The Number One Rule When Posting on the Internet

This month's Self magazine had a page called "Tweet your way to a sweet job." While it didn't really talk about how to get a sweet job by tweeting, it did analyze different types of tweets. Out of the six categories of tweets they listed (the share, the overshare, the rant, the review, the Q&A and the yawn), the most important one is the overshare. Their example displayed this tweet: "Way too much tequila last night. Hangover city!"

As tempting as it is to tweet about everything in your life, make sure you follow the number one rule when posting on the Internet: Don't post anything you wouldn't want your boss to see. That doesn't mean that you can't post opinions or be yourself on the Internet, it just means that you need to take an editing eye. There are a lot of things you can do to help keep your boss from seeing certain things that you post on the Internet (your level of security on your Facebook profile for instance), but remember, people can find what you've posted even if it is secure. Another tactic that people use with Twitter is to say in their profile "thoughts are my own." Sometimes that can help with the perception of what you're tweeting, but it depends on what your boss will think of what you've posted, even if you're taking precautions.

If you don't want to worry about the potential to cross wires with your boss and company, be aware of your company's social media policies and don't post anything that you wouldn't want your boss to see!