Have you tried Googling yourself? If you haven’t yet, you should. Some would readily dismiss it as mere vanity or ego search, yet at this very moment, an HR manager from a company you’re applying for or someone who’s been eyeing you for a date could be scouring the Web looking for every bit of information about you.
A photo of yourself plastered on your Facebook or MySpace page wearing the skimpiest of outfits and posing provocatively, or a blog lambasting your previous employer as an “obese, tyrannical, megalomaniac bitch” complete with juicy details about your boss’ personal life could turn off prospective employers or love interest.
And then, there’s the issue of hijacked identities. Anyone can practically post anything about another person on the Web and you might get the shock of your life if your Google search results return a profile of a porn star who uses your photo, name, address and other personal details.
When virtual and real worlds collide
With the Web becoming a very potent tool in promoting various brands and businesses and undeniably an extension of one’s real-life identity, experts have been emphasizing the need to leave a favorable digital footprint.
For instance, surveys show that hiring managers use the Internet as a crucial reference when trying to gauge an applicant’s qualifications for the position.
According to a research conducted by Microsoft, 4 in 10 HR managers have turned down applicants based on information they have seen on social networking sites like Facebook. In another research by Careerbuilder.co.uk, 53 percent of employers were turned off by applicants’ inappropriate behavior on social networks. And yet, research shows that only 1 in 1,000 job candidates gave credit to the Big Brother aspect of the Internet as an important factor when hunting for a job.
Three years ago, Stacy Snyder of Pennsylvania sued Millersville University for denying her of a teaching credential after a photo of her wearing a pirate hat and drinking out of a cup was posted on her MySpace page. School officials claimed the photo which had the caption “drunken pirate” was unprofessional.
Don’t let the mouse incriminate you
Isn’t it scary to think that several mouse clicks can ruin your chances of scoring that dream job or relationship?
If something nasty about you pops up on the first page of the search results, don’t hang yourself just yet thinking it’s already the end of the world for you. According to studies, employers and hiring managers rarely go beyond the first two pages of the results; therefore, just try to bury that piece of information. There are web tools, either free or paid, which can salvage your reputation by ensuring that possibly incriminating information does not show up on the first page of search results.
You can do this two ways according to an article, penned by web and social technology writer Kristin Burnham for CIO.com, entitled “How to Protect Your Reputation Online.” In the article, George Brown says you can build an online presence by signing up with Facebook, MySpace, LinkdIn, YouTube and Twitter. Brown is an online media consultant for clients wanting to polish their online image.
Monitor what people say about you
Practically anyone can say anything about you on the Internet, and once posted, it may take you from several months to half a year to fix the damage, experts say. The key is to monitor this early what’s being said about you so you can quickly do some damage control if necessary.
According to Brown, another way you can ‘clean up’ your online image and populate favorable search results is to buy a domain with your name. If undesirable content about you shows up on search results, you can crowd it out by simply filling this website with pages which are sure to rank highly in search results because the URL contains your name.
There are also Web companies that will gladly sanitize your online image for a fee, like ReputationDefender, Naymz, and IdentitySweep. These companies can either provide an extensive report of information about you in cyberspace, destroy inaccurate or inappropriate content, or alert you if your personal details appear in databases for stolen credit cards.
There are also free tools you can use to keep track of what’s being said about you on cyberspace. Google Alert is one such tool. It will automatically inform you when your name is mentioned in a particular website.
Naysayers might say you’re being too paranoid, but when you’re up against such a vast and powerful tool as the Web, it’s best to stock up on ammunition. Check out Burnham’s five ways you can monitor information the Web reveals about you.
With all these options to help you maintain a pristine, employer-friendly image on cyberspace, however, experts say the best way to protect your online identity is to avoid putting yourself in a compromising situation in the first place. What may seem like an innocent and funny personal content to you and your friends right now may come back to haunt you in the future. That means, in this nonchalant share-all online culture, prudence is still the best policy.
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