CommPRO Editorial Staff

Over the past decade or so, social media have rapidly risen to become an integral part of our day to day lives. Many aspects of our lives have, as a consequence, become part of the digital world. Making friends, sharing your creations, getting an education - even going to school! With so much happening online, it can be easy to get sucked into it, as if it’s a world of its own. But what we do on social media can have very real consequences and land a severe impact on our real-world lives.

The fact of the matter is that potential employers are almost always going to use the tool of social media to investigate their prospective employees and gauge what kind of person they are. Even harmless, fun online posting on a social profile when you’re a college student can later come back to haunt you when it comes time to graduate and build a career. The way you use social media in college should be handled with consideration to avoid the kind of social media mistakes that can end up toppling your future career ambitions. These are some of the most important social media tips for college students looking to maintain a good public image!

Senseless posts with horrendous grammar

The most common cause of social media-related career damage has got to be what we post and the way we write on public forums. Of course, nobody expects you to write with a high level of academic language 24/7 online, but maintaining well-written content on any public platform can be a real boost to your career. Not every student is a gifted content writer set for a career in social media, and it’s possible to hire expert writers who can help come up with professional and engaging content at EduBirdie, for instance. These professional writers can help you with any kind of content: from a social media post to an essay. There’s always room for improvement, and at the end of the day, learning what’s career-friendly social media content might be a more important lesson for your education and future prospects than any other!

Public skirmishes and tons of complaints

The internet is known for being a space in which tempers can flare fast, and anyone who’s scrolled a social media newsfeed for just five minutes will be no stranger to the kind of heated debates that rage online. However, it probably won’t land very well with a potential employer if the first they see when they research your online presence is a series of heated online exchanges. Regardless of how infuriating you may find the opinions of other netizens, it’s probably best to restrict the number of online arguments you get into. A profile full of conflict-ridden comments sections is a definite red flag for many employers.

Being overly intimate and posting confidential information

What exactly can be deemed as inappropriate content is up for interpretation, but there are some obvious no-gos that any professional marketer knows. Anything that you wouldn’t want your grandparents to see, for instance, probably shouldn’t be seen by your employer either. We’ve all heard horror stories of people getting their dream job, only to have that dream dashed by an old social media post rearing its ugly head. One of the biggest dangers of social media is that the past can be damning - while posting something bold might seem like harmless kicks now, it can come back to bite!

Taking no or little care of your privacy

Privacy settings are great and we all appreciate social media platforms for constantly updating their policies and functions. However, you should be cautious and conscious on the Internet. All the posts where you tag specific places and people can reveal a lot of information about your habits and personality. Not only can it be dangerous for your personal safety, but also it can affect your professional image in the eyes of your future employers. Who wants to lose a great job opportunity just because you often visit their competitor’s place?

Unprofessional social profile

If you’d like to build a career in marketing, the best thing to do is to show your future employers that you know how to market yourself in the first place. Social media is a great way to achieve this goal. However, lots of students perceive social media as their private networks, not a work space. The best way to avoid this mistake is to create public social media profiles where you’d market yourself as a professional. Once your profiles are well-developed and engaging enough, it’ll be easy to use them to advertise your skills and attract potential employers.

The good news is, the most common social media mistakes to avoid in order not to damage your future career, are some of the most obvious and easy to avoid. Simply maintaining a sliver of awareness as to the possible ramifications of whatever you post can be enough to save you from shooting yourself in the foot down the line. And don’t forget, social media isn’t only negative for careers - on the contrary, maintaining a good social media presence can also be a great way to win over future employers and boost your career opportunities!