Social media is becoming more popular every day. New sites pop up every day allowing people to become more and more “social.” I would argue this has made us less social offline, but that’s not what this post is about.

Social media is a tool. Tools are used to create an advantage. The wheel was created to facilitate movement. So why aren’t we using social media to further our professional evolution?

Not only are students not using social media to their advantage, they’re potentially handicapping themselves.

Employers are increasingly using social media as a recruiting tool. Is your social profile professional? Is your profile full of pictures of parties, drinking and other less than reputable behaviour? It may seem like fun posting pictures, commenting and being “social” with your friends but it just cost you your interview or job offer.

Social media is even becoming social. You can now post your tweets directly to other sites like LinkedIn and Facebook. Because of this, students need to be increasingly aware of the content they’re posting. That tweet about going to the bar last night has just landed on your LinkedIn page.

Please be aware of what you post, and use social media to your advantage.