As many people have learned the hard way, once something reaches the internet it can’t easily be removed or hidden. That has lead to more than a little embarrassment, especially in the context of professional life. If you are looking for a job, it’s essential that you scour your social footprint to see what your presence is like online. If you have a job but want to move up the ladder, it’s just as important to monitor what shows up online. Here are some tips and tricks to help you keep your professional image intact
Search for Yourself
This one should be a no-brainer. What lots of people forget, however, it that different search engines deliver different results. So what seems buried in one could be a first-page result on another. Start with Google, but make sure you hit up other popular search engines like Bing, Yahoo, and YouTube.
Make Profiles Private
Change the setting on your Facebook profile so that nothing except your profile picture, employment, and education information can be viewed publicly. You should do the same on any other social networks you are on that give you control over privacy settings.
Set a Google Alert
Google Alerts let you enter terms that you want information about, and Google will automatically send out updates when new information pops up online. Set an alert for you name, and consider doing the same for your employer, friends and family that you are close with, and personal/professional organizations that you participate in. That way, as soon as something pops up online that could affect your professionals standing, both positively and negatively, you will know about it.
Watch What You Post
The easiest way to avoid embarrassment is to keep anything that could embarrass you offline. Scour your pictures and past posts and avoid anything that compromises your professional image. This includes things of a risque nature, but also rants and affiliations that could cast you as a fringe character. In all future posts, ask yourself if you would be embarrassed for your children to see/read what you are posting. If the answer is yes, keep it offline.
Use a Reputation Management Tool
There are a number of free tools that help you monitor and manage your social footprint. Here are four of our favorites.
- SocialMention – Like Google Alerts for social media sites
- TweetAlarm – Like Google Alerts for Twitter
- If This Then That – Makes it easy to standardize your image across platforms
- Complaint Search – Find out if someone has logged a complaint about you online
Keep in mind that this is an ongoing process. You might have a sterling reputation today that comes under fire tomorrow. For better or for worse, this is the world we live in, and the only way to keep your image out of the mud if to be proactive about it. Find more resources to help you achieve your career goals by working with the team at The Squires Group. Experts in employment for over 20 years, we have the skilled team of recruiters on hand to help you advance your career. Contact us today for more information!