Have you thought about your online image?

The Internet is a highly public medium, and personal information in cyberspace could unfortunately work against you. Business Week reported that 35 percent of surveyed employers have eliminated candidates based on online information.

Social-networking sites are everywhere – sites like Zoominfo, Linkedin, Flicker, Twitter, Facebook etc. (see Wikipedia – it lists more than 100 social-networking sites!).  Did you know that recruiters are using these sites to find candidates? And you, the job seeker, are using some of the sites to get “found.”

The search engine leader – Google

Recruiters will use Google to find out all they can about a candidate.  And in the professional arena, having a LinkedIn profile is becoming as expected as being searched on Google.  Linkedin is used not only to seek connections, but to find information.  Your LinkedIn profile is must be and look great – even if you are working and successful. Be discriminating and emulate a profile that clearly that is a “head above the rest.”

Keep in mind, though, that employers and recruiters aren’t just looking for your “Googlability” – how many times your name pops up in a search. They’re also interested in how positive your online image is. Thus, be very careful about how you project your story online.

Twitter for Short Messages

Another key trend is the use of Twitter as a “micro-blogging” phenomena where users are communicating in no more than 140 characters (there is usually a spillover of text, and normally a link to a website using a shortened URL).

This post was written August, 2009 when relatively few recruiters actually source from social networks. But, according to Kevin Wheeler of the Electronic Recruiting Exchange, “Recruiting is moving rapidly from a find ‘em and screen ‘em, to a court ‘em, stay in touch with them, and sell them profession. These networks (Linkedin, Flicker, Twitter, Facebook ) will power that charge.”