Reputation Management

As the line between personal and professional becomes increasingly blurred, it can be difficult for organizations and individuals to determine what type of behavior is appropriate online.  Social media policies are being considered by most employers and implemented by many, but won’t be able to prepare you for every possible situation you might encounter online.  We recommend that you take steps now to secure and protect your online reputation even if your employer doesn’t require it. You might even find that your online presence can be an asset to your career.

Our recommended guidelines:

• Clean up your social profiles
  • Look at your online profiles through the eyes of a prospective employer. Remove photos or comments that make you look like anything other than a valuable addition to the team.
   
• Use privacy settings
  • Most people maintain at least one highly personal social profile. Use the platform’s privacy setting to completely hide this profile from anyone who is not a “friend” on the site. Even with your profile hidden, keep contents clean and free of controversial or embarrassing content.
   
• Review your friends
  • Don’t let guilt by association cost you the opportunity to interview. If you have outspoken or controversial friends on your profile, this is the time to consider whether public association with them is important to you.
   
• Reinforce your value
  • If you have industry knowledge or experience to share, create a blog or social profile to establish yourself as a subject matter expert.
   
• Strengthen your professional reputation
  • LinkedIn, Google+, and About.me are excellent platforms for promoting the content and profiles that you want prospective employers to find.
   
• Monitor your online reputation.
  • Create alerts so you’re notified when your name is mentioned online.