The New York Times has become the latest employer facing public outcry over years-old social media posts by a new employee.
A handful of major league ball players were recently forced to apologize for posts they made while still in high school.
Danann Smith, regional president for staffing firm Robert Half, says this is why it's so important to clean up your social media accounts when applying for jobs.
“If you don't want it public, make sure you've taken all the security measures to make it private and make sure that what you put out there is something you want representative as yourself professionally,” she says.
“If you are using profanity that does not align with their core beliefs then that's potentially something that would not be something they would want to have as part of their group.”
But Kristy Gillentine, vice president of engagement of Drive West Communications, says deleting posts may not be enough.
“No one is immune from this kind of stuff being drudged up,” she says. “People can take screenshots, so you want to get those questionable posts off the Internet before anybody thinks to even look for them.”