Every job candidate has been told to clean up their Facebook account before they get their paperwork out there. And most are smart enough to do that. We know those embarrassing photos don’t permanently disappear, but at least getting them off of your page helps. A cursory look-by at your social media accounts by a potential employer should be fine if you have cleaned up.

You are Employed – Now What?

Don’t think that just because you are safely and securely in your position that you can relax your activity on social media. Very recently, there are both publicly and privately employed individuals who have lost their positions because of inappropriate and/or offensive postings on social media.

Here are five social media activities that will put your job in jeopardy.  Some are blatant; others subtle.

5 Social Media Mistakes That Will Get You Fired

1. Voicing Complaints or Frustrations About Work

We all have people, events, and tasks in the workplace that are frustrating. Posting those frustrations, even if you don’t name individuals, and doing it rather regularly, makes you look like a complainer (and you totally are). If and when others from your organization see these posts, word will get out. There are some supervisors and managers who do regularly check the social media accounts of their employees. If you are complaining all of the time, even to yourself, it’s probably time to evaluate your social media and your attitude.

2. Politically or Socially Controversial Comments

Everyone has a right to his or her political views. Stating a reasonable position in a reasonable way on social media will generally be fine. Going off on tangents against those you disagree with or using lots of obscenities, ad hominem attacks, and slurs can definitely be a career-ender. It’s happened to a number of local politicians and even to people with executive positions in companies. 

[RELATED: 5 Ways to Improve Your Online Reputation]

3. Profiles/Content Filled with Grammatical Errors

Lots of job applicants have their own websites. They also establish profiles on LinkedIn and niche-related career and networking platforms. If they’re poor writers, they probably had professional help composing profiles and content. After they land a position, they may continue to update everything, which is a good thing, but now their poor writing skills are flagrantly visible. There are plenty of reputable writing services that will do this work for a reasonable price and maintain professional-looking profiles after you get the job.

4. “Sick” Days – Be Forewarned

We’ve probably all done this if we have been in the workplace for any length of time. We accumulate sick days. We have the chance to take a day trip with friends to the beach, so we call in sick. We also get some great photos, which of course we want to post. Hold off. Rather than posting them in real-time, wait until the weekend for those postings. Additionally: check to see if friends tagged you in any photos – you will want to delete those or at least untag yourself. Better to be safe than sorry.

5. On-the-Job Temptation

There’s that post you made last night. You want to know if your friends have responded to it, liked or shared it, etc. Plus, you have that friend posting pictures of her wedding, or her new baby, or whatever. You’ll just take a quick look. That quick look turns into a lot more time, hooked into reading more, responding more, etc. Remember that IT may monitor your work computer. Even if you use office wifi on your phone, they still might be able to monitor it. Okay, so maybe they don’t, but remember that the time and date stamps of your posts are there for all to see. Check your social media during lunch – it signals respect for your organization.

You’ve worked hard to get where you are, and your career path may be quite promising. Yes, the workplace is becoming more casual; yes, flexibility and tolerance are greater now. But there are just some things that require some common sense and caution. Your social media presence is one of those things.