You've just come across a listing for your dream job, so naturally you're in a hurry to submit your resume. But before you do, have you remembered to sanitize your online profile?
Not that long ago, it was hard for human resources (HR) departments to judge you based on anything more than your resume, your references and their face-to-face interviews with you. It didn't matter how many times you were drunk in college, or how many pranks you pulled in your fraternity, or how disrespectful you were of authority. There were no records of your youthful indiscretions (unless you were particularly bad and were arrested by the police!) and you could safely sweep it all under the rug as you matured and went out into the "real world".
Those rules don't apply today, however. In early 2009, for example, one published study reported that at least one third of HR managers were looking at the profiles of job candidates on such popular social networking sites as Facebook and MySpace before deciding whether or not to proceed with a job interview. This trend is accelerating, in fact, and is already much higher in the tech community. Vetting someone based on their online profile is becoming quite routine at many companies, where it's viewed as yet another tool in the arsenal to find employees that match the existing corporate culture.
That's why it's important for you to look at your existing online profile before applying for any jobs. Start by searching for your name on Google. Does your Facebook profile show up? Can anyone view it? What do they see? If there's anything there that might deter an employer from considering you, get rid of it. Do the same for all the online communities you use.
Don't rely on privacy settings, either. Many people are happy to add HR recruiters as "friends", making it possible for them to see the profiles of "friends of friends" that would otherwise be closed to them.
Watch out, also, for forum posts. If you list extensive experience with something on your resume and are seen asking a very stupid question about that topic in a popular forum, the HR screener may think you're lying about that experience. Oops!
Not everything can be removed from the Web, so in some cases your best defense is to go on the offensive and create a brand new electronic identity for yourself. Sanitize as much of the old stuff as you can, then abandon those accounts and email addresses and create some new ones to take their place. Don't lie, but be careful about what you add -- and who you associate with -- to the new profiles.
Don't forget to spend some time creating profiles on career-oriented sites like LinkedIn, as the HR screeners look at these sites, too. Your complete resume should be found on these sites and it should match what you're submitting to the companies, although it can be more extensive. Solicit personal recommendations or endorsements whenever possible, and be sure to link out to any websites or blogs (if you have them) that demonstrate why you'd be an asset to any company looking to hire you.
Like diamonds, the Internet is forever. But you can chip away at the rough edges to reveal something beautiful underneath.
Not that long ago, it was hard for human resources (HR) departments to judge you based on anything more than your resume, your references and their face-to-face interviews with you. It didn't matter how many times you were drunk in college, or how many pranks you pulled in your fraternity, or how disrespectful you were of authority. There were no records of your youthful indiscretions (unless you were particularly bad and were arrested by the police!) and you could safely sweep it all under the rug as you matured and went out into the "real world".
Those rules don't apply today, however. In early 2009, for example, one published study reported that at least one third of HR managers were looking at the profiles of job candidates on such popular social networking sites as Facebook and MySpace before deciding whether or not to proceed with a job interview. This trend is accelerating, in fact, and is already much higher in the tech community. Vetting someone based on their online profile is becoming quite routine at many companies, where it's viewed as yet another tool in the arsenal to find employees that match the existing corporate culture.
That's why it's important for you to look at your existing online profile before applying for any jobs. Start by searching for your name on Google. Does your Facebook profile show up? Can anyone view it? What do they see? If there's anything there that might deter an employer from considering you, get rid of it. Do the same for all the online communities you use.
Don't rely on privacy settings, either. Many people are happy to add HR recruiters as "friends", making it possible for them to see the profiles of "friends of friends" that would otherwise be closed to them.
Watch out, also, for forum posts. If you list extensive experience with something on your resume and are seen asking a very stupid question about that topic in a popular forum, the HR screener may think you're lying about that experience. Oops!
Not everything can be removed from the Web, so in some cases your best defense is to go on the offensive and create a brand new electronic identity for yourself. Sanitize as much of the old stuff as you can, then abandon those accounts and email addresses and create some new ones to take their place. Don't lie, but be careful about what you add -- and who you associate with -- to the new profiles.
Don't forget to spend some time creating profiles on career-oriented sites like LinkedIn, as the HR screeners look at these sites, too. Your complete resume should be found on these sites and it should match what you're submitting to the companies, although it can be more extensive. Solicit personal recommendations or endorsements whenever possible, and be sure to link out to any websites or blogs (if you have them) that demonstrate why you'd be an asset to any company looking to hire you.
Like diamonds, the Internet is forever. But you can chip away at the rough edges to reveal something beautiful underneath.
Eric Giguere is a co-author of Programming Interviews Exposed, the book that shows you how to land your next programming job by passing the technical interviews with flying colors.
Besides giving career advice, Eric also writes about other topics. Be sure to read his no-nonsense guide to dog fence if you've got a dog who likes to dig!
Besides giving career advice, Eric also writes about other topics. Be sure to read his no-nonsense guide to dog fence if you've got a dog who likes to dig!
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