Don't tweet drunk

By Megan McCourt, General Manager

Some of the things my fellow college students post on Facebook astound me. Half-naked pictures, incoherent status updates, snaps of people double-fisting drinks or passed out on the floor.

I don’t care what you do on the weekend, but your future employer might.

With scarcely two months until we walk across the stage, flip our tassels and start careers, it might be a good time to start thinking about doing some PR for yourself. Where to begin?

Facebook: Clean up your act. Start with restrictive privacy settings so that people can’t snoop too much. Go through all your pictures and un-tag yourself from any pictures you wouldn’t want your grandma or potential boss to see. Don’t write angry rants about work, especially if you’re friends with coworkers. Follow companies you are interested in working for and stop following “I Love Beer Pong.”

Twitter: This is an invaluable resource for those looking to join the working world, but you have to watch what you say since everything is public (check out Sony’s recent Twitter flub in which the company accidentally retweeted the root code that unlocks the PS3). Keep your tweets industry related while still letting some of your personality sparkle through. Don’t tweet drunk (here’s looking at you, Red Cross), as nothing ever really disappears from Twitter.

Resume and cover letter: Brand yourself with colors and a personal logo to set you apart from the pack. Don’t go overboard — pick one, maybe two colors that you can sprinkle in sparingly for impact. Get familiar with Adobe Photoshop or InDesign and craft a simple logo for yourself using these logo tips. Use your logo on your cover letter, resume and website, along with your color scheme.

New media: If you can’t beat them, beat them to it. If you want a position in the PR world, you need to be ahead of the curve when it comes to social media. Get out your smartphone and post on Tumblr, Quora and Storify. Check-in everywhere you go on Foursquare, Gowalla or SCVGNR. Build yourself a LinkedIn, VisualCV or a Wix site. Post videos on Vimeo, Veoh or Dailymotion. Whatever you do, do it online.

Now log in, polish up your online presence and start posting the right way!