Getting ready to apply to the Top 30 B-schools? You may want to be cautious about your online presence.

Irrespective of your reality, how you are being perceived in the world is important, “Perception is reality.” The whole essay is focused on social media activities which one should do with great caution.

If an admission committee is geared toward giving you admission to the program, it’s possible they do a Google search of your name for a quick background check before making a final decision. And, if they get bumped into not-so-right pictures (not doing upright things or offensive) or you have posted some racial comment on Twitter or anywhere else, it can get you in a difficult position. They might just want to move ahead to the next candidate!

You might have seen that the US colleges have revoked offers to students who have participated in racially demeaning activities, or have publicly given offensive or racial comments on different platforms. When they are not leaving any slack to teenage undergrad students, then why do you think that the admission committee will give some slack to you. In your case, if you already have a few years of professional experience, then they expect you to be at the best of your behaviour on social media as well.

I have also seen that in some rare cases, students who have gained negative publicity on public media platforms such as magazines or newspapers, or even otherwise, have suffered not just in the college admission process, but also through their life. I had an MBA student, who was involved in a domestic abuse case, which was reported in the papers. Despite a stellar profile, she struggled to get past the stigma. Over many years, whilst actively building SEO around the positive dimensions of her profile, she could side-step the negativity and finally could make a successful MBA application.  It is often said that you should act responsibly in your early twenties to avoid such things. Remember, that nowadays presence on social media is deeply attached to your identity.

The pain does end at the admission committee. If a local alum is taking an interview of yours, he/she may ask you to dig in more into such issues and conversation can become uncomfortable and deeply painful for you. Of course, his or her recommendation would correspondingly get coloured as well. Once you have started your program, applied to internships, or on-campus recruitment, companies do a thorough background check. A negatively dimensional profile may get blacklisted and would not get a corresponding job or internship outcomes. Further, MBA programs are famous for networking; if your class fellows find out and dig in, things can become terrible.

Maybe you might think that I am asking you to curb your emotions or expressions. But, it is always good to express them in moderation and through a logical construct.

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