Top Three Tips for Managing Your Online Reputation

Patrick Ambron, CEO & Co-Founder, BrandYourself.com (on the left)

If you’re like most college students, you’ve got to deal with an issue your parents didn’t have to worry about – your online reputation. You might not think it’s a big deal while you’re still in school, but if you want to find a job, during or after college, it’s a good idea to start managing your online reputation now.

When you apply for a job, you will be Googled, and your social media pages will be checked out. Will potential employers find a positive, professional image on your Facebook page, or will they see you winning a tequila shots contest on Spring Break? Managing your online reputation can make all the difference. Here are three tips that can help:

1.See where you stand, and make any necessary social media repairs. Google yourself and check out the top results. Take a look at your Facebook page and your Twitter feed. Do you see things that would embarrass you if your grandma saw them? If so, get rid of it if it’s content you control, like photos on Facebook. Content that you can’t eliminate can be buried with positive content that you generate by following the second tip.
2.Build a positive online presence. If you’re not already on LinkedIn, join it. Go to a cheap domain name broker and buy as many domain names that contain your actual name as you can (yourname.com, yourname.net, yourname.me, etc.). Then use a free service like BrandYourself.com, WordPress or Tumblr to create a page that showcases positive things about you, including your bio, portfolio, projects you’re working on, etc. Start a free blog and use it to write about your professional interests.
3.Monitor your online reputation. Nothing online is static, so it pays to keep an eye on your personal search results going forward. Go to Google.com/alert and Socialmention.com/alert and sign up to receive notices when your search results change.

Put yourself in a potential employer’s shoes: Would you hire the candidate with a professional online image or the one whose Google search returns photos of beer bongs? In a tough job market that affects the younger generation disproportionately, it pays to be proactive when it comes to managing your online reputation.

By: Patrick Ambron, CEO & Co-Founder, BrandYourself.com

About the Author

Patrick Ambron is CEO of BrandYourself.com, the first do-it-yourself platform that makes it easy for anyone to take control of their own Google results. BrandYourself.com won “Best Bootstrapped Startup” at the 4th Annual SXSW Accelerator event presented by Microsoft BizSpark and was honored by the White House as one of the Top 100 Startups Run by Entrepreneurs Under 30. Find out more at www.BrandYourself.com.