Guest
post by Meg Guiseppi, CPBS, MRW, CPRW
Do you Google "your name" regularly to monitor
your online identity? You should.
In executive job search, having accurate, brand-supporting
search results associated with you is essential. Recruiters and hiring decision
makers rely on online searches to uncover and qualify candidates like you.
If they can't find you online, they may never find
you, and you may miss the chance to be considered for those jobs.
Conversely, if they find anything to discredit you,
you're probably dead in the water, too. But don’t worry. You can work to build
up positive results which will push those disreputable ones down to page 3, 4,
or lower of results for your name, rendering them ineffectual. But remember
that nothing on the Web is ever permanently deleted.
William Arruda and Kirsten Dixson, Reach Personal
Branding founders, broke out 5 possible online profiles in their book Career Distinction: Stand Out By Building
Your Brand:
Digitally disguised
Your
vanity search does not match any web pages. There is absolutely nothing about
you on the Web - you have no online identity. You’re hidden from those who may
be looking for you.
Digitally
dissed
There
is little on the Web about you, and what is there is either negative or inconsistent
with how you want to be known – your personal brand.
Digitally
disastrous
You
have plenty of search results, but they have little relevance to what you want
to express about yourself. Results for others sharing your name may be in the
mix, too.
Digitally
dabbling
There
are some on-brand results for you. Even though there aren’t many results, the
information about you is relevant and on-brand - nothing negative. From here,
you can easily move to the next level.
Digitally
distinct
There
are lots of results about you that reinforce your brand – the right message
about you is out there. This is the nirvana of online identity! You’re among or
approaching the superstars in the world of online identity. But your work isn't
done. Google results can (and do) change overnight. You need to keep an eye on your
online identity and keep building up the good stuff. There’s always room for
improvement.
To quickly run your own digital check-up, try the
Reach Personal Branding’s Online
Identity Calculator. It’s a nifty little tool to assess how strong your
online presence is.
When
you take the quiz, you'll be asked to type "your name" in a Google
search and note the total number of search results, how many are NOT about you,
and how many accurate, on-brand results ARE about you in the first 3 pages.
Among the 7 questions provided, you're asked which
statement best describes the career level for which you are aiming:
■ University/College
Student or Recent Graduate
■ Entry-level
(1-5 years' experience) or Individual Contributor
■ Manager
with 5-10 years' experience, Director, Consultant or Small Business Owner
■ VP,
Highly-regarded Consultant or Acknowledged Thought Leader
■ C-level
Executive, Partner, Board Member, Celebrity, Renowned Consultant or Expert
When
you submit your answers, your digital ranking compared to the expected number
of accurate results for the career level you chose is revealed – digitally disastrous,
digitally distinct, or somewhere in between.
The
quiz is free and takes about 5 minutes to complete. The results can be
eye-opening and impel you to get busy. And if you “pass” the quiz, you’ll be
given the code for the “I’m digitally distinct” badge shown above to place on
your website or blog.
Need
some help building your online brand identity and positioning your unique value
proposition? Check out my posts:
The
Personal Branding Worksheet: 10 Steps to Defining Your Authentic Personal Brand
Health
Insurance for Your Personal Brand – The 3 Cs
2010
Top 10 Executive Personal Branding and Job Search Trends
©
Copyright Meg Guiseppi, 2010. All rights reserved. Used with permission.
About
Meg
An Executive Personal
Branding, Online Identity and Job Search Strategist, Meg is a 20-year careers
industry professional and one of only a handful of people worldwide to hold the
Reach Certified Personal Branding Strategist and Master Resume Writer
credentials, both gold standards.
"I love my work collaborating with savvy
corporate leaders and entrepreneurs who know where they're going, but need help
differentiating their unique promise of value in the new world of work and
executive job search, and positioning themselves to work their passion. My
clients are typically c-suite, senior-level executives and rising stars."
Find out more about Meg at Executive Career Brand, and by viewing her LinkedIn profile and following
her on Twitter.
