Press Release Summary = Why your online identity may be reducing your employability.and what you should be doing to fix it.
Press Release Body = Job hunters beware - the way employers evaluate applicants is changing! While recruiters of yesteryear were happy to assess candidates based solely on their letters and CV's, today's web-savvy employers are adding a new method to the mix - search engine screening. Just as we have all tried "Googling" a date or a famous celebrity, so employers are using search engines to check out job candidates. A recent survey by executive search firm ExecuNet suggested that 77% of recruiters use search engines to screen potential applicants, while Search Engine Watch reports up to 50 million proper-name searches are performed each day.
The trend towards search engine research may have massive implications for hopeful graduate applicants everywhere. Why? Because employers may be unearthing information you don't want them to find!
Your online identity (sometimes known as your 'online brand') encompasses all the information about you that can be found online. Most of this will be information that you have submitted yourself, but it may also include information that has been written by others about you. Even if you don't have an Internet connection, your name may well be popping up on internet pages, with your online brand being formed from what other people have said about you. This can be the most harmful component of our online identities, and is therefore often known 'digital dirt'. An important factor to remember is that our digital dirt, like everything else on the internet, does not disappear and will follow us around forever.
So, exactly what is your online identity saying about you? Try an experiment, and type your name into Google, maybe adding your city or university. Next, search for your email address. What have you found? Oh dear, that's not your MySpace page, with the tale of the all-day hangover is it? Or the dating website profile you set up 'as a laugh' last year?!
Worse, your digital dirt may extend beyond search engines. Employers can use Flickr and Photobucket to search for interesting images, while advanced web searchers may even delve into IP addresses, potentially finding almost everything you've ever done online.
Worried? You should be. Of the 77% of recruiters who use search engines to evaluate candidates, over 35% admit to rejecting candidates on the basis of what the web has revealed about them. That's over a third of potential employees who can trace their failure to a single web page, comment or image. Even if you could find nothing on your name, you may still be in trouble. Arguably, a non-existent online identity screams volumes about you, particularly for candidates pursuing a career in IT fields.
Building a positive online profile is now a major factor in job-hunting. But just how should students be going about it?
Perhaps the primary way to ensure that your online identity is constructive (rather than destructive) to your applications is to create new, respectable content on the web. Fortunately this is now easier than ever, with the tools of 'Social Media' becoming increasingly more prevalent on the internet. (Further, Social Media is not only the easiest way to way to add content to the web, it may also be the most effective - Social Media sites rank highly on search engines.)
The most popular channel of Social Media communication is a blog. Blogs allow you to express your opinions, share your thoughts, and potentially position yourself as an expert in the field of your choice. A well written, considered blog can create a trail of expertise for employers to find, allowing you to demonstrate your skills before you've even had an interview. A blog in your degree discipline may also serve as a valuable networking tool, showing you off to employers beyond your application range.
If blogging in your chosen discipline is not for you, a blog about a passion, hobby or favourite TV program can still show your skills. Just remember the golden rule for any new content you add to the Internet: 'imagine the MD of your dream company is reading it!' Once you've started a blog, it might also be a good idea to register your name as domain, and link it through. Buying a domain name such as www.johnsmith.com is relatively inexpensive, and may prove to be a good investment as you progress through your career (unless you plan on changing your name!).
Another valuable way for students to add to their online profile is to register with an appropriate professional society. The recently re-launched Bright Futures initiative provides the perfect example of this. Formerly known as the Student Industrial Society, Bright Futures is a student society that allows work-savvy students to engage with the UK's most dynamic graduate recruiters. The scheme includes an innovative website, where students can add wiki-like profiles and form an online CV visible to a vast array of the country's top employers.
Bright Futures Director, Simon Reichwald, comments: "In an increasingly competitive graduate marketplace, it's more important than ever for students to stand out from the crowd. Academic achievement, although still important, is no longer a key differentiator, so graduates need to go that extra mile to attract the best employers. As web-based information is being used more frequently in the selection process, and becoming more easily accessible, students must work hard to protect their online identity. Bright Futures enables proactive students to interact with top employers and present a really positive online identity."
Should your online commitments stretch to multiple mediums, you could even create an online brand. Where possible, match the colours, fonts and appearances of your MySpace/Blog/Flikr pages (you could even create your own logo!) and link the sites together. Done well, it is possible to create a brand that makes you an online force to be reckoned with.
Now for the hard part; cleaning the muck that has already been spread. For content you added yourself, this is not too difficult - simply destroy the evidence! Edit your MySpace page, change your MSN nickname, remove those risqué online photo's and delete that blog entry or comment. But what about the rest?
If someone has posted derogatory comments about you on a website, act fast. Find out who they are and get in touch with them. If the statements written about you are factually inaccurate, ask for a retraction to be published. If they are true, comment on them. Tell the writer (and the world) that you have recognised the problem, and tell them how you plan to rectify it.
Remember also that your search engine results may contain negative results about someone with the same name. Identify this, and be prepared to explain that the person convicted for three counts of armed robbery is not actually you!
Burying your digital dirt may be an ongoing process, but it is one that may prove invaluable to your future job applications. With employers increasingly turning to online methods of recruitment and evaluation, online identity management should be at the forefront of all student minds. Following these tips, and creating a positive identity, should help ensure that all you have to worry about in your interview is creating as good an impression in person as you do online.
2022
