Online Identity Management: Get Found!

Google your name (put it in quotation marks first) and see what you get. Is the first page of Google results really about you or someone else? Do you have an “online identity” at all? Does it really matter?

Common sense tells us that people are searching the Web more than ever before for all types of products and commodities, as well as for individuals. You know that’s true, because you do it yourself.

In Online Identity Management and Job Search, I wrote about an online reputation survey sponsored by Microsoft in December 2009. It revealed that 79% of the U.S. hiring managers and recruiters surveyed said they researched the online identities of job candidates BEFORE extending an invitation to interview. Now here is the golden nugget: 70% of those hiring managers and recruiters rejected candidates based on what they found about them online.

These statistics could just as easily describe the actions of potential clients and customers if you are a small business owner, of potential investors if you are a budding entrepreneur, or of your own boss at work who is trying to determine who to promote or assign to a “special” project.

Online identity management is career management for the employed and unemployed. Online identity management is also business management, particularly if your small business centers on you. Rather than waiting and hoping that your career or business future plays out successfully, why not take back control? Find out how you can get found online, differentiate yourself, and stand out positively from your competition.

Quick bragging moment: I recently completed my 2010 re-certification (passed with a perfect score!) as an Online Identity Management Strategist with Reach Personal Branding. And it has produced remarkable results. For example, with my up-to-date knowledge of online identity strategies and tools, I helped turnaround a no-interview-in-six-months situation for a client into multiple job interviews within one month’s time.

So, what DOES your online identity (or lack thereof) say about you? What results are you getting?

Comments

[Dr. G]

I recently rejected a young graduate (re interview) as their facebook page showed that they nwere a member of what I regard to be an inappropriate group. It might have been a joke, but I don't have time to find out.