Job seekers can and should monitor their names using Google Alerts. Someone else with the same name who has done something shocking, unusual, or disreputable can negatively impact YOUR job search.
[Google has changed, of course, so this article was updated October 18, 2012.]
The vast majority of employers (79%!) do Google job applicants, and they won’t know if you are the person who robbed the bank or posed nude, but they probably won’t want to take a chance hiring that person. So, you will lose out, even if you were not the person who showed up in the Google search. The best defense in this case is knowledge!
Put Google to work for your job search!
Type your name in the “Search terms” box.Go to Google.com/alertsand follow the steps below. Google Alerts are free, very easy to set up, and easy to cancel if you decide you don’t want them.
- Enclose your name inside quotation marks, as in the example below. The quotation marks will tell Google that you want the words in your name as a phrase, so Google will look for all the words together on a page rather than each word separately which is much less useful.
- Result type?
I suggest “Everything” as the “Type” because that will mean Google searches through the entire Web, blogs, news, discussion, and videos. “Everything” throws the widest net which is what you want in this case. - How often?
“Once a day” is my preferred “How often” selection. The other options are “as it happens” and “once a week,” which can drive you crazy with too much activity or not notify you soon enough. If nothing happens on a given day, Google won’t send you an empty message. - How many?
“Only the best results” is Google’s recommendation to keep volume down and to be informed only when a high-quality and relevant result appears. That seems like a good idea to keep from being buried with notifications about insignificant posts. - Adding your email address is the last step.
Don’t worry, Google won’t send you a message with 50 results in it unless everything in the top 50 results changes at the same time, which is extremely unlikely. More likely, you’ll receive one or two results per message, and only one or two messages per week unless your name is extremely common.
Done! If you discover that your name is very popular, you should consider modifying your public name to be unique. For example:
- MANY people are named “Jim Jones” but only one of them is “James Earl Jones.”
- Many people are named “Neil Harris” but only one is named “Neil Patrick Harris.”
- Many people are named “David Scott” but only one is named “David Meerman Scott.”
You get the idea. Carve out a unique version of your name, use it on your resume, LinkedIn and Google profiles, and then monitor that name, too. Spelling out your middle name is only one option, find more options plus how to establish and strengthen your personal reputation in Online Reputation Management.
You can establish up to 1,000 Alerts if you set up a Google account (free), enabling you to monitor multiple versions of your name as well as employers who interest you, industry news, competitors, friends, and much more.
More about Online Reputation Management:
Defensive Googling: Find (& Fix) What Could Be Sabotaging Your Job Search
Defensive Googling: 5 Steps to Minimize Mistaken Online Identity
5 Ways You Look Out of Date in Your Job Search
Monitor Your Online Reputation with Google Alerts
Guide to Using Google for Job Search
Microsoft Digital Reputation Study
© Copright Susan P. Joyce, 2012. All rights reserved.
————————————————————————————-
About the author…
Online job search expert Susan P. Joyce has been observing the online job search world and teaching online job search skills since 1995. Susan is a two-time layoff “graduate” who has worked in human resources at Harvard University and in a compensation consulting firm. In 1998, her company, NETability, Inc. purchased Job-Hunt.org, and Susan has been editor and publisher of Job-Hunt since then. Follow Susan on Twitter at @jobhuntorg and on Google+.
I just did exactly this so I can find out what people are saying about me. It is very weird to see what comes up under your name.
I have had a number of recruiters / employers say that they Googled me, it is important to take control of your online persona.
Thanks for the comment William! Right on!
If you can’t take control of your online persona, at least understand what is going on so you can address any issues with potential employers.
Susan,
Very important information for any job seeker, or anyone interested in protecting and monitoring what information exists about them online — which should probably be everyone.
Along with setting up Google Alerts as you suggest, I advise my executive clients to make a regular practice (at least once a week) of self-Googling (type “your name”, using quotes, in a browser window) — to keep an eye on things, and more frequently if you’re working on burying digital dirt.
A colleague of mine recently reminded me that it’s important to also set up Alerts for misspellings of your name.
Meg Guiseppi
C-level Executive Branding, Online Identity & Job Search Strategist
Job-Hunt’s Personal Branding Expert — http://www.job-hunt.org/personal-branding/meg-guiseppi.shtml
Great points, Meg! Thank you!
Yes, people may feel silly, but – regardless of the name used (self-googling, vanity-googling, etc.) – that kind of search is becoming critical to our lives. The paradigm has shifted, again, and we cannot afford to stick our heads in the sand about it. Smart people know what Google shows strangers about them.