Employers are now Googling you before you even get to an interview for a graduate job. What will they find? Dodgy pictures? Videos? Nothing at all?
Go ahead, Google yourself. See what comes up.
If nothing comes up, that doesn’t mean it’s a good thing. It means you are not standing out from the crowd!
Back in 1997 it was un-cool to be online, you probably got picked on at school if you logged into MSN messenger or ICQ.
Now, everybody is online and it is cool to be online. But, you have to protect your image whilst you are online, you wouldn’t go around doing stupid things in real life would you? Why do it online?
Just think of it from a prospective employers point of view.
The recruiter is looking at suitable candidates to fill their graduate job and you are lucky enough to be down to the final 10 candidates.
He goes to Google all 10 of you. 8 of the remaining candidates have Facebook profiles which do not have the correct privacy settings and he is able to look at all your photos and status updates. To say he is unimpressed, is an understatement.
You, however are one of the two remaining. When he Google’s you he manages to find:
1. A personal Google Adwords advert. When he searched your name, you had been so clever to put up an advert (costing you literally a few pence) that linked to your own personal website.
2. A thoughtful and well written blog about your passions and the industry you want to go into.
3. An interesting Twitter feed.
4. A presentable Facebook page.
5. An outstanding Linkedin profile.
While the other remaining candidate, he couldn’t find too much information about. Now, who do you think would be most excited to meet at an interview?
YOU!
It would worry me to find negative remarks about a person or from them.
Shuvo Loha, Director of headhunting specialists.
It’s really important to start working on all of above well before you leave university and look for your graduate job (probably your second year, first if you are really pro-active!). By organising all of these things and getting the necessary work experience under your belt, you have no option but to succeed.
Online reputation management is something that can’t be ignored when searching for your first job after university. Here are some quick things you can do to get your mind ticking:
– Google yourself again and see how often your name comes up on the first 3 pages.
– Use Pipl to search your name, does the real you come up?
You now need to assess your situation. If you have things you don’t want people to see then you need to delete them.
If you don’t have anything then you need to make an effort to start building a portfolio of work. A Linkedin page, Twitter stream, a blog or even your own website.
Evidence of involvement in community activities, a presence on a business network such as LinkedIn, and anything to demonstrate good communication skills are key attributes we look for.
Luci Baldwin, IPC Media resourcing and recruitment manager.