When the internet was not in existence all you needed to worry
about was building up your professional resume, making and building
professional relations, having strong recommendations, and staying out of
trouble. This was the formula you needed to build up in order to land that job
that you coveted.
The internet world does exist now and you must use it to your
benefit, but at the same time keeping out of trouble from it as well. There are
six ways your internet reputation can harm and each will be analyzed
below.
1. Search Engine Link- It is very common for a potential employer
to just type in your name in Google in order to see what comes up. Actually, it
will happen most likely than not. They are looking for what kind of light shows
up when your name is typed in. For example, if your name provides too much of a
negative light that company may not hire you. First impression is key in many
aspects of life, it is no different when it comes to online reputation.
2. Are you a complainer? If you tend to complain a lot about your
current or former employer and you are sharing it all over Facebook, many
companies may not want to hire you. Keep your comments to yourself, posting on
social media accounts will only make things worse.
3. Inappropriate Information- You may think that the night you
went drinking with friends is perfect to share with other people through socialmedia. Wrong! You do not want your future employer to be looking at these kind
of photos. Links and other offensive topics that you decide to post will only
harm you. Keep it professional online because it is not private when you decide
to post things.
4. Do not offer too much information- It is already advised that
you refrain from posting about religious views, politics, or anything related
to that matter. Think about it, when you post controversial topics online you
are only attracting attention. This is negative attention and a future employer
may not want to have anything to do with your controversial ways.
5. Friends, Colleagues? Recruiters usually want to hear comments
that are made about you from friends or former colleagues. Negative comments
made them will only do harm to you, so remember how you maintain your
relationships and the experiences you have with them.
6. Groups- If you are part of a controversial group online, and
you share it publicly this will also play a part in a company wanting to hire
you. It may be very wise for you to get rid of any evidence of being part of a
controversial group if you would you like to be hired for your dream job.