BranchOut is the largest professional network on Facebook with more than 25 million users around the world. Founder and CEO Rick Marini, New Hampshire ’94, says BranchOut allows college students to leverage their friends and family for internship and job opportunities. BranchOut also boasts the largest job board on Facebook with more than three million jobs and 20,000 internships. We’ve asked their team to offer some tips about cleaning up your online identity:

You’ve been leaving an Internet trail for years—old prom photos, late-night tweets and comments on your friend’s blog about a class you didn’t like. You might not realize it, but your web footprint could be the deal maker (or breaker) for nabbing the job you want. According to a recent study, 75 percent of potential employers will check your online profile before hiring you. But don’t worry: BranchOut wants to help.

Here are a few tips to clean up your online identity and impress potential employers before they even meet you. Remember, this isn’t just about hiding parts of your online life— it’s also about promoting the best version of you.

1. Lock Down Your Privacy Settings

• Use Facebook lists and the Limited Profile feature to keep your personal photos between you and your friends.
• Choose a profile picture and cover photo you’d be comfortable having a future employer see.

Try: Google your name on a computer with a cleared cache to see what comes up.

2. Be Positive

• Post helpful news articles and make positive comments about stories in the industries you’re interested in.
• Negative comments or jabs can be a turnoff for prospective employers.
• If you want to make political or religious statements, be respectful.

Try: Think about what your Twitter stream says about you to a complete stranger. Don’t like it? Change it.


3. Stay Professional

• Create a BranchOut profile on Facebook to separate your personal and professional online identities.
• On BranchOut, tag your profile with relevant skills for jobs that you want.

Try: Get your friends on your team. Make sure they aren’t abusing your Facebook wall with inappropriate pictures and posts.

4. Build Your Brand

• Position yourself as an expert on topics you genuinely enjoy reading about and discussing.
• Make your posts relevant to your audience—whether it’s on your blog, Facebook profile or a topical forum

Try: Find people with personal brands that you relate to and emulate their style.

5. Be Consistent

• Decide on your online name, and stick with it across platforms to build your reputation and gain followers.
• Create a dialogue with like-minded people by posting, retweeting and commenting.

Try: Use platforms to help you schedule tweets, blog entries and posts.

This generation has more tools available than ever before to display work, and show off samples and portfolios. Just be careful not to use those tools inappropriately or send the wrong message.

And remember that what you do online can say a lot about not just your own image, but SigEp’s as well.

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