Personal Branding

What Is Your Online Reputation Doing To Your Job Search?

What Is Your Online Reputation Doing To Your Job Search?

Many job seekers mistakenly believe that, because they aren’t on Facebook, or Twitter, their online reputation is spotless. Related: Unfortunately, this isn’t always the case.


Why Is Your Online Reputation Important Anyway?

Reppler, a social media monitoring service designed to help users manage their online image across different social networks, conducted a survey of 300 hiring professionals - 91% of these hiring professionals responded stating that they thoroughly scrutinize an applicant’s online reputation during the hiring process. Here’s what they found…
  • Facebook is the most frequently screened social network with LinkedIn coming in second.
  • The majority of hiring managers review social profiles before the interview.
  • The primary reason a candidate is rejected is because they lied about their qualifications this can become apparent while cross-checking their background.
  • The reason given for candidates hired is because they left a positive impression of their personality and organizational fit.

What is your online reputation doing to your job search?

As an Executive Resume Writer and Career Strategist, I work with clients everyday who would benefit from professional assistance with online reputation management. Take for example a senior corporate executive who is also the pastor of his church. He is a highly respected member of his community with a name that most would assume is not particularly common. Unfortunately, after googling him, we found a Twitter account belonging to a young man by the same name on the first page of Google. This young man regularly sends out tweets of an offensive nature that would make any hiring manager cringe. Is this unfair? Absolutely! However, you can’t blame the employer either. After all, who would want their brand tainted by an employee who lacks the judgment necessary to know that posting questionable content is both foolish and immature? So, what can you do to reverse the damage or mitigate your risk? Replace the content with professional profiles you want employers to see. First, I recommend you register your legal name as your domain name if at all possible. For example, mine would be www.angiejones.com. As long as your job search is public knowledge, I recommend posting your resume on your new website. If cost is a concern, you can do this yourself at 1and1.com I also recommend that you create a blog in your name where you regularly create content demonstrating your knowledge of the industry. It is important that you create profiles on a variety of social networks including Facebook, LinkedIn, Youtube, and so on. Google ranks websites due to popularity, so make sure your friends and family members visit your newly created profiles. Given enough attention, you are likely to be successful in pushing down undesirable content to the second or third page. Keep in mind that a stellar online reputation does require regular maintenance so that questionable content does not reappear. If you are in need of profile development; visit our website at www.ANewResume.com. In addition, there are companies that specialize in online reputation management which include www.reputation.com.

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