I like to tell my clients they will be Googled just as surely as it will rain in Portland tonight. Do you know what they will see when they find you?
Online reputation management is a critical piece of your job search. There is just no getting around it, no matter what field you are in.
Quick story: When I Googled my name a year ago, I was a convicted felon and a prolific New York gynecologist, either simultaneously or separately. I was sure I didn’t want to be associated with those jobs, so I embarked on a campaign to bring the real “me” to Google’s first page.
The good news is now my LinkedIn profile comes up on Google’s first page. What a huge relief! I was worried what kind of appointments people were scheduling with me. The bad news is this happened only after many months of putting myself out there. Results didn't happen overnight.
But there is a method and science to getting your name ranked on Google’s first page. Follow these easy steps to finally take back control of your internet reputation:
Assess The Current State Of Your Online Reputation
In order to know how much effort to put in your re-branding efforts, you’ll need to assess how bad it is.
1. Google your name and notice how many times the real you comes up on the first page, and also on the first three pages. Remember to use your first and last name as well as your first name, middle initial and last name combinations.
(If you have a common name, always use your middle initial when publishing anything online and on your social media profiles.)
2. Use Pipl.com to search for your name. Does the real you come up? Pipl.com is the most comprehensive people search I’ve found online. It will reveal any criminal records, past address, and other skeletons. Recruiters use this all the time. So should you.
3. Depending on these results, you may have a lot of work ahead of you to begin to rebuild your name. Use this data to figure out how much time you need to spend on this project.
Bury The Dead, Plant A Tree
Ranking on Google is just a matter of building a web of “you.” The more links, sites, or pages with your name Google indexes, the better. It’s a matter of burying the old results but making new results rank higher. Here are some basic principles:
Traditional search-engine optimization (SEO) suggests the more times your name shows up on highly reputable websites, the higher it will rank on the results page.
So in order to knock down the stuff you don’t want, you have to build the stuff you do want.
Collect a list of professional portfolio items you can share, and post them on the appropriate sites. For example, if you have developed PowerPoint presentations, load them onto SlideShare.net with your name all over it. If you wrote articles, then publish them on EzineArticles.com. If there are videos of you, put them on YouTube.
Now, link as many of these shared portfolio items together as possible. Link your Slideshare to your LinkedIn, link your YouTube video to your Slideshare, and so on. Link your eZine article to your LinkedIn profile. Create a web of links tying together all the places where you are putting yourself out there.
Establish as many online portfolios as you can. In addition to LinkedIn, and VisualCV.com, you can set up Xing.com, a Facebook Fan Page, Twitter, Plaxo, Biznik.com, and hundreds more. Google indexes all of these.
Don’t make a blitz run at this. Consistency over time wins with SEO. I suggest doing one of these activities per week over the next several months or even making this an ongoing part of your Career Management Plan.
If you have a unique situation you’d like to share or have any more tips to add to this, please send me your comments.
Photo Credit: Shutterstock
Is your job search turning into a grind with no end in sight? It may be time to take a step back and reevaluate your entire approach.
In cold weather climates, the beginning of spring is a time to clean the house and get organized—a practice known as spring cleaning. Through the years, spring cleaning has taken on a larger meaning with people using the time to organize and declutter things in their lives.
For professionals on the job hunt, a little spring cleaning (metaphorically speaking) could be a great way to reinvigorate your job search. Here are a few strategies your job search spring cleaning should include.
Reevaluate Your Job Search Approach
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Make a list of the last handful of jobs you applied for and see if you can identify any positive or negative trends. Consider things like:
How did I learn about this job?
How did I apply for the job?
Did I earn an interview?
What was the ultimate result?
A lot can be learned about your job search approach just by answering these questions and identifying patterns. For example:
Negative Trends
You discovered five jobs through job boards, applied to all of them via the job boards, and never heard back from any of them.
The common pattern here is applying through job boards. This isn't to say that job boards don't serve a purpose in the job search process, but they have their limitations, and you can't run your job search entirely off of them. When you apply through a job board, there's a good chance that your materials will never get past the applicant tracking system (ATS) and never be seen by an actual person.
