How To: A Profile Fit For Acceptance or Employment

  • Use this graphic for quick reference as to what’s appropriate to post and what subjects would help your profile most in looking professional and reading for hiring. It works as an easy tip sheet to guide the best posts and most impressive profiles.

    Aine Kern
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  • Here Obama features his honors and accomplishments, his experience, and his interests to give a more realistic idea of his personality and work ethic. When he applies for a job, potential employers might research his online presence and this positive profile would be a benefit to his application.

    Aine Kern
    '
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Aine Kern, Opinion Editor
Feb 21, 2018

Aine Kern
Use this graphic for quick reference as to what’s appropriate to post and what subjects would help your profile most in looking professional and reading for hiring. It works as an easy tip sheet to guide the best posts and most impressive profiles.

Class graduation photos? Certificates earned? Selfies with the president? Post, post, post.

Lining up shots? Spray-painting buildings? Negative comments? Delete, delete, delete.

When updating a resume, make sure to clean up social media profiles, too. The majority of employers in the workforce survey a potential employee’s profile before hiring or even interviewing them. First impressions really do matter and these days, job-seekers need to be careful that their impression isn’t negative due to a careless online presence.

“You keep your audience in mind,” advised senior Krishna Rode.

Even though a social media platform is not designed for professional use, as senior Bret Alvarez pointed out, “it is a social media account so I do need to consider that anyone will see my account.”

Setting a profile to the private setting isn’t always a guarantee of safety, either. Tagged photos, friends’ profiles, and web browsers display more than one may have wanted to reveal to college admissions personnel or potential employers.

Generally, the rule of thumb is to advertise accomplishments, honors, or unique experiences; keep any activities that could be perceived negatively away from public eye.

“I would say showcase your passions,” AVID coordinator Aida Salah emphasized. “Show that you’re well-rounded, show that you’re involved in school. . . utilize your Genius Project. I think that’s a really big help for colleges and potential employment.”

Remember that while it’s important for a profile to get a positive holistic view of a person, it’s not necessary— and could be even dangerous— to post every detail, such as birthdate, address, and phone number.

Small details one wouldn’t even think of as important in posts can sway an employer’s or admissions counselor’s opinion, so be careful with spelling and grammar and profanity.

“I think you should intentionally put positive content out there, whether that’s through your social media sites or your websites. I think you should be proactive about that, but I think you should do it with a lens of ‘anybody can see this,’” English department chair Corrie Myers said.

To keep up a professional and satisfactory profile, a theme might help show off professional skill and maturity. Choose a common strain of activity and follow it with regular posting.

“What I do is look at it from not just an artistic viewpoint, but also a marketing viewpoint. My Instagram tells a lot about myself, so these pictures that I put on my account [are] giving off my personality,” Alvarez said.