Arleen Bradley Career Coaching

And just what is digital dirt?  It is information about you on the Internet that is negative and prevents you from getting you hired.  It can be information, opinions or photos that have been posted by you or someone else.   Whether it’s someone in Human Resources or the hiring manager, someone from the company you applied to is going to be looking you up on the internet. 

 To make sure anyone looking for you on the internet only finds favorable information, do a proactive search on yourself.  See what other will see about you.  If there is something that won’t work in your favor, there are 5 things you can do. 

1.  Remove the negative information, opinions or photos if possible.
2. Avoid posting more harmful information, opinions or photos.
3. Refrain from joining questionable groups.
4. Post good quality information, opinions or photos that will support your candidacy in places such as LinkedIn groups, industry related blogs, professional organizations or the like.
5. If you have a common name, you will want to make sure you are not confused with your evil twin.  Use your middle initial; be consistent with the name you do use, or do something that distinguishes from the other.

 Bury the adverse information far down the search results.  It’s highly unlikely that someone would spend a lot of time searching for you.  They may look at the first few pages of results. 

 Your reputation is important when looking for a job.  Take preemptive steps to see what’s on the internet about you, so you clean it up and be ready to discuss it in an interview.