12/01/2011Fixing a Faulty Social Media ReputationBy Janet WallIt is an established fact that more and more hiring authorities are looking to social media sites to gather information about a person prior to making a final hiring decision. A recent Microsoft-sponsored study revealed that 79% of US HR/Recruitment professionals use online information to evaluate candidates most or all of the time. Further, 70% of US HR/Recruiters have rejected candidates based on their online reputation. Only a little over one third of the consumers surveyed reported being concerned that their online reputation impacts their chances of getting a job or admission into a college or university in the future.
Performing pre-employment background checks of social media sites is becoming increasingly prevalent. Agencies and institutions are often outsourcing the tasks to other companies that have developed tools to automate the process. According to social media expert Courtney Shelton Hunt, PhD, Founder of SMinOrgs, “Even if you are not actively on the job market, your digital identity and activity can still be found through social searches. Therefore, it’s in your best interests to establish a strong positive digital presence and monitor and manage it regularly.”
How do you know if your online reputation is positive, and what do you do if it needs to be strengthened or repaired? Here are some steps you can take.
Google Yourself. Be smart about your online identity. See what others are seeing and saying. You may have an online reputation that is vastly different from what you thought or intended. Just enter your name into Google to see what comes up. If you have a strong online identity or brand, many of the entries on the first few pages will be about you. If you do not have a strong presence but a relatively common name, then many people with the same name will appear. That is important to know because their reputation may be mistaken for yours. In addition to Google, there are free programs like http://addictomatic.com/ or http://www.pipl.com that will look for your name on several sites. You may be very surprised what you see.
Take It Down. If you find anything negative, the first thing you should do is remove the negative information from any sites over which you have control. That means removing embarrassing photos, inflammatory statements, or anything that can be negatively interpreted.
If the harmful photos or information exists on a site over which you have no control, ask the site owner to take it down. Many times she or he will comply with your request.
Bury it Deep. But what if you have tried everything and still there is some digital dirt out there about you? By increasing positive activity on the web, you can bury the negative information so deep that it has less likelihood of being found or given credence. When recruiters or admissions officers search for your name, they are not likely to delve into the web many pages deep. If you can fill the web with positive information about you, the negative information won’t rise to the top and thus may not ever be detected. Here are some ways to do that.
Conclusion: It is important to manage your online reputation first by knowing what is out there about you; and second, removing negative information to ensure that your online reputation enhances your potential and promise in the workplace and your career.
Dr. Janet Wall, EdD, CDFI, MCDP, is a career development practitioner with interests in assessment, technology, evaluation, online learning, and writing. She has authored several books related to assessment and career development topics. As founder of www.CEUonestop.com , Janet has created several online courses supported with CEU clock hours by NBCC and CCE. She also has created an e-book on free technology tools you can use to enhance your training, teaching, and business activities. Her website is http://www.janetwall.net. Contact her at careerfacilitator@janetwall.net. 29 CommentsJanet Wall on Thursday 12/01/2011 at 07:32 PM So glad you found this helpful. Great! Appreciate your positive comments. I didn't know it was available till I received your comment.
Paula Brand on Thursday 12/01/2011 at 08:01 PM Good article Janet. Thanks for sharing this important information. I educate job seekers on this point on a regular basis. It is a must to know in today's world! Janet Wall on Thursday 12/01/2011 at 08:20 PM Appreciate your comment, Paula. I think it takes a lot of reminding for people to understand what is out there about them and others. I have even been surprised over what is posted about me -- that I didn't post.
Marcia Roper on Thursday 12/01/2011 at 09:33 PM Thanks for sharing these useful tips. I have promptly shared this article with my children and professional contacts who I hope are savvy to the advantages and possible pitfalls of social media. Phoenix Ho on Friday 12/02/2011 at 03:42 AM Dear Janet, Angela deFreitas on Friday 12/02/2011 at 06:29 AM Found this very important and informative especially for young people who are so into social media without always realising the possible negative implications.
Christine Allen on Friday 12/02/2011 at 08:10 AM This is a wonderful article, Janet. As the Coordinator of Career Services, I plan to share this article with our students and alumni (with permission of course:) I learned something new about google rankings when doing a search, and plan to set up a google alert for myself immediately. Sara Shelton on Friday 12/02/2011 at 10:41 AM What a wonderful article! And so relevant to what is happening today. I can't wait to share this with my students and see what kind of feedback I get! Sara Shelton on Friday 12/02/2011 at 10:42 AM One last thing! Where are the tweet and facebook share links! Janet Wall on Friday 12/02/2011 at 08:07 PM Thanks all for your great comments. Keep them coming.
