Thinking about a job change? Better think about your online image.
Many people go online to look for love, friendship and camaraderie, advertising themselves to be found by the interested or like-minded. But be careful...employers are now jumping into the "Googling" game to see what you might have left out of your resume.
CareerBuilder.com recently released some findings that might make you rethink and retool your online image. This popular site for job hunters surveyed hiring managers, and found that 26% of them say they use internet search engines such as Google or Yahoo to research job applicants. Further, 12% say they use "social networking sites" to do the same. Most interestingly, a whopping 51% percent of the employers who did this type of diligence on job applicants admitted they did not hire the candidates based on what they found!
A potential employer doesn't need - or want - to know that a job applicant likes candlelit dinners and horseback riding in the nude. And while hobbies might provide a creative outlet that helps manage stress, finding out a candidate is the President and founding member of the National Toilet Paper Roll Artists Organization...well, it could cause a hiring manager to wonder if your interests and skills really match the job being interviewed for.
So be picky about what you post! Use pseudonyms if you need to interact with others who collect plastic spoons or engage in dog barking competitions. Don't put anything on a dating site that you wouldn't want your grandmother to read about you. The internet has become the online equivalent of that place where "everybody knows your name". All a potential employer or client has to do is "Google You". Depending on what they find, your chances of success could change...and you might never know why.
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