What's your Online Identity score?

online-identity-matt-arnzenIf you are looking for a job in this tight economy, recruiters and potential employers will surely be looking you up online.  When a potential employer searches on Google or Yahoo for  someone, they judge the results based on two factors: volume and relevance. Volume speaks to the quantity of results on the Web. If there are a lot of results for a search on your name, surely you are more relevant than other candidates.

Relevance is an even more important element. When someone searches for you on Google, they wants to assess what it says about you. Is it consistent with how you show up in the real world? Does it show pictures and blog posts that you wouldn’t want any employer to see?  Does it back up your experience from your resume?  Does it make those who are searching about you want to get to know you? What does it say about your personal brand?

I did a search on a the Online Identity Calculator, and found I’m digitally distinct! What does that mean? From the Online Identity site:

This is the nirvana of online identity. A search of your name yields lots of results about you, and most, if not all, reinforce your unique personal brand. Keep up the good work, and remember that your Google results can change as fast as the weather in New England. So, regularly monitor your online identity. That way, if something negative, such as an anonymous ad hominem attack on your character on a blog, crops up, you can address it quickly, before it gets out of hand. Read Chapter 11 of Career Distinction: Stand Out by Building Your Brand for more ideas on how to continue to build your brand online.

I am digitally distinct! Visit onlineIDCalculator.comIf you want to find out what your Online Identity is, visit the site and check your score. It’s free.

2 Comments

  1. Great post full of useful tips! My site is fairly new and I am also having a hard time getting my readers to leave comments. Analytics shows they are coming to the site but I have a feeling “nobody wants to be first”.