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!

Trick or Tweet - The Halloween Guide to Twitter

Written by Carly Smith


October 31 is almost here. So, in the spirit of one of my favorite holidays and my newfound love of Twitter, here are a few tips to keep you safe and successful when you go “Trick or Tweeting” this year.

1. Yes to outrageous costumes, no to outrageous tweets.
   
   Many people consider Halloween a time to get a little wild. Hey, when else can you walk around pretending you are Lady Gaga, a tanned Jersey Shore cast mate, or a certain embarrassing tweeting politician? Probably not so often… Unfortunately, the same idea does not work as well for your tweets. Shock value and comedy are not always best, especially when your tweets are public. Yes, in case you haven’t been told this a thousand times already, what you do on the internet is public. Not to scare you because it’s Halloween, but what is said over social networks can and has been used against seeking and current employees. This could include you… if you’re not careful. Just like your mom used to inspect all of your candy before you got to dig in after a successful night trick or treating, review what you wrote before you tweet. Is it appropriate, rude, potentially embarrassing? Think: Would I want my future or current boss to see this? If the answer is no, you probably shouldn’t tweet it.


2. There’s nothing worse than no one “getting” your costume.
   
   This is the worst. You think you have the greatest Halloween costume idea ever, and then no one has any idea what you are. Because I try to get creative and make my own costumes every year, I’ve fallen victim to this time and time again. One year I was a pirate, but everyone thought I was dressed as a biker. Not a successful Halloween for me. Obviously, I need to be clearer on what I am trying to be. With Twitter, you also want your followers to “get” who you are. The simplest way to do this is in your bio. This is the perfect opportunity to let people know who you are, what you’re interested in, and what your goals are. Your bio can be clever, simple, funny, whatever… what’s important here is that it represents who you are. Your tweets should also be representative of how you want to portray yourself. For example, if you are thinking about going into the fashion industry, tweet and re-tweet interesting and relevant information about the field. Post pictures of your favorite trends and styles. This applies to every field. Share what is interesting to you and what might be relevant to others. This way, people will more likely to want to follow you. Who knows? These people might even be so impressed with what you have to share that when the time comes for you to search for a job, they will want to hire you.


3. Trick or treat at the right houses.
   
   Let’s be honest. There were always those houses you avoided when you were trick or treating. These were the houses where you knew the owner was going to give you a granola bar instead of a chocolate bar or where you secretly thought the owner dressed like a witch was probably a witch in real life. On the other hand, there were also those houses you knew to definitely stop at. These were those neighbors who let you take 2 or 3 candies instead of one. When it comes to Twitter, you also want to make sure you are going to the best houses. What this really means is that on Twitter you have access to a ton of information. Some of it is pointless. Some of it is hilarious. But most importantly, some of it is extremely useful. While you can and should follow your friends and your favorite celebrities and comedians, remember that you should also be following people that will help you stay current in your desired career field. Because I want to work in Higher Education, I currently follow the twitter accounts of HigherEduTalks, HuffPostCollege, and others who tweet information that is relevant to my field. I get to stay updated with what is going on in the world of Higher Education which will make me more successful when I’m in the working world. If you are interested in working for the government, consider following USA.gov. If you want to go into the healthcare industry, why not follow nytimeshealth or WHOnews? You’ll definitely gain a lot of interesting and important knowledge from doing so.


4. It’s okay to be a witch on Halloween, not on Twitter.
   
   Some of the best Halloween costumes are the scary and evil ones. The witches, zombies, and horror movie villains are always a hit. Still, while it might be fun to dress up like one of these terrifying characters on Halloween, it is not in your best interest to be the witch or villain on someone’s Twitter feed. When you start to tweet a lot about what you are thinking, it sometimes becomes easy to throw in the angry, annoyed, and occasionally rude thoughts that pop up in your head. We all have these thoughts. There is no use trying to hide that fact. However, just because you have a negative thought does not mean you have to share it with the world. It takes one spur of the moment tweet for you to offend someone. Also, if you’re constantly tweeting about the negative, people who follow you might then view you as a negative person. This also may hurt your image during your future career search.

Most importantly, social media, especially Twitter, doesn’t have to be as scary as some of the costumes you’ll see this weekend. Just remember to be yourself, think before you tweet, and have fun!

Toppel wishes you a wonderful and safe Halloween!