One simple fix is to research who the hiring manager or recruiter is that posted the position and email your materials to them directly.
The more efficient fix would be to take a proactive approach by putting together a bucket list of companies that you want to work for and start making connections on LinkedIn with people who work at those companies. You may already know some people who work there or have connections that can refer you to some individuals.
This is a great way to network your way onto a company's radar.
Positive Trends
You applied to three jobs via referral, were invited to two job interviews, and made it through multiple rounds of interviews for one of the jobs before being passed over for someone with a little more experience.
The pattern here is that getting referred to a job by a professional acquaintance is a great way to land a job interview. This indicates that you're leveraging your network well and you should continue to focus on your networking efforts.
The next step is to review the interview process and determine what went well and what needs to be improved. Sometimes the interviewer will provide feedback, and that feedback can be valuable. However, not everyone is comfortable with giving feedback.
Chances are you probably have a good idea about areas of improvement and the skills you need to gain. Put together a plan for addressing those shortfalls.
The good news in making it deep into any interview process is that it indicates that the company likes you as a potential employee (even if the timing just wasn't right) and the experience could be a roadmap to a job with that company at a later date, or another similar opportunity elsewhere.
Give Your Resume & Cover Letter Some Much-Needed Attention
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Are you continuously sending similar resumes and cover letters to each job opening with only minor adjustments? If so, your strategy needs some serious spring cleaning.
The reason why it's so important to tailor your resume is that throughout your career, you acquire numerous skills, but the job you're applying for may only be focusing on 6-8 of those skills. In that case, those skills must rise to the top of the resume with quantifiable examples of how you successfully used those skills at previous jobs.
Remember, recruiters go through hundreds of resumes. They need to be able to tell from a quick glance whether or not you're a potential candidate for the position.
While updating your resume, you could also spruce up your LinkedIn profile by highlighting the skill sets that you want to be noticed for by recruiters.
As for writing a good cover letter, the key to success is writing a disruptive cover letter. When you write a disruptive cover letter, you're basically telling a story. The story should focus on how you connect with the particular company and job position. The story could also focus on your personal journey, and how you got to where you currently are in your career.
If your resumes and cover letters aren't unique, now is the time to clean things up and get on track.
Build Your Personal Brand
Just because you're looking for work doesn't mean that you don't have anything to offer. Use previous career experiences and passions to build your personal brand.
Ask yourself, "How do I want other professionals to view me?"
Pick an area of expertise and start sharing your knowledge and experience with your professional network by pushing out content on your LinkedIn and social media accounts. Good content can include blogs, social media posts, and videos.
By sharing content about your experiences and passions, you slowly build your personal brand, and others will start to notice. The content could lead to good discussions with others in your network. It could also lead to reconnecting with connections that you haven't spoken to in years, or making new connections.
You never know when one of these connections could turn into a job lead or referral. The trick is to get on people's radars. So, when you're cleaning up your job search, be sure to build a plan for personal branding.
Maintain Healthy Habits During Your Job Search
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Your job search is important, but it's even more important to know when to pull back and focus on personal health and spending time with family and friends.
There are actually things that you can do for your own enjoyment that could help your job search in the long run, such as:
Grab coffee with a friend - It's good to engage in light conversation with friends during challenging times. And if your job search does come up, remember that most people have been through it themselves and you never know when a friend may provide you with a good idea or lead on a job.
Volunteer - Volunteering is a great way to get involved in the community and help others. In addition, if you develop a little bit of a career gap while looking for a job, you can always talk about how you filled that time volunteering, if you're asked about it during a job interview.
Continue to focus on other passions - Are you a fitness nut? Blogger? Crafter? Continue to do the things that bring you happiness. And if you're in a position to profit from your passion through a freelance job or side hustle, even better!
Spring is the perfect time to clean up and improve your job search so you can land the job you want. If you're struggling to find a job, follow the tips above to reinvigorate your job search—and watch your career blossom!
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This article was originally published at an earlier date.