Have You Googled Yourself Lately?

January 3, 2008 — sirreid

So you typed your first and last name, “with quotes”, into Google or other search engines. You pause with that “I’m safe” sigh of relief, because your name does not show up anywhere on the Internet. Tell us Johnny what great prizes does “anybody” win when they are “nobody” on the Internet”? Johnny, the announcer, says “we have the fabulous grand prize of obscurity for our winner. Our winner also receives a life time supply of being anonymous where they will always feel safe and unknown to someone who may want to hire them or do business with them” [deafening applause from the world audience of other obscure people].

A few years back I was referred, by an associate, to the hiring person of a U.S. government agency. The position was for a technology project manager consultant. After covering the highlights of my resume, during an initial phone interview, the hiring manager queried me on personal questions about myself. Funny thing is the information she asked about me wasn’t on my resume. She said things like “I see you have a consulting company and you’re a career coach who does public speaking”. “Whoa” I said to myself. Her response to my question of how she knew this, was “The Internet and Google are a beautiful thing”. It turns out she was very impressed with the information she found out about me on the Internet. She liked that I had a plethora of non-technical interpersonal/communication skills to bring to the table. I was the #1 pick for the job, despite the fact I lacked a couple technical skills.

In addition to the leadership role a CEO assumes, s/he is also the number #1 sales and public relations person for the organization. This requires courageously overriding the negative hype of having your name on the Internet with a positive vision of “how can I use the Internet as a tool for positive publicity and marketing of my skills and services?”

In “Never Eat Alone“, Keith Ferrazzi provides a, high impact, powerful statement “It’s not who you know. It’s who knows you.” The question is “How do I get my name out in the world for people to engage my services?“. It is a safe assumption that people meeting at networking events, interviews, social gatherings etc., are checking each other out using Google. That means you too. So why not create an Internet presence to your advantage?

In her article “Are Your Prepared to be Googled?” Toni Bowers, Senior Editor for Tech Republic, says ” a survey conducted by CareerBuilder, one in four managers used search engines to screen job candidates…”

In another article “Managing Your Reputation Online” by Kirsten Dixson and William Arruda, personal branding consultants and authors of “Career Distinction: Stand Out by Buliding Your Brand” 83 percent of recruiters use search engines to learn about candidates, according to a 2007 ExecuNet survey.

Using his own name, Andrew Zarick shows some excellent approaches for “Controlling Your Search Engine Resume“. Joining groups and posting to forums with your name and tag line provides positive publicity for you. Using Andrew’s techniques provides an opportunity to override or at least play down, regretful personal stuff a person may have posted on MySpace or elsewhere on the Internet.

Have you considered creating a resume or bio using a blog, which is free to setup? Then connect your resume blog to your actual name as a web site domain name for $35 or less per year (i.e. http://www.FirstnameLastname.com) Click here for an example.

At the very least, use your postings to forums using a modified version of your email signature. This allows you to start seeding the search engines with your name, for hiring mangers or potential clients get a better comfort level in hiring the right person.

Certainly there must be a balance with minimizing identity theft, while safely marketing your skills or business. Being nobody on the Internet is a crying shame. It only hurts and stymies the progression of always being a financially solvent CEO of ME, Inc.. What would your board of directors think about the “safe” risks you take that impact their bottom line?

Regina Lewis-ABC World News-Post Your Resume Online