Today, we are surrounded by technology, and it is hard to resist checking Facebook or LinkedIn every five minutes. However, if you would like to make sure that you stay focused on your task and your career, you will have to practice some self-restraint and make sure you are not damaging your career chances and progression. Below you will find a few bits of advice you might want to take with you in case you want to be more focused, act more professionally, and impress future business partners and potential employers.
Image via Flexspan – Blogger
Be Careful What to Post And Who You Are Friends With
This comes without saying; you should steer clear of politics, racist groups, and offensive people. Go through the list of your connections and get rid of those who are not relevant to your current life, or might damage your online reputation. When it comes to making HR decisions, companies take the saying “birds of a feather…” literally. This means that you can be found guilty by association. Keep a low profile and stay away from forums that can be associated with violence or extreme beliefs.
Make Your Personal Account Private
On every social network, you have a privacy and security setting. While most people don’t bother checking the link, you – of all people – should if you care about your career. People unconsciously make judgments, and you might have individuals cloning your social media profile just to post legitimate-looking statements or thoughts in your name.
Don’t Reveal Sensitive Information
Why You Should Keep Your Social Media Accounts Private
You must stay safe when browsing and commenting blogs and social media. You might want to get a software similar to torrent vpn whenever you see an advertisement that offers a free trial or download, so your personal and location information cannot be collected and used for marketing purposes, or even fraud. Don’t make your address, workplace, or your personal document numbers public, as fraudsters are constantly seeking this information to steal your identity. If you become a victim of identity fraud, you will find it much harder to find a job and confirm your identity.
Use Security Tools
Whenever you browse the internet and social media at home, work, or on mobile devices, you must have security software and monitoring installed. Apps are extremely good at collecting information, tracking your movements and behaviors, and creating a buyer profile. At the same time, your images might be shared and used inappropriately by malicious individuals, and this will ruin your personal and professional reputation.
Keep Your Professional and Personal Accounts Separate
How to Separate the Personal and Professional on Social Media
In case you haven’t noticed, professional sports persons have separate accounts for their families and their fans. As the sport industry is influenced by the big names’ social media activity, this is a smart move. You should do the same, too, so you can have a professional image that is public and can be accessed by potential employers and business partners, and one that is featuring your family and pet photos. Mixing the two of them can have negative consequences.
Use Online Networking Sensibly
While networking can be beneficial for your career, you can actually overdo it. If you are a member of an online networking group, you might get carried away and fail to focus on the big picture. Funny statements and Pinterest posts have their place and time, but, after all, you should make the most out of your working day. If those posts keep on popping up and distracting you, make sure that you stay off the platform while you are working, so you can check them out later in your free time to take a break from your daily routine.
Limit Your Screen Time
Image via Air Combat Command – Summer burnout
It is a good idea to limit your screen time. Checking your emails might be bad enough, and takes up a lot of time. However, if you want to keep on top of all your social media accounts and professional profiles at the same time, your productivity will suffer. Only log in when you are on a break or finished work, and try to resist the temptation whenever you can. Instead of manually posting on social media sites to promote your personal or company brand, schedule them ahead, so you have no excuse to log in.
If you would like to be more effective at work and make the most out of the tools social media offers, make sure that you are staying professional. Separate your business and personal profiles, limit your screen time, and filter your friends and acquaintances.