WASHINGTON – If you’re in the market for a new job, there are certain steps you need to take to give a great first impression.
Polish the resume, dry clean your most professional outfit and, of course, Google yourself.
If the first result that comes up for your Internet persona is a party photo or off-color tweet, there’s work to be done.
Even though nothing posted online can ever be deleted completely, Lifehacker has a few ways to improve a first impression.
First, make sure to log out of personal accounts like Facebook and LinkedIn.
Then, if Google and Bing bring up some results you’d rather not show, try changing your privacy settings or asking the search engine to take it down.
If you have some old photos on Facebook or even MySpace that still show up, delete them from those accounts.
Next, Lifehacker says to fill your public profiles with your professional interests and create accounts on websites with services related to your field.
Going forward, try to think about how something will represent you if you post it online.
Lastly, make sure your friends know to think before they post something about you.
Read more at Lifehacker.
WTOP’s Max Smith contributed to this report. Follow @WTOP on Twitter.
(Copyright 2012 by WTOP. All Rights Reserved.)
