Self-Google or Doom Your Executive Job Search - Executive Career Brandâ„¢

Self-Google or Doom Your Executive Job Search Right before I speak with potential clients for the first time, I Google their names. This is exactly what many  hiring professionals and executive recruiters  do when they’re assessing candidates. What I typically find is a very meager online footprint, with very little social networking. Theyll almost always have a profile and, unless that person shares a name with others, will be the number one search result on the page, and it will be associated with the person Im about to speak with. Most often, theyve posted a bare-bones profile, with no summary section, no keyword-rich professional headline, and very little (if any) information under each job title. Beyond , they will rarely have any social media presence. I generally  only search  the first page of results for my initial chat. What Im looking for is more information about the person to assess whether they’re a good fit to work with me, to see whether theyve done any work to build their brand online, and to see if they have any digital dirt that could cripple their search. Frequently these job seekers are unaware  of how important it is for them to have a strong, branded online presence. Given the same set of qualifications, skills and expertise, those who have a diverse and higher-volume of search results are more likely to be noticed, sought out, and hired. According to Talent Management Magazines article about a recent survey from CareerBuilder, nearly 37 percent of  firms use social networking sites to research job candidates. What are they looking for? To see if the candidate presents himself/herself professionally â€" 65 percent To see if the candidate is a good fit for the company culture â€" 51 percent To learn more about the candidates qualifications â€" 45 percent To see if the candidate is well-rounded â€" 35 percent To look for reasons not to hire the candidate â€" 12 percent? Nearly 34 percent found information that caused them  NOT to hire a candidate. That  issue  can pose  major problems for some job seekers. In todays highly competitive job market, hiring professional have their pick of the absolute best. If they find dirt or even a flimsy reason to rule you out, they will. There are plenty of others to slide in place. One of the major problems  I find when Googling people’s names  is not within content these people posted themselves  online (if theyve even done so). Its  not  inappropriate behavior that found its way online, or that they posted somewhere. Im finding content  on the first page of results that the person DIDNT post themselves, so they may have little control over it. Sometimes the person knows about it. Sometimes the person had an unfortunate blip in their career or personal life that made news.  They’ve since made amends, but the bad news lingers forever online. Sometimes the content is associated with some dastardly person who has the same name. Whatever the reason, those search results could seriously damage their job search. My searches on two recent client prospects revealed problematic online identities: 1. A 65 year old mid-level sales and marketing executive, who was very concerned about ageism in his search. was the #1 search result. About half way down the first page was a link to his high school  yearbook and the year he graduated. Instantly, his age was revealed. 2. The second search result for a CMO in medical devices (lets call him Joe Smith) jumped out with the hyperlink Can anyone share their real thoughts on Joe Smith? Who wouldnt be drawn to that headline? The link led to a snarky industry-related chat site where several anonymous people on his team trashed his leadership abilities . . . in detail. In both instances above, the job seekers  probably can’t get those pages taken down. Their only recourse is to work on outdistancing those bad search results with good ones, pushing the bad ones down and onto the second, or hopefully, third or fourth pages of results, where they’re less likely to be found. Your takeaway? Follow the steps that hiring professionals do when they’re sourcing and assessing talent by what they find online. Know what the people who have a hand in hiring you will find when they search you. Do a quick Google search on your name right now, and then once a week or so, and see whats out there. If you find digital dirt, here are three things to do: Try to push it down beyond the first page or two by building up branded, relevant search results on high-ranking sites. See if you can get the page taken down. See if you can rewrite the content to position yourself in a more positive light. Related posts: Does Your Online Presence Scream DON’T Hire Me? Executive Job Search: 6 Ways to Get Good With Google Executive Branding Online: Write Book Reviews on Amazon photo by SallyB2 00 0