Don't change your career- change your settings!

By: Bree Blair

Do you have a Facebook and/or Twitter account?

Do you want a job or want to keep your job?

If you answered yes to both of these questions, then this blog is for you! Many people underestimate how much of an impact social networks have on your career. Professionalism takes place in and out of the office, including your appearance on social sites. Companies and organizations want people representing their office well. Of course you can still have fun, live your life, and share it with your friends, but representing yourself well is just as important.

The first thing you should always do is make sure your profile and information are completely private. For Facebook, this makes sure that no one except for your friends can see your wall posts, pictures, or even pages you liked if you make it secure enough. You can even hide your page from specific people or groups, so if you're really worried about someone finding your page, there's always an extra route to take. This is really important to do; you don't want an employer getting the wrong impression of you just because of something or someone you are friends with on Facebook. Unless you are close friends with coworkers, it's suggested to keep that information private. Keeping your social life private from your professional life is usually the safer way out and not worth the risk, with exceptions of course. Plus, I don't think you want your employer seeing some old tagged photo of you from spring break in college that you didn't even know was on there (embarrassing). If for some reason you just really don't want to make your profile private, just remember to never post anything about work or your coworkers!

If you have a Twitter account, definitely consider making your tweets private. There would be nothing worse than having your employer see your ranting tweets about all your pet peeves or how much you can't wait to quit your job. Even if your profiles and tweets are private, always avoid ever mentioning anything about work. You could be as careful as possible, and at some point, word can get back to your employer who knows someone who knows someone who follows your social site, and then a situation comes up that you really don't want to be in. Keeping business and social life separate is an easy way to stay in the clear from looking bad at the workplace. If you just thrive off of people re-tweeting you, then be careful with what you say. You don't want to give off the wrong impression to your employer or coworkers. You don't have to change your whole life just because you have a career; you just might want to change your privacy settings!