Managing Your Reputation Online
The results that appear when recruiters and hiring managers search for your name online may determine whether or not you get called in for an interview. To improve your profile online and increase your career opportunities, take advantage of blogs and social networking tools.
Mon, October 01, 2007
Clearly, you have a number of options for improving your online identity. Try to do as many of these activities as are appropriate for your brand and interlink everything. It's not enough to create a webpage with the same information that your contacts already have offline. When you use these tools wisely, you cultivate a Web presence that ensures you'll show up in search results the way you intend.
Be Transparent
Your online branding efforts won't do any good if you don't have a good reputation in the offline world. When you behave badly in the real world, others can out your behavior, mistakes, poor decisions and bad judgment by leaving comments—often anonymous—on blogs. If you find someone has aired your digital dirty laundry online, attempt to get it cleaned up or removed. If you can't, add your own positive content alongside it and let readers draw their own conclusions. Responding constructively and directly to negative comments is worthwhile. Building up your volume of high-ranking positive information will also help push the dirt to page 27 of your Google results.
Be Constant
Even when you've achieved digital distinction, remember that your search results can change rapidly. The lesson? Regularly egosurf to monitor your online ID. Set Google Alerts for your name so that you are notified when something is published about you online. This will also help you stay on top of any digital dirt that may sully your brand. Put online branding activity into your to-do list every week. No matter what your digital profile is, you can always improve it.
The Payoff
Since only 20 percent of executives have taken proactive steps to increase the positive information about themselves online, according to ExecuNet, you have a huge opportunity to stand out. "The greater the visibility enjoyed by an executive, the greater the value of his or her compensation," says Howard Nestler, CEO of Executive Options. By steadily building your brand online and connecting it with your real-world visibility, you put yourself directly on the path to true career distinction.
This article is based on excerpts from Career Distinction: Stand Out by Building Your Brand. Copyright 2007 William Arruda and Kirsten Dixson. Published by John Wiley & Sons.
William Arruda and Kirsten Dixson are the authors of Career Distinction: Stand Out by Building Your Brand and partners in Reach, the global leader in personal branding. You can reach them at authors@careerdistinction.com.
