Do you remember when perfecting your resume content and making sure the hiring manager saw it were the only two things that initially consumed your concern at the beginning of a job search? Today, you need to add in the concern about what story is being told about you online. The idea of cultivating your online profile may seem less important than what you have on your resume. However, this is the image an interviewer will have of you before they even pick up the phone to do a phone interview. The days of thinking about your LinkedIn profile as “nice to have” are gone. If you’re contemplating starting a job search, or if you’re in the middle of one right now, assess how your online profile might be telling a different story than your resume. Below are four simple steps to help you understand and manage your online profile in order to help you get the job!
Step 1: Do a Google search of “you.”
Simply go to Google, put in your name, and add in your city and state if “you” appear in the search results too many times. What does Google bring up first? These are page one results, and if you can find yourself this way, so can anyone else. If you have a good LinkedIn profile, this should appear in your page one results, along with your other social media profiles.
Step 2: Review your LinkedIn profile.
If you have not filled out your LinkedIn profile completely, it may rank lower in Google search results. This could result in a less-professional social media profile appearing first, or an outdated company newsletter where you were mentioned leading the listings. Invest time and energy into detailing your professional experience in a meaningful way here. You will attract more interest from your connections, and perhaps get contacted by people who are looking to hire someone with your professional experience.
If you don’t have a photo on your LinkedIn profile, consider investing in a professional headshot. You probably already know that the selfie you took last week isn’t what you’re looking for, and this is probably what has prevented you from putting anything out there. Once you have a photo that’s professional, upload it to all your social media profiles for the duration of your job search. If an interviewer is reviewing each profile, you’ll have a consistent image across all platforms.
Step 3: Edit your Social Media postings.
Chances are you’ve heard “the Internet lives forever,” but it doesn’t have to contain every unflattering photo your loved ones have ever taken of you. Log in to your other social media profiles, and figure out what you don’t want an interviewer to see. If it’s photos, you can untag yourself if you didn’t post it. Instructions on “untagging” yourself from Facebook posts or photos can be found here. If you have a Twitter account and would rather an interviewer not see particular tweets, information on how to delete them can be found here.
Step 4: Set Google Alerts
As long as you have a professional email address that you are using to conduct your job search related correspondence, you’ve met a basic tenet for managing your digital profile. However, we’d suggest going one step further. Secure a Gmail account, and sign up for a Google Alert of your name. This will mean that Google will alert you every time a major publication uses your name in an article, story, or headline. This will allow you to know when you’re receiving press that’s good, bad or somewhere in between. You can be proactive about promoting the good things through social media, and conduct damage control in a timely manner should that be required. If you haven’t looked for a job in a decade, or don’t plan to look for the next decade, the Google Alert should be the first line of defense from you having to “Google yourself” on a regular basis.
Don’t have an online profile? Meaning, you Google yourself, and nothing comes up? Don’t panic, but that’s almost worse than having a photo of you in the powder blue tux you wore to prom come up in your search results. You don’t have to go crazy and get a profile up on every social media site, create your own Web site, and hire a PR agency. Instead, at the very least, create your LinkedIn profile. This way, when an interviewer searches for you, your LinkedIn profile, deemed one of the most professional social media sites, will provide them an initial way to get to know you beyond your resume.
In four easy steps, you can manage your digital profile across multiple platforms and insure that what your interviewer and connections are seeing online is what you want them to see. Not only does it allow you to exert control over how the Internet is presenting you, but showcases that you are familiar with how digital reputation management can work.