Have you Googled yourself lately?

I remember when Google first came out, I could (and still can) find everything under the sun. I also remember a friend telling me how he googled himself. My initial reaction was, “You did what?!” When he told me what it meant, I was relieved but also perplexed. I asked myself, ‘why would anyone search for themselves on the Internet?’ Now keep in mind that this was nearly 10 years ago and googling yourself was relatively new and social networking as common. When I finally came around to googling myself, I was shocked and amazed with what I found. There was so much about me on the Internet that I didn’t publish myself. Companies of all sorts had information about me – some I gave them and most I didn’t.

Do you know what Google has to say about you?

There is a lot more information out there today than 10 years ago – even 10 days ago. With the way search engines have developed, it is difficult to hide or stay hidden on the Internet. Additionally, social networking websites, like Facebook and MySpace, have not made easy. Because of the ease of obtaining this information, employers are using these freely available tools (search engines, social networking websites, etc) to determine if a candidate is ‘fit’ for their company. To see how employers are using social networking sites to ‘monitor’ their employees, check out this blog post:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1080010/Call-cent...

I have a friend who works in the admissions office at one of the top 10 universities in the country and he has told me that even their office use social networking sites as part of their review process for incoming students and for staying connected with alumni. Officially or unofficially, I am not sure, but does that really matter?

So, what can an employer find out about you on the Internet?

You should know what employers will find before you send out your next resume; before you go on your next interview; and before you take those embarrassing pictures that your friend will post on his MySpace page. This crucial step can save you lots of embarrassment. If you know what’s out there, you can have an explanation for it, which can make the difference on whether or not you get your new job.