How-to articles offering career development tips are a dime-a-dozen. Frankly, it’s a tired topic and each article is more of the same. Instead, I wanted to focus on a far-less covered, and all too important, topic: how to leverage social media to sabotage your career. Because, why wouldn’t you want to spend your days and nights frenetically scouring job boards trying to find a new job after you got fired from something you posted on social media?
If that’s your idea of fun, then make sure you heed these tips on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram:
1) Post photos of you drinking at the company holiday party
This is a great way to let anyone who views your social media profile know that you’re a party animal and that you can handle your liquor. It also discredits your professionalism and self-control, which are terribly overrated. Not only will it help you sabotage your current job and any chance at a promotion, but it will guarantee you aren’t seriously considered for a different opportunity elsewhere. Bonus points for a keg-stand photo.
2) Share your activities from when you were playing hooky
Social media makes it especially easy to show all your friends how much fun you’re having while they’re at work, so make sure to rub it in. You have a couple options: explicitly posting about how you called in sick and went to the beach, or effortlessly checking in at your favorite studio for a 2:00 pm hot yoga class. Most career saboteurs opt for the latter, since they can deliver maximum impact with minimal brainpower. The good news is that once your boss finds out, you’ll have all the yoga and beach time you want.
3) Post how much you hate your job
There are few superior ways to damage your career than by posting on social media how much you hate your job. It’s even more effective if you slam your boss and co-workers. Don’t forget to tag them for maximum effect.
4) Forget your filter
Social media is a perfect platform to engage in heated conversations, especially if you harbor highly controversial sentiments or a particularly vulgar vocabulary. Offensive social media posts have a habit of going viral and causing a lot of damage, so go ahead and say what’s really on your mind.
5) Publicly comment/post/share the job openings of your company’s top competitors
When you see that another company is hiring and you’re interested in learning more, make sure you capitalize on social media’s reach by publicly expressing your interest. That way, everybody, especially your boss and co-workers, can see that you’re looking for a new job.
6) Don’t fully complete your LinkedIn profile
While this tip won’t get you fired from your current job, it’s a sure-fire way to make sure that hiring managers and recruiters don’t reach out to you about new career opportunities. Keep your profile as bare as possible: no photo, no accomplishments and no description of your responsibilities. There’s no need for hiring authorities to see how skilled you are. If a recruiter does contact you for some reason, make sure to blow them off, especially if they’re pitching you a dream opportunity. You don’t have time to waste considering your future and the possibility of making more money in a bigger office.
Your colleagues have it all wrong: they’re too busy leveraging social media to advance their careers. They don’t know about all of the advantages of sabotaging your career on social media, of which I’m sure there are many (although they’re all escaping me at the moment). By employing these tips, you’ll make sure you’re as un-employable as possible.
