How To Take Control Of Your Narrative

As I tell my clients, today you are who the internet says you are. Which makes it essential for you to control the narrative. To do that you need to know what’s out there and monitor your online presence going forward.

Today recruiters and hiring managers are researching candidates online as part of the interview process. Make sure there are no surprises. Start by doing a Google search on yourself. This will give you an idea of what others will find out about you and anyone else with the same name.

While you may not realize it, there are probably dozens, if not 100’s, of people with your name out there. Searching my name on Google turns up 9K+ results. One of them is my ex-sister in law who’s a veterinarian in California. She’s nice, I don’t know anything about the rest of them.

While most things online can’t be hidden from everyone (determined people will find a way), using privacy settings on Facebook will protect you from most prying eyes. Still you might want to remove posts and photos across social media platforms that might prevent you from being hired.

Going forward, set a Google alert for your name. It’s free, easy, and makes it easy to monitor your online presence. While you’re there, set Google alerts for your target employers (you have those, right?) that way you’ll know whenever they are in the news.

Remember, today, you are who the internet says you are. Make sure you always control the narrative.