As social media and online networks have grown, it has become harder to separate real life from an online persona, and the line between personal and professional identity blurs a little further each year. That is why what you share online deserves thought.
As a legal professional, maintain composure and avoid posting anything that compromises your standing. Carelessness online can do real damage to a legal career.
It’s Easy to Google
You do not have to be a public figure for your name to return results, and many employers search as a matter of course. Every platform you use is part of that record. Some ways to keep it from working against you:
- Set personal accounts to private: the simplest step there is. Set the account so that nothing is visible to anyone you have not approved.
- Think before you publish: If you write publicly on contested issues, remember that it is permanent and attributable. That is not a reason to have no views. It is a reason to be deliberate about which of them you publish under your own name.
- Post sparingly: Constant and highly detailed updates usually do more harm than good.
Filter the photographs the same way, by asking whether it is something you would want a client or a colleague to see.
Be Original
In this profession you have to show colleagues and clients that you are competent, and trust follows from that.
Nothing tarnishes credibility faster than plagiarism. Taking someone else’s work says at best that you were not thorough, and at worst that you are unethical. That applies online as much as anywhere. Write your own material, and when you borrow a quotation or an image, credit it.
Pitfalls to Avoid
Unfortunately, there are many seemingly harmless social media habits that can damage your career prospects. These pitfalls include:
- Text shorthand: Acronyms and abbreviations read as informal, and a prospective employer is unlikely to be charmed by them.
- Discussing interviews: This destroys whatever trust you had built with a prospective employer. Most processes are confidential, and posting about one can end a candidacy.
- Criticizing your firm in public: However irritating the day has been, posting about it is never worth what it costs.
The list is not exhaustive, and what these habits have in common is that none of them reads as professional. Carry the same standard online that you carry everywhere else.
OnBoard Legal understands the challenges facing senior talent, and our search consultants are expert in the fields they serve. Contact us.