Online Reputation Management for Job Seekers

4 Ways to Kick Start Your Personal PR Strategy and Successfully Clean Up any Smudges in Your Online Reputation

Online reputation management is a critical component of a job seekers' personal brand strategy.

According to a 2005 survey of over 100 recruiters by executive recruiting and human capital organization ExecuNet, 75 percent of headhunters use search engines to research candidates and check their online reputation, while 26 percent eliminate candidates based upon the information they have discovered online.

How can job seekers clean up their online reputation?

If negative or false information about your name appears in the search engines, here are 4 steps to kick start your online reputation management strategy and successfully clean up your online reputation.
Assess the potential online reputation damage

According to a December 2007 report by the non-profit Pew Internet & American Life Project, 53% of adult Web users have searched for information about romantic interests, family, friends and business colleagues. It's now critical that you Google and Dogpile your name to see what’s the SERP’s (Search Engine Results Pages) are reporting. Most users only scour the first 30 posts to determine your current online reputation status, but I suggest that you search every page with your name on it.

Use a 4 prong strategy of content you can control, to rise to the top of the search engines

The web information that reaches the top first, is the most recent. It's often used first by browsers to determine your online brand. The more positive content you can control and publish yourself, the greater chances you can clean up your online reputation.

* Clean up your online reputation by reserving your own name-based URL. Consider your name a keyword and a priceless asset in online reputation management. Add your profession to your the site to link your career with your name. For example, BobMillerMD.com, MaryDaviswrites.com and SusanLinkerJD.com can not only rank you high in the search engines, but can easily attach your name to your career. Need a cheap alternative for domain registration and hosting? My hosting company, Netfirms, provides free web hosting for one year (with banner ads) and one email account for site users for $5.95.

* Use social media and bookmarking sites to dominate the SERP rankings. LinkedIn, Facebook, Squidoo and Twitter profiles all rank well and high in search results. Sites like About.com, Digg.com, Myspace.com, WikiAnswers and Yahoo answers have huge domain authority with the search engines and can provide the leverage needed to get your content ranked high in the SERPS.

* Create a blog with your name to clean up your online reputation. Blogs usually rank high in the search engines. Don’t forget to comment on high profile blogs to create positive links attached to your name.

* Submit a 400 word article to free article directories. Use EzineArticles.com and countless other free article directories to create high quality and unique content that will spread to other sites quickly.

Attack any negative information online without hesitation

It’s next to impossible to remove bad information, on someone else’s webpage, without contact the site owner. Get ready to roll up your sleeves and use some elbow grease, as you attempt to remove these negative listings.

* Send an email to ask the site owner or the applicable Internet Service Provider to remove the disparaging information within 24 hours.

* Submit the site to Google’s authenticated spam reports, if the information is misleading, heinous and deceptive to web users.

* Depending upon the situation and parties involved a simple request to remove information can start as a simple email or escalate to talks of lawyers and libel.

* Hire an online reputation management firm like ReputationDefender.com or ReputationHawk.com to contact the site owner or your behalf.

Be nice, but firm with the site owner. Ultimately whether you pay for the posting removal, or attempt to clean up your online reputation yourself, the site owner has the final say as to whether to remove your content or not.

Use free web alerts for ongoing online reputation management

Use a free web alert service to monitor your name daily. Whenever someone posts information about you online, Google Alerts and Yahoo Alerts will notify you within 24 hours of the post. Remember to put your name within quotation marks to ensure that the exact information you’re requesting will arrive to your inbox. The free service is extremely valuable and surprisingly accurate for online reputation management.

* Yahoo Alerts
* Google Alerts

Considering the ease of competitors and disgruntled employees publishing negative information on the web, A job-seekers’ online reputation management strategy must be an ongoing public relations exercise.

Create an ongoing and comprehensive online reputation management strategy to push the negative information down into the depths of the search engine results, far from the prying eyes of recruiters and future employers.

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Job Interviews - Job Seekers Behaving Badly

By Lorraine E. Wright

A few months ago, I had coffee with my friend who was acting as a hiring manager for a busy medical business. Let's call her Suzette. I asked her if she had any interesting stories about interviews she'd done. Suzette proceeded to tell me stories about applicants who behaved so inappropriately, that if I didn't know her so well; I would have sworn she was making them up. Let me share a few of the more entertaining ones with you.

