Tips to Clean Up Your Online Presence

By Grad Center Academic Programs Team

For students who have been online since grade school, there may be a lot of outdated and immature content you would rather not have potential employers, coworkers, or strangers seeing. The Grad Center team has compiled some basic tips and resources to help you review and manage your online presence. If doing this seems like too much work, you may also be able to pay for an online reputation service to clean up your online profile - please just be careful to research any company and review service terms & conditions before paying for these third party cleanup services! 

Students who are concerned that their online accounts are being misused or employed to harass or blackmail them should immediately reach out to Penn Public Safety or DPS Special Services. 

Dark teal text on light blue background: "7 Tips to Clean Up Your Online Presence for Job seekers and more" We're sharing some Spring cleaning advice for your online presence! Whether you're applying for jobs or just concerned about what information about you is available online, we have some tips to help you review and manage your online presence to be sure it reflects the image you want accessed by others.

Search Yourself 

  • Search for your full name in Google and other search engines
  • Check for results beyond the first few pages, including image and video results
  • Identify anything you feel is unprofessional, outdated, or that you may want to remove or hide

Adjust Privacy Settings 

  • Review privacy settings on social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, and others.
  • Limit who can see your posts, stories, and tagged content.
  • Hide friend/follower lists if possible.

Remove or Hide Inappropriate Content 

  • Use Social Media activity logs and archive features to review and clean up old content, as desired.
  • Remove posts with offensive language, contentious opinions, or other activities you wouldn’t want an employer or others to view.
  • Review posts you’ve liked, shared, or commented on for potentially negative content - remove or un-do the activity before deleting any accounts.

Update Public Profiles and Web Bios 

  • Ensure your profile on sites like LinkedIn, Academia.edu, and school webpages is complete and up-to-date.
  • Use a polished, clear photo for any public accounts associated with your name.
  • Remove bios with slang, edgy jokes, or other statements that may be viewed negatively by a recruiter.

Clean Up Tagged Photos & Mentions 

  • Review tagged posts and mentions on social media
  • Un-tag yourself from photos or posts that you find questionable.
  • If you are unable to un-tag yourself, ask that the original photo or post be removed.

Create Content to Showcase Your Strengths 

  • Post articles, projects, achievements, or commentary relevant to your field or industry.
  • If you have a blog, portfolio, or website, be sure it is current and reflects your desired image.
  • Share thoughtful insights on public platforms to build your network and credibility.

 

Additional advice and resources from Penn Career Services: