NARRATOR: All right. So this is going to go over cleaning up your social media for any job seekers. So if you're trying to look for a job, if you're trying to get a promotion in your current job, anything like that, this is just some strategies for you to clean up your social media, keep things organized, keep things clean, and even use social media to your advantage. 

So here's some food for thought. We have two resumes. The first one is the one you're probably thinking of. That's our physical document with the bullet points, with our previous employment and list of qualifications. The other resume is our digital presence, a.k.a., our social media. Some people might think it's bad to have social media while looking for jobs. There are some ways to clean up your social media to actually help you get employed, and that's what we're here for today. 

So why do employers care about social media? First of all, we should examine why exactly they care. Do they really want to see pictures of my pets and me on vacation? So here's some statistics for you. 

65% of employers search prospective employees online to gauge a candidate's professionalism in terms of social conduct. So basically, how do you conduct yourself online? Are you posting a lot about personal things? Or are you just complaining a lot? Or are you reposting other things? How do you conduct yourself, basically? 

51% of employers search for prospective employees to evaluate a candidate's fit into the company culture. So that's a really subjective thing. That's just saying if you would fit in with other people in the organization, if you basically are a part of the company culture. 

And then thirdly, 45% of employers look up prospects to learn more about your qualifications. So what kind of certifications do you have? What kind of courses have you taken? What's your experience, basically? So keep those in mind. Those are the top three that they're looking for when they-- whenever they look for social media, really. 

More statistics-- yes, that's what we're here for. Here are some more statistics for you. 45% of hiring managers are looking at social media accounts along with resumes and cover letters. And that may seem a little low, but that's almost half of hiring managers. So that's something to keep in mind. 

76% of them look at Facebook. 53% of them look at Twitter. And 48% of them look at your LinkedIn page. One out of three employers have rejected candidates based on something they found out about them online. So just keep that in mind. On average, employers will only look at your social media account for 5.7 seconds. So make that first impression count. 

All right. So first of all, we're going to make sure that the email you're using is appropriate. First and last name, your initials, or an identifying prefix or suffix. Just make sure that it's easy to remember and pronounce. Your email should not contain any numbers or special characters, except for underscores, hyphens, and periods. And you want to refrain from adding some colorful adjectives, such as "hot," "cool," "sweet," things like that. 

And you want to make sure that you are using up-to-date and relevant email services. The big three services right now are Gmail, Yahoo, and Outlook. So consider updating that RocketMail or AOL account if you have any of those. 

Privacy settings, now we're going to go over that. That's pretty important, just in general, but also for when you're looking for a job. So only friends should be able to see your activity, only people that you follow or you're friends with, people you're connected with. Your page should not be public or viewable by friends of friends or anything like that. Make sure that you set your privacy settings to friends only. 

If you really want to separate your personal life from your professional life, you can always create a separate social media account for your career interests, things like that, if you really want to separate the two. You want to remove unnecessary apps on Facebook. So that includes games like Words with Friends and other apps that connect to Facebook. You can remove these under Settings and Privacy and Apps and Websites on Facebook. 

For Twitter, try pinning a tweet. This will show the tweet at the top of your profile whenever people click on it. And that will bring attention to an event or an achievement that you've accomplished. For Twitter, Instagram-- and Facebook also uses hashtags now-- you can review the hashtags that you've used to ensure that your pages are clean. 

Consider checking your profiles on a different device. And make sure that you're not logged in just so you can see what the public can see on your social media pages. This will help in deciding what you want to remove or make private. It's also worth googling your first and last name along with your location to see what comes up. This can bring up old accounts you may need to remove, among other things as well. 

Step three, we're going to clean up the content. So we do all have bad days. But using social media to vent your frustrations can paint you in a negative light to employers. So just remember to check your comments as well, because often, on Facebook, people can see what you're commenting on. 

Troublesome content can mean a lot of things to employers. The posts can range from relationship drama, aggressive political views, party life, explicit content, unprofessional photos of you, or even news articles. Troublesome content can also include posts about drinking, drugs, badmouthing a previous employer, among many other things. 