1. Surprise! Applicant A walked into the office, and handed her resume to Suzette. Suzette inquired, "Didn't you see in the job posting that the application was to be made by e-mail or fax only?" Miss A replied, "Oh yes, but I decided to come in anyway because I was certain that if you met me in person, you'd love me and want to give me the job." She proceeded to give Suzette a big sales pitch about how great an employee she'd be. Suzette's comment: "If she wouldn't even follow the specific directions in a job posting, how was I going to get her to follow directions in the office? Also, she was pushy." She didn't get the job.

2. Why are you even here? During the interview, Suzette asked Applicant B if she knew about the company, and if she'd done any research beforehand to find out about them. The response: "Oh no, I'm much too busy to be bothered with stuff like that." Wrong answer! Suzette's comment: "If she was so uninterested in us that she couldn't even bother to find out what we did, why did she even show up for the interview?" She didn't get the job.

3. Pushy much? Applicant C strode into the office for her interview like she owned the place. After answering a few questions, she asked, "So do you mind if I look around?" As she walked around she fired off more questions. "How much vacation will I get? What is the pay? Is this where I'll be sitting?" She acted as if getting the job was a given. Suzette's comment, "If she was that pushy and aggressive at the interview, how was I going to manage her once she worked for us?" She didn't get the job.

4. How do you spell incompetent? Rather than fax or e-mail a resume as requested, Applicant D sent Suzette a text from her cell phone. It read something like, "Can't email resume. Cmputr brkn. Wn can u meet me?" Guess what? She didn't get the interview, let alone the job.

So what have we learned, other than that some people need to attend Remedial Interviewing 101?

a. Study the job posting to be sure you respond exactly as requested. Don't think that faxing a resume instead of mailing it will impress the employer with how innovative and unconventional you are. The employer will just think you either can't read or can't take direction or both.

b. Nothing is more insulting to a hiring manager than to make time in their busy schedule to interview someone, only to find out that person simply couldn't be bothered to spend any time researching the company. At the very least, find out what the company does, and if you know the name of the hiring manager and the president, that's a big plus.

c. At the interview, be confident but not pushy. Be on your best behaviour and don't assume you'll be offered the job, unless the hiring manager tells you it's yours.

I'm guessing that anyone taking the time to read this article would never dream of committing the job interview faux pas of the applicants mentioned here. Still, we can all improve, so do a little research. Don't be another hiring manager's horror story!

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Job Searches - How to Improve Your Chances in a Job Loss Situation

By Olive Bush

Job cuts are big news right now. We know the chop is going to come and it is coming down swift and hard. Instead of worrying and fretting about how to survive should the axe swing your way, here are some thoughts to consider regarding job searches and how to improve your chances in a job loss situation.

1) Get proactive: pull out all the stops and start looking immediately. Scour all the local and national ads as well as online job ads. Don't forget to check your own staff notice board. Your company may be in a position where although involved in job losses, they need to fill different roles within the company, either where you are based or at a different location.

2) Fine tune your CV: Having a professional-looking CV is key to improving your chances in a job search. If you need help, check online for guidance. It needs to be clear, with all the relevant information easy to follow. You want to appear attractive, professional and worth investing in, so take all the time you need to make sure it's right.

3) Get networking: who do you know? Make a list of every single person you know and what they do (don't forget to include all the people you have met at weddings etc.) Start chatting to see if they know of any new opportunities opening up. Who is the top person in your sector or industry? See if you can attend functions where you are most likely to meet and find a way to introduce yourself. If you want to improve your chances in job search situations, you have to swallow your pride and get proactive.

4) Seek financial help. If you know you are likely to suffer with money shortage - don't wait. Check out the Moneymadeclear website which has numerous step-by-step guides to help with finances in job loss situations and also have free printed guides. The Financial Services Authority have tried hard to make an accessible site with good quality help, so make use of it. Check what redundancy money you will receive and also what benefits you would be entitled to in case of job loss situation. Having all the information to hand will help stem the worry.

5) Use what's available. If your job search produces zero results and you have your own computer and internet access, research ways to turn it into an income producer. Use what you have now. Internet marketing is big business and currently there are 2 billion online users. This has created a worldwide marketplace. People are using it to showcase their idea, product or service to provide for their families where other sources have failed. Invest your time and money to gain up-to-date training on using this amazing resource for your own benefit.

If you can't afford to wait see what fate has in store for you, check out the following link. http://www.earnyourwealth.co.uk Other people have done all the hard work for you by creating a business model that can be put to work today. When all your job searches fail - here's how to improve your chances in a job loss situation.

Olive Bush is an online marketer teaching people from around the world to make money online and how to build their home based business.

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