You’ve got everything to lose and essentially nothing to gain.Image 

What is it? Hopes of progressing your career when you’ve been a little sloppy with your online persona.

For many employees, they become a little lax and with an online post here and an online image there. Next thing you know, they are being called into the manager’s office and asked to explain how and why something ended up online. In some cases, it can even lead to a reprimand or dismissal.

From the better-known national cases where employees such as school teachers, law enforcement officers and others have gotten in trouble, to the little administrative assistant at the small business down the road, more and more employers are tightening their grip on what is and is not allowed from their employees online. For the employee, not only are they asked to avoid inappropriate usages of the Internet while at work, but they are also advised to be cautious with what they post after hours.

Work to Repair Your Online Reputation

If you are concerned that past or present online postings could cause you trouble at work or put your career in jeopardy, there are reputation management resources out there to assist you.

With such resources, you can work to rehabilitate your online image, prevent yourself from potentially losing a job, and improving your online persona in the event you are currently job hunting or will be down the road. The main goal here is to lessen the impact of negative online comments and improve the good things you have done over time.

So, still think your online actions can’t have a negative impact on you?

All you need to do is Google a few terms to find out otherwise. Google terms like ‘Principal arrested for inappropriate Facebook photos’ or ‘Teacher fired over Facebook comments,’ and you will find countless entries. Were such individuals appropriately reprimanded for their online activities or were they discriminated against?

In a case earlier this summer, a New York City teacher originally fired for making comments about her students on Facebook, was instead suspended for two years minus pay.

A Manhattan judge characterized the teacher’s termination as being too harsh, instead sending the matter back to an education department arbitrator. The judge noted that the teacher’s comments were not made on school property, and that they were circulated just among adult Facebook friends. The arbitrator then signed off on the suspension, noting she discovered that the teacher attempted to have a friend take the fall for the comments.

Meantime, a New Jersey police officer of eight years was terminated last year after his reported profanity-laced and racially charged remarks were posted on his Twitter account.

According to the town’s mayor, using profanities mixed with racial slurs in this day and age is totally unacceptable. The mayor added that he fired the officer in order to prevent any potential liabilities down the road that the town could have faced via the officer’s possible actions.

If you still think your career is immune from such firings, keep the following in mind:

* Avoid posting negative comments and images - Both these areas can get an employee in a heap of trouble, so best to avoid. What may not seem offensive to you could be found easily offensive to someone else. Always think of the potential ramifications of such posts before sitting down to the computer;

* Avoid being critical of current or former employers - While being critical of former employers can be bad business because you’ve burned a potential bridge when it comes to references, criticizing current employers online can be the kiss of death in your job. As more employers monitor online chatter, thinking you have a safety net by criticizing your employer while not on the clock is a big mistake;

* Avoid posting untrue statements - Let’s say you wake up one morning and decide to play hooky from work. Don’t slip up and then post on your Twitter or Facebook account that the weather is perfect for a round of golf. The same holds true for announcing to the online world that you are currently job hunting;

* Be proactive online - If you are concerned about your online image, simply Google your name and see what it says about you. In the event there is negative information floating around online regarding you, do your best to put out positive details, thereby letting the negative stuff creep lower and lower in the search engines.

With today’s Internet age only growing day by day, it is imperative that employees make sure their online images do not jeopardize their careers.