The illusion of complete privacy is officially dead. Whether or not you yourself have “gone off the grid” or absconded from cataloging your every waking moment on a public forum like Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter, you need to understand that everything you have ever committed to film is out there somewhere. Be it an aging Polaroid or an 8mm film from childhood, if the person in possession of it has access to a smartphone, it is probably now not only on the internet but will be posted to your profile on your birthday.

So now with companies actively searching and screening applicant’s digital footprints, how do you ensure that their preconceived perceptions of you do not become a permanent mark on your resume or sales pitch? How can you consolidate who you were in your freshman year of college with who you now want to be seen as professionally?

The Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde:

One method would be to have two separate profiles for each social platform. One, the work appropriate profile with your full legal name filled and content pertaining to your professional achievements and your public persona. In essence mirroring your Facebook account to your LinkedIn account.  Included would be any photo of you that you would not be ashamed to place framed on your desk or posts that you would feel comfortable to openly discuss in a common area in the office.

The second is your personal profile under a pseudonym or abbreviated version of your name which represents the real you, the person you are the other 20% of your time outside of work. This would be where you can post your political or social opinions without possibly alienating a potential employer or client.

The Spartacus:

This other option is based on essentially understanding our communal perspective. The understanding that everyone, and I mean everyone, has done something questionable at some point in their lives which they are not proud of. The point is to take full responsibility of who you are, which in turn defuses the situation immediately if brought up during an interview. Be it that independent film you starred in or that photo of you running across the quad in that makeshift toga, your only response should be complete ownership.

The key to this method, however, is that you need to update your current profiles with as much work appropriate content as possible. Chances are someone doing a search will only go back maybe, at most, a year or two; so, if they have to scroll through page after page of photos and posts of you presenting yourself as an upstanding citizen, they will be more likely to forgive that post of you and your friends from spring break in 2004.

At the end of the day, employers understand that people have two sides, their public and their private personas. I am not suggesting that you stop yourself from enjoying your free time – you have earned it – and despite what some employers believe they do not “own” the people who work for them. They do, however, have the right to maintain their company’s image.

That means, as hard as it is to hear, sometimes a filter might need to be applied if you want to be taken seriously as a candidate or vendor in the open market.  Now I am just as likely to been seen at a marketing conference as I am at Comic Con; what you need to do is decide who will be the first version of you the internet sees – Bruce Wayne or the cosplay Batman?