Today, our lives are governed by social media outlets. If we aren’t posting our every move on Facebook, we’re tweeting our whereabouts, or uploading pictures of what we’re doing to Tumblr. With the increasing amount of predatory occurrences in today’s society, it’s important to make sure that the only people seeing these personal details are people that we know.

Also, if you’re looking for a job, you might want to consider hiding those Facebook posts. More and more hiring managers are using Facebook and other social media sites to screen applicants. You don’t want your drunken pics from last weekend’s kegger dictating your first impression on a prospective boss. There are a few simple guidelines to follow that will help keep your dirty secrets and personal information away from the prying eyes of the general public.

Facebook
Easily the most popular social media platform, Facebook is the most likely candidate for nosey bosses and internet predators to surf. An easy tip for keeping your Facebook page away from a prospective boss is to change the name on your profile to something rather than your real full name – first and middle name or a nickname work just fine. You can also change the settings that dictate who can find you in a search. It’s also important to acquaint yourself with the audience selector tool when posting to Facebook. This lets you choose whether the content you are posting will be viewable by friend, only you, specific people or groups, or public. If you leave your settings on public, anybody who searches for you will be able to access this information. Once you have your privacy settings set, use the “view as” tool to see what your page looks like to someone not on your friends list.

Twitter
By design, Twitter is a public platform that allows your tweets, followers, and the people you follow to be available for public knowledge. Anything you tweet is automatically available through search engines. Even protecting your tweets by making them private doesn’t protect you 100 percent. Your followers are still able to retweet anything you say, instantly making it public information. It’s best to simply consider anything you say on Twitter public.

Google+
Again, this social media outlet is built around circles and groups. It does have privacy settings, however, be careful. Anything posted as public is searchable through search engines.

Pinterest
While it may seem harmless, this online bulletin board has its own room for error. There are no privacy settings to choose from. Everything you post to your boards is 100 percent public. This is something you should keep in mind before you pin something with foul language to your board.

In a world of public sharing, it’s important to make sure that the only people you are sharing with are those close to you. This will ensure not only your physical safety but the safety of your reputation. Impressions are everything in this world. If you wouldn’t walk into an interview wearing fishnets and a tube-top while carrying a tray of Jell-O shots, make sure your prospective boss doesn’t see that side of you online either.

Diane Coleman likes to write about fashion, business, and quotes for home insurance.