Susan Guarneri on Monday 12/05/2011 at 11:09 AM Your practical tips for online reputation management are easy to implement and make sense. As always, Janet, you are a treasure trove of information.
Kristin Guiliano on Monday 12/05/2011 at 11:29 AM Great article, Janet! I do monitor my online identity but was amazed by what I found last year during an in-depth check while researching for a Career Services blog post. First was an invitation sent to me using a popular invitation website. Second, under my maiden name I found my wish list from an online book retailer’s website. Both were publically available requiring no log-in to my personal account when accessed this way. It made me quite glad that the books I choose and events to which friends invite me would reflect positively, not negatively, on a person. Clearly, we need to be thoughtful about everything we do on the Internet. Janet Wall on Monday 12/05/2011 at 11:55 AM Great information on the videos, Susan. You are correct in that there are horrible examples of resume videos as an example.
Nancy J. Miller on Monday 12/05/2011 at 02:07 PM Thank you, Janet, for the article. I often post information on Facebook about privacy and reputation since that seems to be the site that people let their hair down and share too much personal information even to the point of forgetting security for their families. Unfortunately most young people don't listen. Even some older people forget the information is public and permanent. Reminders are always welcome. Janet Wall on Monday 12/05/2011 at 04:05 PM You are so right that people forget (or really don't believe) that what they post is out there for the world to see.
Angela L. Hodge-Jones on Monday 12/05/2011 at 08:13 PM Great informational tool to be used in my weekly career development workshops. I forwarded the article to over 200 participants that are actively looking for employment. Thank you for another great resource. Janet Wall on Monday 12/05/2011 at 08:21 PM Angela. I'm glad you found this helpful.
James Paul Berry on Tuesday 12/06/2011 at 07:19 PM Janet Hall,
Janet Wall on Tuesday 12/06/2011 at 07:34 PM James.
Melanie Reinersman on Wednesday 12/07/2011 at 12:01 PM As Editor of this web magazine, I can grant reprint permission for anyone wishing to use this article with job seekers, students, clients, etc. Please use the following citation: Nancy J. Miller on Thursday 12/08/2011 at 01:57 AM One of the best ways to build your professional reputation and share your expertise online is to use the link to this article as well as other Career Convergence articles on your blog, website, and/or social media sites. Whenever possible use links to a reputable professional site that gets heavy traffic such as NCDA. You will also be directing your colleagues to a wealth of relevant career information. Rochelle Johnson Benning on Friday 12/09/2011 at 12:03 PM Great article Janet. I think this comes at a really crucial time where we're seeing the affects of unchecked facebook and twitter postings in today's news.
Janet Wall on Friday 12/09/2011 at 02:28 PM Thanks Rochelle. I just came across this from Education Week. It focuses more on high school students, but still seems relevant.
Linda Woodard, CDFI, GCDF, CWDP on Tuesday 12/27/2011 at 01:35 PM Janet, Janet Wall on Tuesday 12/27/2011 at 02:21 PM Glad you found this useful. I hope your CDF students do as well. By all means quote away. Take a look at Melanie's 12/7 post which give permission to use the entire pie with reference to NCDA and Career Convergence as stated. Brianna Harrington on Tuesday 05/08/2012 at 08:30 PM Hi Janet, Janet Wall on Wednesday 05/09/2012 at 08:38 AM Thanks for the comment. Yes, it is my understanding that creating blogs (useful and helpful ones) will show up first in searches and may help to counteract any bad "press." Joe Pangelinan on Saturday 07/20/2013 at 08:43 AM I find your piece to be relevant and helpful to share with my students and colleagues. Thank you for writing it. Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in the comments shown above are those of the individual comment authors and do not reflect the views or opinions of this organization.
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Kathy Condon on Thursday 12/01/2011 at 07:13 PM
Not only did you point out "why" it is important to be careful what you write on Social Media, you did a great job of telling people what they can do to correct.
This is an article that needs to be forwarded to every possible place we can.
http://www.kathycondon.info/blog