Board Approvals and Your Social Media

When you apply for a co-op, you will be reviewed by the board of the co-op.  In the age of the Internet, a wealth of information about your lifestyle and history is at the board’s fingertips.  Particularly, your social media can be easily viewed by the board, allowing them to form an opinion about you before you even meet them.  If your social media contains questionable content there is a chance that your approval could be placed in jeopardy, as the board might worry that you could be disruptive to the community.  In general, you should ensure your social media will not become an obstacle to receiving approval.

    To ensure that your social media does not hinder your approval, you have two options to protect yourself.  The first option is to make all your social media accounts temporarily private, allowing only approved friends to view your posts and activity.  This lowers the chance of the board discovering something they may disapprove of if your social media is not entirely clean.  You can make your social media public again after you receive the approval.  The other option is to scrub your social media of any questionable content, though this can be a very arduous and time-consuming process.  Also, you may not be able to completely hide all your questionable content.  Despite this, keeping your social media clean will help you well beyond receiving a board approval, as employers and other institutions may check your social media as well.  Overall, a clean social media account has many benefits, and it is important to protect your image in the Internet age.