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We鈥檝e all been warned to think before we speak, but thanks to the Internet we鈥檝e also got to think before we post, update, or share. And if your social media accounts鈥� privacy settings allow your friends to tag you in their photos and status updates, your name or picture could be out there for anyone and everyone to see.

You probably couldn鈥檛 care less about those pictures in which you鈥檙e chugging a beer and sporting an itty-bitty miniskirt now, but when you鈥檙e looking for a job鈥攜es, even a part-time one while you鈥檙e still in school鈥攐r trying to secure an internship, you could be hurting your chances of getting hired.

The Boss Could Be Looking at Your Profile

Even if you have an impressive 4.0 and list of extra-curricular activities that鈥檚 longer than your arm, a bawdy online reputation could cause prospective employers to toss your resume right into the recycle bin.

Now that you鈥檝e realized it wasn鈥檛 such a great idea to make fun of your history professor on your school鈥檚 official Facebook page and you鈥檙e feeling a little queasy about that time your roommate tagged you on his check-in at the local strip club (complete with a photo for proof) it鈥檚 probably a good time to clean up your online reputation.

Here are five ways to help things from getting worse:

1. Search for your own name. Type your name into a search engine and see what you can find. If you have a fairly common name鈥攖here could easily be a few hundred John Smiths in one city alone鈥� you may have to dig around a little bit, but you should still be able to find yourself. This might be a bit easier if you have a less common name. Either way, see what you can find. Is your name appearing in news articles, blog posts, pictures, or public records? Did you find anything negative?

2. Create accounts on all of the social media sites. People who love Facebook do not necessarily feel the same about Twitter, Pinterest, and MySpace (do people even use MySpace anymore?!) Even if you don鈥檛 actively use them, create an account using your real name on all social media platforms. There are no guarantees, but this may help prevent an imposter from pretending to be you鈥攁nd posting things that could get you into trouble.

3. Tweak your privacy settings. Social media sites have privacy settings. Use them. But always remember that things have a way of getting out. A 鈥渇riend鈥� could easily text or email your 鈥減rivate鈥� photos to someone who isn鈥檛 supposed to see them. Or here鈥檚 an idea鈥攊f you鈥檇 feel embarrassed if your mother somehow saw your 鈥減rivate鈥� pictures or read your status updates, don鈥檛 post them.

4. Delete any potentially-questionable photos and remove your name from your friends鈥� photos. Go through your online photo albums and delete anything that could make people go 鈥淗mmm鈥︹�� Then do the same with your friends鈥� photos. Untag yourself from anything that is vulgar, embarrassing, or you just don鈥檛 like for whatever reason. If your friend is a true friend, he or she will delete the photo completely.

5. Wait five minutes before posting comments, updating your status, or sharing photos. Although it鈥檚 tempting to type out a nasty message in the heat of the moment and click on the 鈥渟end鈥� button when you鈥檙e mad at someone, don鈥檛 do it. Close your eyes, take a deep breath, and wait a few minutes. Chances are, you鈥檒l change your mind. Even if you delete something after the fact, someone could have seen it and captured a screen shot.

We鈥檙e all human and humans make mistakes, but your online reputation shouldn鈥檛 cause you to lose out on a job or other exciting opportunity. Always remember to think twice before you act!

Posted on 27 Nov

Melissa Rhone earned her Bachelor of Music in Education from the University of Tampa. She resides in the Tampa Bay area and enjoys writing about college, pop culture, and epilepsy awareness.