You’ve updated your resume, hidden your profile updates on LinkedIn and you’re ready to start focusing on finding your next IT job

While the checklist seems like it is in good order and you’ve brushed up on what’s new in Angular, you may be sabotaging all of your efforts without realizing it. IT jobs require highly-skilled candidates that understand current technology trends and who can work in a team environment. Companies are looking for IT professionals that can be client-facing and represent them well in an array of scenarios.

Through interviews, coding tests and whiteboarding, a potential employer will uncover a good bit about your professional IT skills and experience. Have you considered what they may use to better determine your level of professionalism, beyond what you’ve portrayed thus far?

Put yourself in the shoes of a hiring manager or IT recruiter, how would you go about learning more about someone? Yes, the internet and specifically their personal Facebook and Twitter accounts. Here are few of the things potential employers are looking at on your social profiles that would raise a big red flag:

ü  Posting or referencing inappropriate or controversial content

ü  Harassing RT’s or comments on others’ social profiles

ü  Use of vulgarity and ill-will comments towards past employers

ü  Any information or pictures about drinking or drug use

This is not an exhaustive list, but any one of these could have a negative impact on your professional reputation. Take a moment right now, to Google yourself and decide if you like what you see or if there is an opportunity for you to remedy a poor online image.

Now that we’ve shared what not to do, here are some of the things you can do to ensure you maintain a professional image online that will attract top employers. Use IT keywords in your profile to show you are a die-hard IT professional. Only post pictures that would be suitable to send to [email protected] and be sure to occasionally highlight any work accolades or experiences.

You can have fun with family, friends and co-workers but be smart about what you post and set privacy settings to ensure others don’t share things about you that may be unflattering.

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