STOP!

Take a second to realize what a wild Saturday night can do to your career, if the evidence is posted online. Yes, everyone may be upset that they missed your exciting night, but the pictures you post will only give your future employer a reason not to allow you to represent their company.

In the technical world that we live in today, nine times out of ten an employer will do some research on you before even considering you for the position. Even though you may have realized the pictures were not suitable for the internet,  once it is posted it can never truly be deleted. 

What many people do not know is that it is lawful for an employer to make potential candidates pass social media background checks. This allows employers to go back at least seven years on anything that you or somebody else has put on the internet about oneself. For example, say you post a picture at 16 of a fun night out with your friends. You take multiple pictures and post them on every social media site possible. You realize a few years down the road, that maybe that was not the best decision and take the pictures down. Even though you take them down by the time you graduate college and start searching for a career, those pictures still fall into the seven year window. However, even though they may of been from when you were 16 they still stand to have a potential threat on your career. 

Here are a few tips you should consider before posting pictures of yourself or others online:

1. What environment are you in?
2. Who am I representing within this picture?
3. What activities are being conducted?
4.  Am I wearing suitable attire for the public?
5. Am I disobeying any rules within any handbook I have signed my name to?

At some point in time there will be pictures taken and posted of you without your consent. Here are some tips on how to get the picture removed and to try and rebuild your image:

1. Contact the person who has posted the pictures.
2. Explain the reasoning on why you feel the pictures are not necessary or suitable for the internet.
3. Report the pictures if they refuses to taken them down.
4.  Print out everything you do to try and get the picture(s) taken down. This way if the picture(s) are brought up within an interview you can show your initiative to get taken down. 
5. Delete your current account(s) and create new ones. This way you will show your potential employer that you are taking proper steps to eliminate the picture as best as possible.

Rebuilding your image online is not an easy process. It is a very time consuming and a horrendous process. Pictures are worth a million words as many people find out after the fact. Make sure you represent yourself well online as it could cost you the rest of your life.


 "More Employers Not Hiring Due to What They Find on Social Media." TLNT. Web. 3 Dec. 2014. <http://www.tlnt.com/2014/06/26/more-employers-not-hiring-due-to-what-they-find-on-social-media/>.