Social media has its flaws, we all know that. We become preoccupied with how many likes we receive, how many followers we have and how fabulous our photos (i.e. lives) appear. We rarely think about how recruiters, employers and colleagues might perceive us when we post, but if you have a social media account on any platform and even more so if it's not private, you have a duty to yourself to post conscientiously.

think about it from an employer's point of view

In a 2016 poll by Career Builder, 60 percent of employers said they utilize social media when recruiting. Posts that had reportedly put them off a candidate were 'provocative or inappropriate' at 46 percent, drinking or consuming illicit substances at 43, followed by politically incorrect comments (33), bad-mouthing former workplaces or colleagues (31) and poor communication skills (29).

It takes just a minute to see the impact your online voice - or photos - can have. A quick Google of "[insert social media platform] + fired" and you'll find hundreds of articles related to incidents on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

On the other hand, 41 percent of employers said finding nothing online also put them off, but 60 percent claimed the practice was simply to validate your qualifications for the role. If that's the case, having a professional and up-to-date LinkedIn profile should be the only public profile you have in your name, particularly if you know you might be at risk of committing a candidate sin.

Whilst this may sound old fashioned, think about it from an employer's point of view. Would you trust someone you didn't know to be a reliable, hard worker if they're out partying every weekend? Would someone who voices strong opinions on controversial matters be a good fit for a multicultural team? Sure, if you're looking at working in entertainment or possibly social media marketing, your 100K following on Instagram might sound good despite the photos that go with it, but there are few professional roles where selfie-ing yourself really drunk and brain dumping your uninformed opinion on the latest media hyped topic will do you any favors.

The same also goes for personal issues. Relationship problems, even mental illness, can be seen negatively, and when your train is delayed a few hours, that personal information will be providing the 'obvious' conclusion of your real whereabouts. And more often than not, you'll find that it won't matter how well you do your job, someone is either out to ruin your reputation or just has a big mouth.

So how can you have a social media presence and a professional life? You have three options: i) ensure everything is private and never befriend a professional acquaintance, ii) use an alias, or iii) post like a model citizen. And don't forget LinkedIn.