How to Google yourself - and why you should Google yourself - Sterling Career Concepts

How to Google yourself - and why you should Google yourself How to Google yourself and why you should Google yourself With the first part of the calendar year being a popular time for career moves and transitions, this is a good time to bring up the importance of checking the results when you Google yourself.  By this point, you can assume a company considering hiring you will Google your name. This means you should be doing it as well and well ahead of time so you can work on improving your results. If there is negative or unfavorable content online about you, it can be difficult to have it removed. It can however be pushed down with the addition of new, positive content.  This is why its important periodically to Google your name to see what the search results include. Waiting until you are in the midst of an active job search is not the best time to be checking your Google results for the first time.  Its something thats best monitored proactively and consistently over time. Typically, your LinkedIn profile and published posts on LinkedIn rank highly.  Any pages related to a URL that you have of your own should also rank highly. In my personal searches, I noticed that Facebook and other social media profiles showed up on the first page as well. Advice I Share with Clients If youre looking to boost whats found online for your name, my number one recommendation for professionals would be to focus on LinkedIn.  My second recommendation would be to create additional professional social profiles. One that you can create and control is About Me, which as of the time of this writing, offers a free one-page option. Once youve done an initial assessment, now its smart to monitor going forward. Setting up a Google Alert for your name is an easy way to stay aware of any future mentions.  Youll receive an automatic email notification any time your name is mentioned online. Social media can have a very positive or negative impact on your professional reputation. Be very careful with what you post, tweet, and share. If you have a Facebook or Instagram account, make it private and check its security settings. Remember that anything can still be screenshotted, shared, or printed. On the flip side, professionals can successfully use social media to boost their reputation. A  blog or posts published on LinkedIn shows your industry expertise. An active Twitter account engaged with industry leaders conveys your knowledge. Similarly, an Instagram account does the same if your industry is more  creative. The following infographic created and shared by Reputation Management.com  offers helpful tips to take control of your online reputation. How to Google Yourself