Social media can be a job applicant’s best friend—or worst enemy. Fortunately, you have a large degree of control over your online presence. So before you start sending out resumes, applying for jobs or asking for informational interviews, take a few hours to clean up your digital footprint.

“Recruiters are leveraging social media, in addition to employee referrals, when it comes to sourcing candidates,” says Susan Vitale, CMO at iCIMS, a recruiting software company.

Here are six tips for making sure the Internet reflects the self you want potential employers to see.

Scary Stuff. On December 1, the Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments in a Mississippi case, Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, that could potentially overturn Roe v. Wade. Read about the Rally for Abortion Justice—and next steps.

Award-Worthy Leadership. For 17 years, Gloria L. Blackwell oversaw management of AAUW’s fellowships and grants program, which awarded more than $70 million to women scholars and programs. Learn more about our new CEO.

The Last Equal Pay Day. October 21 is Latina Equal Pay Day, the last such observance of the year. That means Latinas must typically work longer than ... everyone to get the same pay. Get the facts and take action.

The ability to access abortion is directly connected to economic security: People denied an abortion have a higher rate of poverty than those who can access one. The Women's Health Protection Act (H.R. 3755/S. 1975) will address the ceaseless attacks on reproductive rights by helping to ensure that patients can access, and health care professionals can provide, abortion care. Tell your Senator to support this legislation.

Women surpass men in degree attainment—and student debt. They carry an average student loan burden of $31,276, about 7% more than men. Washington Post

More women than men appear to suffer from “long COVID.” And those who have taken career breaks to care for children are likely to be first in line for redundancies if companies need to downsize. The Atlantic

Why do transgender women tend to be less accepted than transgender men? Hint: The likely answer starts with an “M” (and ends with “isogyny”). Psychology Today

Lima Ahmad

While 2018-19 AAUW International Fellow Lima Ahmad was in the U.S. to defend her Ph.D. proposal this summer, her family in Afghanistan was struggling to survive like more than 5,000 others trapped inside Kabul’s airport.

Ahmad shares her family’s harrowing story in a recent TRTWorld article, “Running through the valley of death to give life a chance.”

She is cofounder of the “I See You” campaign against corruption in Afghanistan, and a Ph.D. candidate at Tufts University, where she is studying the vulnerabilities of young people to extreme violence.

It takes Latinas almost an entire extra year of full-time, year-round work to be paid the average annual earnings of white men. Learn the unfair truth about Latinas and the pay gap and fight for #LatinaEqualPay. https://www.aauw.org/latinas-and-the-pay-gap/

TWEET THIS