Clean Up Your Online Mess: A Straight Talking Guide for New Grads
If you're a recent grad, listen up: before you even hit “submit” on that job application, someone’s already Googling you. And what they find might quietly make the decision for them—before you ever get a call back.
This isn’t fear-mongering. It’s just reality. Today’s recruiters check your LinkedIn, your Twitter feed, your online portfolio—and sometimes even those half-buried freshman-year tweets or awkward tagged party photos.
Here’s how to get ahead of it.
1. Google Yourself Like a Hiring Manager
Start with your full name in quotes. Check the main results, image tab, and any old blog posts or Reddit comments. Anything questionable? Archive or delete it. If it can’t be removed, drown it in updated, professional content.
2. Audit and Clean Your Social Media
Careers don’t usually crash with a bang—they fade quietly when someone sees something they don’t like. Go platform by platform. Ask: Does this represent the person I want to be professionally?
Drunk pics? Gone.
Off-color jokes? Archived.
Political firestorms? Hidden or private.
If the account isn’t professional, set it to private.
3. Stop Scrolling, Start Building (on LinkedIn)
If TikTok is your playground, LinkedIn is your launchpad. Treat it like your digital resume, but better:
Upload a solid headshot
Write a headline that points toward your goals
Tell your story in the “About” section
Add key skills, projects, and experience—even coursework
Then actually use it: comment on posts, follow companies, share what you're learning.
4. Build a Personal Website or Portfolio
Even one page is enough. You can use Carrd, Notion, Squarespace—whatever works. What matters is this:
Showcase 1–2 relevant projects
Share a bio and contact info
Add a photo and short blurb about who you are
Bonus: Grab a custom domain. It shows you’re serious.
5. Share Smart, Thoughtful Content
No one expects you to be a thought leader at 22—but showing thoughtful interest in your industry is powerful.
Share an article with your take
Write a short blog post about something you learned
Join a professional conversation on LinkedIn
Signal to the world (and hiring managers) that you’re tuned in—not tuned out.
6. Monitor Your Reputation Like a Pro
Set up Google Alerts for your name
Watch who’s looking at your LinkedIn profile
Search your name monthly and stay aware
Think of your online presence like a career credit score. Monitor it before something dings it.
Final Thought: Control the Narrative
You don’t have to erase who you were. You just have to shape how you're seen now.
Clean up your online footprint. Showcase your growth. Build your brand before someone else builds an impression.
You're not just a graduate—you’re a rising professional. Make sure the internet knows it.
Talk soon,
Shawn
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📬 Want more practical advice like this?
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And if you're early in your engineering or science career, check out the Foundations Course — the playbook I wish I had in my first 10 years:
👉 www.shawnisakson.com/foundations
