Managing Your Online Reputation
Research Engine Comments OffIn today’s world of the power of search you may or may not realize that people are searching for you, too. In a survey conducted by The Creative Group, over 50% of respondents said that they would Google or another search engine to find information about a perspective employee. With everything that you’ve ever written or anything anyone else has written about in cataloged neatly for them to find that can be a pretty intimidating idea. However, you should never be caught by surprise; you should already know everything out there that someone can find out about you through online searches because you should already be managing your online reputation. Here are some tips for doing just that.
You can sign up for Google and Yahoo email alerts that will notify you when your chosen keywords (your name and/or company name) are found online. This first step can help keep you up to date on who is writing about you or your company, whether it’s flattering or not.
To create some more positive findings and increase your name awareness you should find appropriate message boards or forums that you can participate in. You can also join different groups on Yahoo, AOL, Google, etc. By participating in these types of online activities you leave behind a footprint that shows you are involved in your particular niche and it also gives people a chance to know your thoughts and opinions on important ideas in your field.
With that said, many people have a bigger problem than a bad online reputation to consider and that is no online reputation. If someone doesn’t find any trace of you online while doing a search that also says something about you to a prospective employer so here are some tips for beefing up your online appearances.
Use the social networking sites such as Facebook or Myspace to post information about your professional qualifications. Just make sure that your profiles are professional, too. Also be sure to join other social networking sites such as Linkin.com and niche-specific sites as well. However, when you join these sites be selective with who you allow in your network as they are a bigger reflection of who you are compared to other social networking sites.
You should also consider creating your own web site or blog. Provide information about yourself and keep the page updated with links to things of interest in your field such as other blogs or informative articles. If you are creative you should include a portfolio of work samples to help people understand projects you’ve worked on before. If you aren’t as creative include highlights of your past accomplishments.
Finally, be ready to offer an explanation if something bad is said about you, whether it’s true or not. If it is true you should be honest and talk about what the circumstances where. If not, simply provide your proof that it’s not and leave it be. Badmouthing an adversary won’t help in maintaining your reputation, online or off.

