For many careers, people want to be perceived and portrayed as someone who is professional, trustworthy, ethical, trustworthy, open-minded, adaptable, flexible, and willing to learn, along with many other similar qualities and characteristics. This is an important aspect of developing a professional reputation, serving as a representation of a person while at work, at work, and developing their career through new jobs and opportunities.
From a personal perspective, many people are apparently not as concerned with their reputations as people. As a society, we are cataloging our personal lives, sharing details through posts, profiles, and photos. Private moments are shared, along with personal beliefs, statements of opinion, and sometimes intimate details through social media websites. For some people, they provide a chronological description of most of their waking moments. A question for those who are so involved in using social media to document their personal lives is this: Would you go to a stranger and give them this information?
You should ask yourself the same question about providing the same type of personal information to an employer and, more importantly, to a potential employer. If an employer, hiring manager, or recruiter were to do an internet search now and found someone’s photos, posts, and profiles on social media websites, would that affect their professional reputation?
Anyone trying to build or develop a career, especially those looking for a new job, must be absolutely concerned about their professional reputation and the influence of their personal reputation, which is significantly influenced by easily accessible and online sources.
A personal reputation
Before you begin developing a plan for managing your professional reputation, first consider your personal reputation. Start by asking yourself how you want others, including your current employer, to represent you if they did an internet search now. It may not be a concern to your friends and family; However, do you post information or photos that could negatively impact your career if viewed by employers or recruiters? There have been several incidents in the news in recent years involving people being fired from their jobs due to personal messages and opinions that were expressed on social media websites like Facebook.
Also, consider the specifics of your profession and what someone in your line of work is expected to demonstrate as a person. For example, as an educator I am expected to have strong ethical values and anything that is posted publicly on social media should reflect that point of view for me as a person. In other words, what I post should not be in direct conflict with how I am seen professionally. If I were to post something that creates a conflict between who I am as an educator and who I am as a person, it could have a long-term negative impact on my career. The impact can be difficult to assess accurately, since a reputation is more subjective in nature and based on perceptions, meaning that if there is any doubt, a person should always “err on the side of caution.”
This does not mean that you do not have the right to express your opinions or share posts and photos that are personal in nature. What it does mean is that you need to consider the potential conflict it could cause you professionally, especially if you are in a position or career field that requires you to demonstrate strong ethical and / or moral values and characteristics. If you are concerned about what you have posted from a personal point of view, try conducting an internet search and examining the results. People are often surprised by the result and possibly alarmed as well. If your profession could be affected in any way, consider adjusting your privacy settings. Facebook and Instagram are likely to contain the most personal information of all social media websites, although it is possible to have many opinions on other websites such as Twitter and LinkedIn.
A professional reputation
The reputation that a person develops in his career is easier to control since it involves the actions and behaviors that are displayed at work, along with the interactions he has with colleagues and clients. When a person first starts a new job, they usually do their best and show the best of who they are and the talents they possess. Over time, and as work habits establish, a person will generally revert to normal patterns of behavior. The reputation of a career is thus influenced by actions, work habits, forms of communication, work product, and other subjective factors including associations made with other employees at work. While a reputation is usually perceptive in nature and is often related to a person’s credibility, but it can be controlled by considering the nature of the job and professional expectations or code of conduct. It is also about aligning personal values with the values of the organization and being ethical in all forms of communication, transactions and activities.
You are always in control of your personal and professional reputation. You can decide that the way you present yourself personally and professionally is important at all times, or you can act as you wish, as you are entitled to your personal forms of expression. However, if you are building your career and want to make sure you are viewed in the best light by potential employers and employers, then you need to develop a proactive plan to manage your career reputation. You can achieve this goal by considering the impact of what you post and what you share online, along with how you behave and act while at work. Your reputation is a reflection of who you are and what you stand for, and that can have a significant impact on your career and the number of new opportunities available to you. If your career is important to you, pay attention to how you may be perceived as an employee and as a potential new employee.