Work-Ready & Search-Friendly SOCIAL

Media Cleanup Tips

Looking for a job as an older adult?

You may have polished your resume and reached out to your contacts, but have you checked your social media profiles? You can be sure your future employer will. Don’t let off-putting or inappropriate content on your Facebook, Instagram or other accounts scuttle your chances of landing an interview.

HERE ARE TIPS TO MAKE YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA PROFILES MORE JOB-SEARCH-FRIENDLY

• Set your accounts to private. This option can usually be found in the “Settings” area of your account. Instead of having all your posts publicly viewable, restrict who can see them (limit it to friends and followers).

• Remove inappropriate posts (or hide them). Scroll through previous posts and ask yourself if any of them might give employers pause. If so, delete them. You can save images or screenshots to your computer if you want to keep them for your own viewing.

• Be choosy about your profile photo. It’s the first thing employers will notice when they find your account.

Make sure your photo reflects both your personality and your professionalism. Opt for a high-resolution image that features only you.

• Follow notable people and organizations. Hiring managers may check to see who you’re following on social media since that speaks to your interests. Think about influencers and companies you admire and add them to your feeds.

• Deactivate old accounts. If you have older, inactive social media accounts floating around, try to find and delete them. When in doubt, Google your name to see what comes up.

Source: National Council on Aging