And just be mindful that you can be tagged in photos that you didn't take. So just make sure to untag yourself or use settings so that you cannot be tagged in photos or posts. You can make posts private, which are viewable by only you. So just keep that in mind. 

You can always archive your Instagram photos. And you can save snaps to Memories in Snapchat. And hide content from your Facebook timeline so that it's not viewable for people who are looking at your page. 

Step four, we're going to delete your old accounts. So anything you don't use anymore should be deleted. So an old YouTube or Myspace account from school or anything like that should be removed. I'm dating myself a little with that Myspace reference, even though I never had one. It was pretty popular. If not, they should be modified. So if you don't want to delete them, at least change them so they have no connection to your professional name and brand. 

So step five, we're going to fix your photos. So here's the list of dos and don'ts. So that your photo is the first thing a hiring manager will see, so ensure that your profile picture and cover photo are professional and clearly visible. You don't necessarily need a professional headshot or anything like that. But just no bathroom selfies, duck face, or partying photos. Make sure that it was taken recently so that the employer can recognize you. 

Images of you smiling are ideal. Silly or serious faces are typically frowned upon. You should look friendly and approachable. So even a neutral expression-- try to be more positive. 

And you want to avoid using pixelated or blurry images, as the high-quality ones tend to look more professional. So we don't want to use default pictures. So don't leave your profile picture on the default icon. Employers value a more personalized photo. So I know a lot of LinkedIn pages, they just leave the default image, the shadowy figure. So go the extra mile, and upload a nice smiling photo of yourself. And that'll go a long way. 

No stock photos. So as you see in the image here, animal pictures, any stock photos like that, those will damage your personal brand, as they are not you. Distasteful or inappropriate pictures are never good. And that has a big range. You might think that pictures of you in a swimsuit are OK. But some people wouldn't think that's OK. So no obscene gestures. And all kinds of other content could be viewed as inappropriate. If you have to think about if your picture is inappropriate, just go ahead and update it to be more professional, just to be on the safe side. 

And then you're going to make your bio a little more professional. So this will show who you are, what makes you unique, and why people should hire you. The professional bio basically gives employers a perspective on your personality and how you'd fit in with the organization as a whole. 

You can include your interests and hobbies as well. It does not all have to be entirely professional. In fact, I think if you fit in a bit of your personality, it brings more character out of you. And it draws more interest. And ensure that all of your information is up to date, including making sure that your contact information, previous employment, and all of your personal information is accurate. 

Next, you're going to want to promote your brand. You're going to want to share industry-related content. By sharing that kind of content that aligns with your ideal company's mission statement, hiring managers are way more likely to consider you for a position. So in that example there, it's their pinned tweet. So again, they pinned it so that it'll be at the top once they access that person's Twitter page. And it shows 50-plus critical thinking strategies for learning. And that directly ties into their brand and to the career that they want. 

Step eight, you would want to promote your industry. So we are who we follow. By showing what websites, people, and trends that you follow, you can show managers what you're passionate about, which leaders you admire, and what trends you are up to date on. This makes you much more marketable. And it's things that you can talk about in your interview once you are selected for the interview process. 

All right. I'm done with the eight-step program. I promise. So these are just going to be some additional tips for you. Before posting something on social media, just take a step back. And think about if it matches your online presence before posting it. 

There is also a tool called Scrubber.Social that you can use as well. You can connect all of your social media profiles and receive a report of all of your posts that include profanity, innuendo, mentions of drug or alcohol, and other customizable keywords. It's basically a free service. So just type Scrubber.Social into your browser to take you there. 

And you'll want to manage your social media content more carefully going forward. Just use common sense. Try not to post anything controversial, vulgar language, or negative comments about other people or companies. Even if your post is a joke, make sure it is not too aggressive or opinionated. And there are some examples there in the picture. 

And I hope this was helpful for you in learning how to clean up your social media for jobs. Please check out Virginia Beach Public Library at www.vbgov.com/libraries for more information. Have a good day.