posting some of those pictures or saying certain things are not worth it in the long run.

Don’t make these mistakes -- it's simply not worth it.

Impulsive posting – you must think through before posting because repercussions can wreak havoc on your life. Pause before posting.
Talking about taboo topics such as religion and politics – you can’t change anyone’s mind. You only can change people’s views of you, so don’t talk about your personal opinions unless you understand that you will alienate people.
TMI – Some people post too much personal information about themselves, which harm can result if your privacy settings aren’t in check. Some things should be kept private.
Accepting everyone’s friend request – people lie and have malicious intentions, so be careful.
Being offensive and saying inappropriate things – avoid posting nasty things. Try the test: would you show your 87-year-old grandmother?
Confusing personal and professional profiles – be sure to separate the two.

Now let's get back to the original question of whether or not our job-hunting friend should tone down his social media activity. If you think for one second that employers are not plugging your happy-ass into Google and searching when they are thinking about potentially employing you, you would be sorely mistaken.

Think about it – when an employer’s about to hire someone, they want to know who they’re bringing into their corporate culture. That new hire will be a representation of their brand, and if they pop that job candidate into Google, and he comes up with a beer bong in his mouth, do you think they’ll think he’s the guy for the job?

If you're concerned about how you're going to be perceived by a potential employer, you may want to tone down your activity. I’m not saying change who you are – just be super careful how you interact and react because you never know who’s watching and the fact that what you put out there on the Internet is forever.

That being said, there are certainly aspects that we can't change -- our age, height, skin color, or race. With these features, if somebody casts judgment, we can’t do anything about that. There will be people who discriminate against us about aspects we absolutely can't change. At the end of the day, it’s their loss anyway.

But certain things you have control over, and certain things you can be true to yourself. More than even being true to yourself, you need to make sure that you’re okay with what you are putting out there.

Your image needs to be consistent, both in-person and online as well. If you're doing and saying and acting certain ways that is not necessarily in-line with the way that you want to be perceived by the outside world, then you may want to take a hard look and change. If that means taking down some old pictures, removing some tags, or deleting some comments that you've made, I would say NOW is the perfect opportunity to do so.

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