October 29th, 2009

Wes

I've often been an advocate against most social-networking sites, especially with regards to their creep into the workplace and jobhunt. My general rule has been to lock down the security of my online presence to the point where I cannot be found in all but the most specific of web searches.

However, as my friends have been going on callbacks, they've reported back that their employers are utilizing Google, Facebook, and Twitter information during the interview. I applaude that employers are using technology to be able to learn as much about potential hires as they can, but it comes with a flaw: some of my friends have been forced to do damage control in their own interviews. Not because of inappropriate information that was dredged up on their online profiles, but rather because the information the employers pulled up was for the wrong person. It's happened more (obviously) with my friends that have more common last names, but it's still an issue.

So I've now run into a problem with my approach to protecting my online identity from the other direction. In locking down the access to my accounts so that no one can find me, I leave employers not with no information to find on me, but only misinformation to find on me. The modern-day mantra is no longer protecting the online identity, but rather maintaining it.

Yesterday, in preperation for a meet-and-greet with potential employers, I found myself creating a LinkedIn profile, opening up portions of my Facebook account to public search, and creating a Twitter account. I also created a Google Profile and cross-linked every single one of these accounts to create a cohesive online presence.

The idea is to make yourself easily searchable, but limit the information that can be found in a search. I give away enough information that an employer will be certain that I'm the same person he/she is looking for, but beyond that, there's almost nothing to be found.

Maintain the identity, don't hide it. It's better to be found than someone else to be found and it assumed to be you.