Let’s recap….

According to Wikipedia, a brand is the “name, term, design, symbol, or any other feature that identifies one seller’s product and distinguishes it from those of other sellers”. Initially, branding was adopted to differentiate one person’s cattle from another’s by means of a distinctive symbol burned into the animal’s skin with a hot iron stamp, and was subsequently used in business, marketing and advertising. A
brand is often the most valuable asset of a Corporation. The same can be said of a personal brand. 

Why does it matter? 

First, it’s how you distinguish yourself from another with a similar interests, skills and abilities. It will be what makes you stand out as a candidate. 

According to a 2018 CareerBuilder survey, over 70% of employers use social media to screen candidates during the hiring process. That number has climbed even higher today. Since almost everyone is using some sort of social media, it makes sense people would turn to these sites to check you out. But it doesn’t stop with employers. Schools and organizations use this type of search to screen potential applicants and scholarship recipients. In fact, admit it. When you meet someone, you probably do a quick search to see if they have a Facebook or other social profile and does it match your first impression of them. 

Your brand can include: a portfolio or personal website, your social media accounts, a blog, news articles, industry newsletter mentions, and more. It also includes your personal marketing material – cover letter, business card, and resume. 

Good or bad, there’s information out there to be found. So why wouldn’t someone look? Hiring is an expensive endeavor. It costs a company time and money to train a new hire, so they want to use every tool available to make sure they are finding the best possible candidate. 

Here’s the big question…..”What would someone find right now if they searched for you?”

Take a minute and Google yourself. I’ll wait. 

Make a list of what you found. Did you find a LinkedIn profile? Old news articles? Industry news? Recognition from your college? An old MySpace account? 

Everything you put on that list is your personal brand right now. What someone finds can have a positive or negative impact on their perception. In the competitive times we live in, you need to use every opportunity to make yourself shine brighter than the competition. 

Before you can work on building or updating your brand, you need to know exactly what you are dealing with. We call that a BRAND AUDIT. 

An audit is simply an inspection of or an examination of a body of information. On the digital side, a personal brand audit is a close inspection of your online assets. It helps you see if your online personna matches the one you want to portray to potential (and current) employers, schools or volunteer organizations.

Let the audit begin

Start with the list you made when you Googled yourself.  Don’t just focus on the positive. You need to make sure you look at every link and determine if this is something you want to stay or if it needs to go.  I recommend you Google yourself at least once a year (more if you are in a position where you are in the spotlight on a regular basis).  I also recommend you have a trusted friend Google you as well. Google will customize results based on a users history. Make sure they aren’t seeing anything you are unaware of. 

Don’t forget about your social media profiles, even those that are out dated and you’ve long sense forgotten the passwords too.  There are tools available that can help you find existing social platforms you may have forgotten all about. 

How to audit your social media…

For each of the social platforms you use, take time and review the content on each. Look at photos, comments, videos, groups you belong to, and contacts. Look at them with the critical eye of a potential or future employer. See if there’s anything lurking that would give someone a reason not to hire you or promote you. If you find anything questionable, make a note and go back and fix or remove that particular post or image. 

Damage Control…

Most people have posted something that in hindsight they regretted. Maybe it was a suggestive photo. Maybe it was a politically charged comment. Maybe it was a negative comment loaded with profanity. Whatever it was, there are ways you can clean up your online image.

Remember, there’s no guarantee your old posts won’t be found and this process will require a little work on your part.

• Delete every questionable post and video on your account individually. Ask your friends to delete any damaging posts or photos they have tagged you in.
• Untag yourself if you’ve been tagged in a post you feel is controversial.
• Set your privacy controls to the maximum strength. Going forward, make sure you check all your privacy settings. If you have an account you don’t want a potential employer to access easily, I suggest you make those settings as strict as possible. However, keep in mind it looks strange in today’s world for an employer not to be able to find you at all. That sends up a red flag as well. 
• If it’s potentially problematic enough to keep you from getting the interview of your dreams, change the name on the account or close the account down. If you do this, start a new account under a different name so that you have a profile someone can find. Do not set it up with the same email address you used on the old account.

If you’re still worried about some of the content you found (don’t worry, I’m not judging), there are some online tools you can invest in that can help with reputation management. They do come with a fee, but depending on the severity of the damage, it might be worth it to you to investigate.