Protect Your Online Reputation - Employers May Be Looking!
They don't call it the World Wide Web for nothing. What's
there is there - much of it is available to anyone - even employers.
Google, Facebook, MySpace, Linkedin, are a treasure trove of tell-all
information.
 "According to ExecuNet, 83 percent of recruiters used
Google to find information. That's a lot, and that information is from
mid-way through last year. I also know Deloitte made their own social
network called D-street, after finding a Facebook forum titled,
'Deloitte is Why I Drink' they somehow didn't think it was as funny as
the creators and participants did," says Andy Greider, brand manager for
QAlias, a company that offers assistance with online personal branding.
Robert Half International, also recently surveyed
executives asking which of the following technology tools they thought
would be most useful in their firm's recruiting efforts in the next
three years. Sixty-two percent said professional networking sites and 35
percent said social networking sites.
As more and more people migrate online, there is a
greater ability to find coveted information that can't be asked in a job
interview or that simply wouldn't come out during that process," says
Greider.
 Simply put, "Employers will use whatever resources are
available to check up on candidates," says Camille Franklin, director of
career development at American University in Washington, D.C.
In fact, "Surveys are showing that recruiters didn't hire
35-51 percent of job candidates they checked out online," says Andy
Beal, founder of Trackur.com, an online reputation management tool.
"Students are often surprised to hear that employers are
in places like Facebook. But they are. They aren't just looking at your
resume, but photos from the weekend too."
In other words, those photos of you partying like it's
1999, Playboy poses and all your revelry can be there for those with
hiring and firing authority to see.
"Humor is good, but if it something you wouldn't share
with your great grandmother, you better not put it on a site that anyone
can have access to, because once online, always online," says Laura
Nielsen, director of career services at the International Academy of
Design & Technology in Seattle.
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"It's absolutely vital that you manage
your online reputation. Your resume and references are no
longer confined to a single sheet of white paper. Your new
resume is the Internet and your references are the web pages
that discuss your reputation."
- Andy Beal, founder of Trackur.com |
"That dream job just might go to someone else," she adds.
An employer may conclude that your bad judgment will extend in the
workplace, says Todd Mintz, who works out of Beaverton, Oregon as
director of Internet marketing and information management for executive
recruiting firm S.R. Clarke.
Even if you're not job hunting, your current employer might be
surfing too. Evidence online of you using drugs or other illegal
behavior could get you fired, says Franklin. Other questionable
behavior, like racial or gender slurs might not bode well in your favor
either.
Put Your Best Foot Forward on the Internet
"If you have bad stuff on your own pages, remove it. If you have bad
stuff on other people's pages, ask them to remove it," says Mintz.
There is a science of "online reputation management," which is taking
actions to push negative results down in the search engines. However,
it's an involved, expensive process, says Mintz.
Companies like reputationdefender.com can help you defend your good
name on the Internet. They will search out all information about you
throughout the Internet - provide assistance to help remove, inaccurate,
inappropriate information and more.
You can handle this on your own by going to the webmaster of the site
and asking them to remove the content or the page. "They are not in any
way obliged to do so. So the best way to manage your reputation online
is to be prudent before you post," says Nielsen.
Make sure that your privacy settings on sites like Facebook are such
that only people who have your permission can see your information.
 Set the spotlight on positive. Showcase your talents. Include
information about your volunteer activities, awards you received, and a
portfolio of your work. Consider too, blogs on your area of expertise.
Basically, any good stuff - put it out there. Linda Young, counseling
psychologist and online safety expert for Denver-based Qwest
Communications, advises creating your own website. "Create your own
website under your own name so that you present everything you want
employers and others to be able to find immediately about you in one
place."
What's key is to be proactive. "It's absolutely vital that you manage
your online reputation. Your resume and references are no longer
confined to a single sheet of white paper. Your new resume is the
Internet and your references are the web pages that discuss your
reputation," says Beal.
Lastly, says Greider, "There is nothing more sacred than your name.
It is the one thing that follows you through life. Unlike with in person
first impressions, you never know when you're making your first
E-impression."
Online Reputation Management Resources:
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