HOW SOCIAL MEDIA can derail a career!

EXPERTS REVEAL THE IMPORTANCE YOUR ONLINE PROFILE HAS ON BUILDING YOUR REPUTATION

An ill-timed comment, a thoughtless response or voicing an opinion you may change later is easy to gloss over when it happens in the spur of the moment. But when it takes place on your social media profile, this can have a serious effect on your career. According to workplace expert and author Michelle Gibbings, these actions can be difficult to erase in a digital era, and may cause serious regret further down the track.

“Adults are often quick to advise their children to be careful about what they post on social media, but are they applying the same standard to their actions?” she asks.

Here, Michelle explains the importance of curating your accounts and the best ways to go about it.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS COUNT

In a face-to-face context, when we meet someone for the first time, we very quickly make an assessment as to whether we like them, trust them, want to work with them or want to do business with them. Research highlights we have somewhere between seven to 15 seconds to make a first impression. This is based on what is known as ‘thin slicing’. Professor Frank Bernieri of Oregon State University has found we assess people relatively quickly, without a lot of data. This assessment is made on a raft of factors. It might be a glance, their handshake, what they wear, their demeanour, whether they maintain eye contact and how they smile.