Your Online Reputation

Keeping your online reputation clean is not easy. Even if you do not frequent social media sites like Facebook, some of your personal information can still exist online on public directories. As we move to a more web-based culture, controlling your online reputation is difficult, but not impossible.

Did you know that 90% of recruiters used a search engine to find information on potential candidates in 2010? 46% of recruiters eliminated a candidate because of the ‘unflattering’ information found online* (I don’t mean the picture of you in that hideous bridesmaid dress). Your online content can follow you throughout your professional career. People have not only missed out on jobs because of this, but they have also lost their jobs. And, although presently in legal reviews, some employers may ask for your social networking password as a voluntary submission to their application (appalling invasion of privacy!).

Here are some tips on managing your online reputation:

1)      Google yourself. Find out what information is already out there by searching your name, and variations of your name on Google, Yahoo and Bing. Results near the top matter most.

2)      From time to time, delete your Facebook page and refresh it (relax, breathe, you can put it back up!). This will ensure you re-evaluate your friends list, along with the content you have from years past. Don’t forget, old content may still be floating around on the net.

3)      Ensure that your Facebook page (and any other social networking site) is private. Did you know that Facebook has over 100 privacy options? Review the privacy section and make sure to customize your settings for each individual item, including posts and tags by your friends. Delete DOB, address and last name from your profile.

4)      Promote the positive! Create content to ‘push’ the negative results further down. Create a Linkedin profile with recommendations (social networking site pages usually come up first on name searches). BLOG – start a blog on wordpress.com or blogger.com highlighting your professional accomplishments and interests. Guest blog on a professional site or with your company.

5)      Remove your personal information from people search sites and online databases like Spokeo.com. Under the privacy section of these sites, you should be able to remove your listing individually. But note that removing it from here, does not permanently remove it from its origin.

Need help? The following offer assistance on managing your online reputation and information:

·         Reppler.com – monitors your Facebook page for inappropriate content, your public impression, and privacy/security risks. FREE

·         Google Alert – Set up a Google Alert with your name to keep track of online content. FREE

·         Reputation.com - Manages all your information found online, including personal identifiers, and removes it for fees starting at $100.

While that picture of you inebriated at your graduation party might be a funny memory, there is no place for it online. No, you may not feel it is entirely fair for employers to review your online profile. But it will happen, like it or not. Be prepared and start cleaning up your online reputation!

-          Written by White Plains Career Counselor, Cruskaia Albert-Hall

*Stats from Forbes.com, How to Manage (and Protect) Your Online Reputation, Helen Coster