The Internet's been around for what - 10, 15 years? Not the
"Al Gore" Internet, mind you, but the one that we normal
folk use on a day to day basis.
Let me ask you something. Have you ever put something *out
there* on the Internet over the last 10 or 15 years that
may:
1. Embarrass you?
2. Polarize you?
3. Put you in a bad light by people who don't know your
deeper, likable self?
4. Lose you the career opportunity of your dreams?
According to the Society for Human Resource Management
(SHRM), "Digital Dirt" - the stuff employers find out about
you with a simple Google search, let alone some of the more
sophisticated means - is fast becoming one of the most
sinister forces against executives attempting to transition
to other industries or opportunities.
In fact, an article on the SHRM website about digital dirt
references an ExecuNet forecast with this eye-opening
statistic: "35 percent of executive recruiters who used the
Internet to research candidates eliminated someone from
consideration based on information they found online.
That's up from 26 percent in 2005, it found."
And this is one of those things where you may not actually
know that your job search has been affected. If no one's
calling to ask you for an interview, is it because you're
not standing out in your field? Or is it because an HR
person found something that made you stand out in a way
they didn't like?
Now, what could be out there, you ask? It could be anything
from old emails to blog posts and comments, message board
postings, or even the party pictures that, in hindsight,
maybe you shouldn't have added to your public Facebook page
or other social networking site.
In some cases you may not be able to undo what you've done
online. But you should at least be aware of what an
objective third party finds out about you, should they go
a'lookin' for qualifying information.
So what's the solution? Google yourself to see, from an
objective 3rd party standpoint, what an HR person would
see. Then either do whatever you can to delete or modify
anything that could sink your chances of landing that next
level position, or decide right now you have no regrets
about your life, pictures, and opinions online....and you
don't choose to work with anyone who ditches a candidate
based on a silly message board post you left in 1997.
(Guess which option is easier?)
----------------------------------------------------
Allen Voivod is the Chief Blogger for ResumeMachine.com,
the leading resume distribution resource for managers,
executives, and professionals looking to accelerate their
job search results. Get the attention of thousands of
hiring agents with the largest and most frequently updated
recruiter database on the web, and dive into a wealth of
immediately useful career articles and blog posts - all at
http://www.ResumeMachine.com !
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