Social media is a booming trend, a powerful tool widely used to connect people from around the world in a fast and easy manner.
Many people use their social media account for various things: from sharing their personal lives to the friends and to the wider public, as well as connecting with colleagues and also family members. Not limited to them, they are also using social media for their professional lives.
With billions of users actively using them, anything is there. For that reason, anything can also go wrong.
Employers are frequently browsing social media to seek prospective employees, judging their credibility by how they use social media.
For job seekers, should they have a separate social media account? Do they really need to separate their personal lives from their professional lives when it comes to social media? Before coming into conclusion, there are pros and cons on both.
Having Separate Social Media Accounts For Personal And Professional
Many people use social media to interact with friends, family members and others, in a casual and personal approach. What this means, some talks, posts, pictures or videos posted on your personal social media account should truly describe yourself.
By having a separate account, you won't be held accountable for whatever you say on social media networks.
So on one side, you can be yourself expressing your thoughts when using your personal account, and be your professional being when using your business social media account.
As for the disadvantage, social media networks aren't as private as most people think. If you think you can get away with a embarrassing picture taken by your friends and posted on social media, think again. Anyone on the web is bound to come across to anything posted on the web.
Anything that is private or concerns privacy, should never be posted on social media or the larger web. Always remember that anything that get shared, won't be controllable. You won't be able to guarantee that the picture of you won't eventually be shown on your future employers' screen.
While there are indeed privacy settings on every social media site where users can edit, but the best approach is to avoid posting anything that you wouldn't want the world to see, in case it gets into the wrong hands.
Having One Account For Both Lives
The clear advantage here is convenience. With you managing only one account (on one social media platform), you won't be bothered to maintain or update both.
You can also proudly and boldly say: "If you like me, here I am!". With one account to take care of, you can be yourself no matter what with no limitation. There is no need to maintain two separate identity just to please both (personal and professional) audience.
The disadvantage is being held accountable. Since you have no 100 percent control of what anyone can see at anytime, things can go bad to awful in a snap. What's more, if you maintain both personalities on one account, people may have difficulties in behaving when approaching you.
Things To Consider
There should be a balance between personal and professional lives on the web. While the balance differs from one person to another, many failed to address the limitations.
If an employer disagrees on your social media profile, then the company may not be the best fit for you. The reason is simple: working at a place where you can't express who you are, won't be a pleasing experience. But this applies if your post in within the limit.
For example, if you want work your career up at a company, but your last year's posts have shown that you hated its products, this can damage your career.
Many people lose their jobs over social media. Know that when you signed to work for a company, you are starting to become a representation of yourself and the the company. And many employers are wanting their employees to be loyal, expecting their past to be in line with what they are when they've signed to work for them.
Remember that the internet never forgets. Whatever you do or decide to do, always remember that things on the web are there to be seen. Once a post or a picture or video has been shared, it's difficult to delete the information. Worse comes if that content becomes viral or has been reposted, retweeted or reshared by others. It will be next to impossible.
Nobody can guarantee your privacy a 100 percent when it comes to social media and the web.