Cleaning up your online identity

Interesting article today on NPR's Morning Edition about company's sprouting up to help people manage their online reputations.

They mention two companies, Reputation Defender and Naymz that will monitor your online identity and assist in dealing with unwanted information.

Great quote from Reputation Defender founder Michael Fertik, "This is sort of a PR service for the everyday person. Celebrities have been using PR services at the cost of thousands of dollars a month for decades. Now we can do that for every person for less than $10 a month."

Why does this matter?

According to a recent survey from Careerbuilder.com:

• 26 percent of hiring managers say they have used Internet search engines to research potential employees
• 12 percent say they have used social networking sites in their candidate screening process

AND, more importantly...

• Among hiring managers who used Internet search engines to research job candidates, 51 percent did not hire the person based on what they found
• Of those who used social networking sites to research candidates, 63 percent did not hire the person based on what they found.

Have you checked out the average MySpace or Facebook page? They are filled with pictures of drunken escapes. Candidates in the recent elections came under fire when MySpace pages they started were linked to inappropriately dressed teens.

Is all of this fair? Probably not, considering the fact that one drank in college likely has little relevance to his or her ability to perform in the workplace.

But whether individuals think this is fair or not is irrelevant. Organizations are in the practice of protection - protecting themselves from employees who may perform poorly, expose them to liability, or simply reflect poorly on the organization.

Employers have limited information when they hire someone and given the choice between someone who has no online profile, and someone who has some questionable pictures on the Internet, they will go with what they perceive as the safer choice. 

My take:

The irony in all of this is that organizations should be looking for employees who are comfortable with social networking, as that is a valuable business skill in today's environment.

When employers (specifically in the communications field) run a Google search for an applicant and can't find anything, instead of being relieved they should be disturbed. After all, if you haven't accomplished anything worthy of at least getting a mention online, what exactly have you been up to?

That being said, like it or not employees are representatives of an organization and its brands - and the actions they take off the clock can have real consequences.

However, maybe the best answer if for companies to use this trend as an opportunity to have conversations with employees about appropriate online behavior. Instead of disqualifying an employee based on what you find, hire him or her based on skills and qualifications - and then talk with them about what you found and what expectations are going forward.

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Technorati Tags: Myspace, facebook, identity, hiring, employee

Comments

[Maureen Rogers]

Anecdotal evidence to support the "wouldn't hire" percentages: I had lunch recently with a friend who is VP of Marketing for a tech-based firm that targets twenty-somethings. He had just taken a pass on two candidates after he found their blogs. One was about getting trashed, the other was about inability to handle her credit cards. I'm sure both blogs were exaggerated babble, but there you have it. I agree with you that if hiring managers find "something" but otherwise like the candidate, they should talk about it. Really, there should be a statute of limitations on the irresponsible college behavior. Even the drunken Borat frat boys deserve a second chance.

[Lauren]

This was an excellent post. I think these are important ideas that not enough people are aware of how many employers are scouting potential employees online!

Reputation Defender is a very valuable service.