Social media is used on a much wider scale than ever before not only by individuals but with several companies as well. In many cases corporations now have their company profiles on Linked In as well as on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, so it’s very easy for them to search for you on social media platforms and find out not just your lifestyle habits, but your political views and the kinds of friends you keep. Company profiles on Linked In comes in great numbers making them relatively easy to access and find information about them in the present. With that being said, just like any other tool, social media can go into shambles under the wrong hands. Can you social media profiles damage your career prospects?
The answer to this question is a definitive yes. Indeed, there has been countless number of cases in which many careers were put in jeopardy. One negative effect of Social Media is with how some users handle privacy. The reason behind this is that the intimate details of our lives can be posted so easily and users are prone to bypass the filters they might normally employ when talking about their private lives. Furthermore, the things they post remain available for an indefinite time. While at one moment a photo of friends doing shots at a party may seem harmless, the image may appear less attractive in the context of an employer doing a background check.
The end result is certainly unpleased with ways on how it is able to damage your business. Some businesses have opened up social media for their employees and ended up in court for failing to control what was being said. Some were held liable in libel cases. Staff have had to be laid off, solicitors involved and public relations restored – and recovery from social media transgressions is not easy or cheap. As such, companies are advised to practice caution when using this particular platform to promote their services. It is also wise to avoid social media blunders that can ruin your brand which include the practice of inconsistency, spamming posts, distasteful content, negative feedback to online campaigns, bad timing, carelessness, bad quality posts and bashing the competition. Hacked accounts are also an issue that proves to be quite problematic and as such, companies are advised to strengthen their security by changing their passwords up every 6 months.
It should be noted that companies are not the only ones affected by social media as individual personalities as well become target of persecution. Social media mistakes that could damage your career include complaining about your job or boss, sharing your latest job offer, posting tasteless comments and the likes.
Online users aren’t left defenseless however as you can avoid running your job prospects by choosing to restrict your personal profiles avoiding 3 party applications. You can also decide to erase your digital footprint which include deleting old posts and profiles from discussion forums, deleting negative comments you may have made about work or other people, closing or deleting inactive social media accounts as well as untagging yourself from friends’ photo albums. Others even decide to take the necessary measures by launching an entirely new online presence starting a clean slate in the process.
