I know I just asked you to do this, but I want you to do it gain. Just bear with me here and Google your name one more time. Now, look at the content that comes up in your search results. How much of it was created by you? If the answer is "not much," you may have a problem.
Right on the heels of posting about the importance of your online reputation, I came across this ComputerWorld article [Via Web Worker Daily] which suggests that failing to establish your own reputation online can undermine your job search.
If someone searches for you on the Web and comes up empty-handed, do you exist?
... In a 2006 survey by executive search firm ExecuNet in Norwalk, Conn., 77 of 100 recruiters said they use search engines to check out job candidates. In a CareerBuilder.com survey of 1,150 hiring managers last year, one in four said they use Internet search engines to research potential employees. One in 10 said they also use social networking sites to screen candidates. In fact, according to Search Engine Watch, there are 25 million to 50 million proper-name searches performed each day.
In today’s job market, turning up missing on the Web may not be a fatal flaw, and it’s probably better than having a search result in a photo of you in a hula skirt. But over time, the lack of a Web presence — particularly for IT professionals — may well turn from a neutral to a negative, says Tim Bray, director of Web technologies at Sun Microsystems Inc.
What's true for corporations and other entities (just ask Kryptonite if you don't believe) is now true for every day people like you and me. Even if you're not an IT professional, being MIA online can lead to a world of hurt. Just ask the folks mentioned in my previous post.
What all of the above have in common is that they didn't have an online presence or weren't engage enough in online networks and communities to know what was being said about them. From public corporations to private citizens, the online conversation goes on whether you join in or not. The problem is that if you're not engaged online, then you probably won't know what's being said about you online until it lands in the paper or costs you points in a job interview.
On one hand, as article says, if a Google search of your name comes up empty, you effectively don't exist online. (Check your pulse. As long as you have one, you still exist offline.) But, as the law students in the previous post found out, if you're not online you may still exist but only in terms of what other people say about you.
The article offers some common sense advice which amount two things: establish an online presence and start generating content. That could be starting a blog, joining an online community, or setting up a profile on a social networking. (In all three cases, though, be careful what you blog or post because it can come back to haunt you.) It could even be as simple as setting up a static web page.
In any case. Chances are you'll end up with an online reputation no matter what you do. The only question is, will you create it yourself or will someone else do it for you?
