Google knows everything. It’s there for somebody to find when they’re looking for you. Every personal, casual comment you innocently make on Facebook, or any other site, is there for the world to read. Forever. You’ve made history.
What does that really mean?
Here’s just one scenario. You get invited to a dinner party , and enthusiastically accept as you think it will be a great opportunity to make new friends and share ideas with like-minded people. You enjoy the company, and even smile and pose while pictures are being snapped throughout the evening. Almost as fast as the pictures are being taken, they’re being posted to Flickr. “Isn’t this fun,” you’re thinking, but there’s just one problem. The guy who takes your picture doesn’t know your name, so your photo is simply posted as “party girl.” Have you done an image google search for “party girl?” Try it, and imagine your picture there. And that’s not all; somebody will tag you so now the party girl is named.
Now ask yourself this. Do you even need the upcoming interview? Potential employers can learn everything about you by going online. By the time you are sitting across the table from them, they already know you.
Scott Monty shares great insight from the 2008 Brand Camp University Personal Branding 2.0 Conference. When researching potential candidates online, Career Builder found:
- 41% are associated with drinking or drugs
- 40% have provocative photos
- 29% exhibited poor communication skills
- 28% badmouth previous employers
- 27% lied about qualifications
- 22% have an unprofessional screen name
Enough said? You can’t build a reputation on what you’re going to do. It’s the here and now. Let’s think about what we’re really telling the world before we press the “post” button.
Would love to hear your thoughts. . .
Tags: brand, communication, image, personal brand, social networking
