Managing Your Online Reputation
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Your online reputation is an important part of your job search and should be consistent with how employers see you. You should be aware of what information about you is publicly available online and ensure only positive information could be found. Take steps to protect your online image by adjusting privacy settings, removing unprofessional content, and building a professional online presence on platforms like LinkedIn and your own website to represent your accomplishments and interests. Maintaining control over your online identity can help make a good first impression on potential employers.
Managing Your Online Reputation
- 1. Career Center Search Strategically Managing Your Online Reputation Your online reputation is part of your story used in your job/internship search and should be consistent with everything else the employer sees. You know that employers use the Internet to research potential job candidates. Thus, a necessary part of any job or internship search is to create and maintain a positive online reputation. Use the following steps to take proactive ownership of your online first impression. Increase Your Awareness. Be sure you know what information is or could be available about yourself online, where it is, and what impression it may create. • Search your name (and different versions of it) on the major search engines, on different social networks, and sites where you comment. A few not-so-obvious sites to check: Tumblr, Netflix, Flickr, Match, Pinterest, Amazon, Yelp. • Set GoogleAlerts to monitor when your name is part of searches • Know the privacy agreement and settings for the various online communities of which you are a member. • Request feedback from peers and professionals on impressions based on your online presence alone. What story does it tell? Would they hire you? • Familiarize yourself with the sites where your potential colleagues or supervisors gather and participate online (post articles, join conversations through comments, etc.) Protect Your Image. Ensure potential employers only see information that conveys a positive image. You do not want them to question your professionalism, judgment, or ability to represent their organization. Additionally you do not want them to question the consistency of your story. • Adjust the privacy settings for all online accounts. • Remove content and tags that could negatively influence a potential employers first impression. • Hide or delete old accounts that do not best represent you • Request that information about you posted by others be removed if you are opposed to it. Build a Professional Presence. Present your name, accomplishments, and aspirations in ways that can be accessible to others. • Use social networks to create and maintain a public profile that represents your accomplishments and a sense of the professional you are becoming and you are comfortable with the public seeing. • Display a copy of your resume and a portfolio of your accomplishments online. • Promote your profiles and/or website, e.g. add a link to your email signature. • Contribute to conversations relevant to your fields of interest through media like blogs, LinkedIn groups, and/or Twitter. Own Your Presence. Assert greater control of your online identity by owning it yourself. • Create a personal website that serves as a professional resume and portfolio. Update this regularly with new content. • Continue your activities online and watch your name and professional identity become more prominent in search engines. Duke Career Center • studentaffairs.duke.edu/career • 919-660-1050 • Bay 5, Smith Warehouse, 2nd Floor • 114 S. Buchanan Blvd., Box 90950, Durham, NC 27708