Digital Reputations and What to Do About Them
While you've been busy shoehorning your experience onto one lousy sheet of printer paper (no cheating with legal size) another important issue has emerged for job candidates. That is the use of the Internet as an investigatory tool for human resources departments considering job candidates. The Web is so all-encompassing, so much a social interaction tool and so thorough a resource of public documents that it has become all-intrusive as well.
Running web searches on the names of job applicants has become a standard practice for hiring managers. Careerbuilder.com conducted a survey of hiring managers which showed that one in four used the Internet to run searches on job applicants. That ratio isn't going to get any smaller.
What to do about it? What many job applicants are finding is that it's the odd embarrassment rather than some truly deprecatory fact that sandbags them through a web search. A twenty-something with an MBA looking to break into a financial consulting firm will turn up in a college photo taken at a frat party eight or ten years ago. That may be enough to send the recruiter elsewhere.
Young people who are making active use of MySpace and YouTube today are going to be the serious young professionals on the hunt for employment in a few short years. Those pages on the social interaction sites have a way of living on, even if the originator has long ago ceased to participate and taken down his or her page. The material on those sites is freely traded among members and may well end up on other web sites outside the membership servers.
The goal, then, is to remove material on the Internet that may be potentially embarrassing or harmful. Because the Internet is the last great free marketplace, naturally a number of for-profit services have sprung up online to help you polish your digital persona. These services provide a number of functions that will help you with any potential online embarrassments and work to keep your online image clean.
What has become apparent is that even if you delete material you no longer wish to be public - as with MySpace - it often lives on in other places. A number of methods have been developed by the professional online image polishers to help with the issue.
When approached by a client, one image-cleaning firm will run an extensive online search and present the client with what they found. If there is material that the client wishes to eradicate, the company will contact the operator of the web site and ask that it be removed. If the answer is no, the next call is to the staff attorney.
Another company recommends counteracting any potential negative material by building a positive online profile and driving it to the top of the search process. For a fee, they will build a positive web site for a client and go through the necessary machinations with the search engines to get that web site at the top of the search. This particular company charges a low monthly fee to maintain their client's clean image.
Related Tags: applications, jobs, resume, cleaning, digital, website hosting, reputation
Madison Lockwood is a customer relations associate for ApolloHosting.com. She brings years of experience as a small business consultant to helping prospective clients understand the ways in which a website may benefit them both personally and professionally. Apollo Hosting provides website hosting, ecommerce hosting, vps hosting, and web design services to a wide range of customers. Established in 1999, Apollo prides itself on the highest levels of customer support.
Your Article Search Directory : Find in ArticlesRecent articles in this category:
- Cv Writing Tips - How is a Good Cv Used?
How is a Good CV Used?The good news is that your CV may be used in various ways for different purpo - How to Make a Targeted Cv
In the past, no one retyped their CV every time they applied for a job. Now, with the introduction - The Best Cv Format?
Which is best CV Format or Layout? In short, the format preferred by the vast majority of employers - Why Choose a Professional Cv Writer? - Cv Writing Tips
Why choose a Professional CV writer?The importance of the CV is now well known. What you now should - Cv Writing Tips With Templates
How to Make a Good CV (and get it read).If you have ever been involved in writing a CV properly you - How to Get Corporate Flight Jobs
The commercial airlines are not the only employers you can look to when you want to find out what c - Working in Executive Jet Jobs
When you have a position in one of the executive jet jobs available with commercial airlines and co - Jobs in Gurgaon/ Ncr are Available Without Any Hassles
One of the cities in NCR, Delhi is the fastest mounting economic and industrial hub in India. Aside - Why You Need to Build a Pipeline of People
In this new world of Free Agents, successful organisations need a strong and small core group of - Why Large Recruitment Firms are so Desperate to Sell Giant Advertisements to Their Clients
Do large newspaper ads work and are they value for money? In the days before My Career, Seek and Mo
Most viewed articles in this category:
- Creating a Powerful, Skills Based Resume - One Liners that Work
I have heard people say so often that a skills based resume doesn't work. From this, I can only ass - 10 Things to Include in Your Personal Statement - Undergraduate, Graduate & Beyond
Whether you are applying to enter undergraduate school, graduate school, or applying for a job, you - Writing an Excellent Cover Letter: A Sure Way of Getting the Job You Want
Aside from your resume, writing a cover letter is a must as you apply for a job. When you express yo - An Introduction To Free Sample Resumes
Increasing competition in the job market has provided a job seeker the status of a commodity that ne - Want A Killer Cover Letter? Follow These 5 Steps
When applying for a job opening with a new company many companies will require that you enclose a co - Grabbing that Job: Writing a Cover Letter for Your Resume
Looking for a job is easier nowadays, what with the advent of the World Wide Web, fast searching for - Three Guides to Improve Your Resume
Sometimes your resume can hurt more than help you. In today's job-search market, you are often comp - Wrap Up That Job With A Great Cover Letter
What gives us our first impression of a person? Usually, it is the manner in which they come across. - Add Value To Your Resume with Accomplishments and Achievements
As a Career Advisor for private college, I've seen thousands of resumes. Typically it is the same fo - Jobs Portal
Applying for a new job, or a new career, can be a major task if you are not prepared with knowledge
