Step 4: Clean up your social media presence (Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram)

According to McMullen (2015) of Business Insider, you need to get rid of anything that contradicts the professional image you are creating or plan to create on your LinkedIn profile. She suggests removing inappropriate Facebook pictures and Instagram photos of suggestive selfies. Since a lot of employers use Google, McMullen also recommend improving your privacy settings (especially on Facebook). Google yourself and see what pops up.

It is important to decide if you want to use your accounts for personal use or professional use. I recommend splitting the difference. Make your Facebook account completely private and use it for your personal relationships. Make your Twitter public and use it for your professional relationships and hobbies. For image-based social media accounts, keep them public if your profession is related (i.e. you're a graphic design, photographer, marketer), but if all your photos are personal, private your account.

Learn more about how to clean up your online presence here.

Assignment: Google yourself to see what pops up. Then have a (trusted) friend look at all of your social media pages to see what they think! Need another set of eyes, message me the links and I'll take a look.