Could Your Past Be Haunting Your Dream PA or EA Role?

As a Personal Assistant or Executive Assistant, you’re often seen as an extension of the Executive you support. You speak on their behalf. You manage their time, liaise with stakeholders, sometimes even stand in for them in meetings. Which means people are paying attention to how you show up – not just in the office, but everywhere else too.

Social media blurs the line between personal and professional. What you post at 10pm on a Sunday can be screenshotted and passed around by 9am on Monday. A flippant comment, an overly revealing story, or a poorly judged joke may not seem like much at the time – but it can stick around far longer than you intended, and land in front of eyes you never expected it to.

You might have the most perfectly curated CV, but if your digital footprint tells a different story, it can raise questions. And these days, it’s not just about what’s on your profile – it’s what’s publicly accessible, what’s tagged, what’s reposted, and what someone might dig up within a five minute Google search.

Recruiters, HR Managers, and even potential colleagues are checking. And it’s not to catch you out – it’s to get a sense of who you are. Do you seem discreet? Professional? Trustworthy?

This doesn’t mean you can’t be yourself online – but it does mean you need to be strategic about what version you are putting out there.

• Audit Yourself: Google your name and see what comes up. Log out of your social accounts and check what’s visible to the public. What does your LinkedIn say versus your Instagram? Are there old blogs, tweets, or comments that no longer reflect who you are?
• Tidy Up Your Profiles: Adjust your privacy settings. Un-tag yourself from photos that don’t serve you professionally. Archive or delete posts that feel out of line with the image you want to project.
• Be Intentional: If you’re posting about your work, do it thoughtfully and with boundaries. Avoid oversharing about your job. If you’re showing off a new role, great – but check with your employer before sharing details that could be deemed confidential.
• Curate Your Presence: Consider using platforms like LinkedIn to build a professional brand – share articles, reflect on projects, and engage with the industries you work in. Let your digital trail tell the story you’d want a future employer to read.

Your social media doesn’t need to be polished within an inch of its life. It just needs to make sense. If someone stumbled across your profile with no context – would they think: “This person is switched on, thoughtful, and would represent our company well”? Or would it leave a question mark?

In many ways, your digital profile is now part of your first impression. For PAs and EAs, that impression carries weight – because you are the ambassador for the people you support.

Being digitally aware doesn’t mean being robotic. It means being responsible. You can still be authentic – funny, opinionated, creative – but do it on purpose. Know who is watching and be comfortable with what they might see.

Because in a world where roles evolve quickly, impressions are formed even faster, and screenshots never really go away – a little digital awareness goes a long way. Especially when the next opportunity might just be one scroll away.