Today, social media is everywhere and access to social media sites is becoming increasingly easy. On Facebook, Twitter or Instagram, people are putting their lives on show through blogs, statuses and tweets. However, while it is evident that potential employees try to make a good impression during interviews; screening prospective employee’s social media sites can enable employers to learn a lot more about job seekers then what was presented in the initial interview.

Potential employers may screen social media sites before hiring, after the interview and/or throughout employment; so it is vital to protect yourself as photos, comments and references to illegal activities may impact your chances of securing employment. A study conducted by CareerBuilder.com found that 37% of employers use social media networks to screen potential employees.

When asked why they used social media to research prospective employee backgrounds, 65% of employers said they do it to see if the candidate presents themselves in a professional manner, to see if the candidate is a good fit for the company culture, and to look for reasons not to hire the candidate. More shockingly, the study also found that 34% of employers in the study found content on social media that caused them not to hire a job seeker.

So here are some tips that you should do to protect yourself and boost your job prospects:

• Make sure that everything you post online is something that you wouldn’t mind an employer, your mum or your grandparents seeing
• Keep your posts, photos, statuses and comments light hearted
• De-tag or delete questionable photos, statuses and blogs or ask your friends to remove them
• Get rid of any of your comments that are negative, racist, sexist or ones that are just generally inappropriate
• Change your name to a nickname, maiden name or use your middle name in place of your last name (e.g. Emily Lou Borthwick translates to Emily Lou or Ems Borthwick)
• Carefully manage your album privacy settings
• Look at the pages that you “like” or are a member of and see what is appropriate e.g. “I hate working” or “I like going to work drunk and hungover”

Some simple and easy steps to hide inappropriate material on your social media sites can boost your job prospects.

Written by Natassja Ford