Social media is great fun and while it’s good to be able to post what you’re up to and share with your friends, if you’re looking for work, don’t forget that many employers do look at your social media activities when deciding whether to even interview you.

That can be a very good thing for you if your social media shows off a range of interests, an enthusiastic and positive personality and perhaps even some charitable activities. On the other hand, it can also potentially put an employer off from hiring you if your social sharing is more problematic.

So before you even start applying for jobs, have a good look at your social media from the point of view of someone who might hire you.

What sort of social mistakes can prevent you getting that dream job?

• Posting anything an employer might find inappropriate, like images of you drinking too much or being offensive. Employers are judging you based on what’s on your social profile and that last visit to the pub might have been hilarious to your friends, but not so much to someone who might otherwise have hired you.

• Posting anything racist, sexist, or otherwise offensive. No-one is going to employ someone with that sort of behaviour on their profile as they’ll worry you’ll be like that in person to other members of staff, and to customers.

• Commenting about how much you hated your last job and slating the company you used to work for. Any employer seeing that is going to assume you’ll do the same to them.

• Provocative content, such as selfies in your underwear, or sharing adult content from elsewhere. That’s a great way to create the wrong impression for a prospective employer.

• Boasting about lying on your CV or about taking time off from work when you weren’t really sick.

• Posting information from your previous employer that should have remained confidential.

Before you start applying for jobs and polishing up your CV, take a good look at all of your social media accounts and clean those up first so you can put your best food forward with your new employer.

Need a job? Browse our country-wide selection of jobs in a variety of fields and start applying. After you’ve taken a good look at your social media, of course!