Will a Google Search Knock You Out of the Competition?

A recent ExecuNet article indicates that, according to their survey results, approximately 44% of executive recruiters say that they have dropped a candidate from consideration for a position due to information they learned about the candidate after Googling them. This startling high number is starkly up (nearly 10 percentage points) from responses they received to the same question just 2 years ago.

Top-ranked reasons for elimination were:

1. Police arrests, felony convictions, legal entanglements, and a career track record of firings.

2. Resume fraud.

3. The candidate's background was shown not to be a match.

Combine this information with statistics gathered in the same survey that nearly 86% of recruiters say their firms use Internet search engines to uncover information about potential candidates, and it becomes obvious that negative information about you that is on the Web can be detrimental to your career health.

It is a wise practice to conduct an online search for your name at least every month or two, something that ExecuNet reports about 44% of executives surveyed say they do. Knowledge is power: If there is false information out there about you, you can work to correct it. If there is negative but true information about you out there, you can work to create a positive online reputation to counteract it. Methods to build this positive reputation include publishing articles online, maintaining a blog, participating in online networking through sites such as LinkedIn, and creating a website or online portfolio that showcases your background, knowledge, and expertise.

Posted by Laurie Smith

Comments

[Social Networking Designer]

With Google, it's either you're empowered or not. For firms, this can be useful for them so they can select the best candidate for their company..but for people seeking jobs, this can be one obstacle they have to overcome.. but with the information age, it's easy to make an action towards the negative writeups about you..provided that what you have as a counteraction is true.