Worlds are Colliding Jerry!

In 1995, George Costanza – one of the quirky characters on Seinfeld – shouted, “World's are colliding!” when he learned that his friend Elaine had invited his fiancé to join her on a visit to the museum. George acted differently with his friends than he did in the presence of his fiancé. In Susan’s presence he was Relationship George and around his friends he was Independent George. George feared his two worlds would explode if Susan were to join the group of friends. Independent George ‘s world would cease to exist if she joined the group because he would have to maintain his Relationship George persona with his friends going forward. George wanted nothing more than to keep his worlds separated.

Today, a short 15 years later, George would not survive. In 2010, it is nearly impossible to separate our worlds because social media sites like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn have blurred the line between professional and personal. We connect with our families, friends, bosses and business partners alike through social media.

Imagine your professional resume circulating among your college friends and the laughs it might provoke. Worse yet, imagine if the hiring managers at the company you’ve applied to had a resume of your college spring break experiences.

Too often, the latter is not imaginary but reality because interviewers increasingly look at candidates Twitter or Facebook pages where the applicant has posted such photos or status updates. How much damage can posting wild weekend photos and drunken status updates do to your credibility? A lot.

When using social media, it is a good idea to only post things you’d be comfortable with your boss or even your mother seeing, because chances are they can. It is essential that we always put our best foot forward to maintain our credibility. Re-think every post because it really can affect you down the line.

Sorry George, but the worlds have collided!