What is your philosophy on your online reputations?

3 years ago by Pete Kistler 7

In the spirit of the holidays, here’s a quick point to think about between mugs of spiked egg nog.

Every time you post something online, that item becomes permanently associated with you. Which is why doing simple things – like writing compelling book reviews of best-sellers in your field – add up quickly, leaving a breadcrumb trail that demonstrates intelligence, proactivity and passion.

Blog comments, forum posts, book reviews, wiki edits, submission of original media or articles and membership with professional organizations online all add up to an impressive web presence that inspires confidence in your ability to succeed on the job.

The web provides an opportunity to show yourself in the best light. Are you taking advantage of this? Or are you ignoring your web presence? Your career won’t manage itself, and those who do manage their career will get a leg up in the job market. I suggest that before hitting the slopes this weekend, you take action to sprinkle some digital breadcrumbs across the web that will make your job hunt easier down the road.

Happy holidays from me (Pete Kistler) and all of the Brand-Yourself team!

Pete Kistler
Author: Pete Kistler

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About Pete Kistler

Founder and CEO, Brand-Yourself.com
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  • http://www.howtowritebio.com Barbra Sundquist, Bio Writer

    You make a good point about breadcrumbs, and one of the most important is writing a professional bio. I think for most people the hardest part of writing a professional bio is choosing what to put in and what to leave out.

    I think of a bio as a little advertisement for you and your brand.

  • http://www.BiancaBuco.com Bianca Buco

    I think an impressive web presence is becoming more and more important to potential employers. In the past, its always been about cover letters, resumes, interviews, followup letters, etc. But now, potential employers can look you up online and decide if they want to pursue you PRIOR to you even getting an interview! So I think its important to make your mark and get out there and sprinkle those digital breadcrumbs. If you don’t, your competition will!

  • http://Brand-Yourself.com Pete Kistler

    @Barbra

    You’re absolutely right. A bio is one of the most effective breadcrumbs you can leave because it packs a powerful, opportunity-attracting punch in a small amount of space.

  • http://Brand-Yourself.com Pete Kistler

    @Bianca

    “I think its important to make your mark and get out there and sprinkle those digital breadcrumbs. If you don’t, your competition will!”

    Right on!

    I’m reminded of a recent TechRadar article called “Make an online profile to get you hired, not fired: How to promote your skills and hide your ills.

    One of the quotes that struck me was:

    “The Guardian [reported] that more than 1,700 people have been sacked or disciplined for Internet misuse in the past three years… What’s considered far less is the risk in not having any kind of presence online. Total online anonymity may be the ultimate protection from harm, but it’s also protection from opportunity. A personal website, a few Google results and a LinkedIn profile are no longer just helpful – they’re expected. Without such a presence, you’re suggesting that you’re unable to make any kind of mark.”

    We’re wired to make split-second decisions and form immediate judgments based on very little information. Back in the day, this behavior allowed us to adapt quickly to new situations and avoid danger, keeping us in the gene pool.

    Today, we don’t deal with “fight or flight” situations like evading starving packs of lions. But we still rely on first impressions in our work life, and even in our non-work life. Another quote from the article was, “We’ve caught ourselves Googling people that we’ve just met to assess whether we’re socially compatible long before we would traditionally find out the information face to face.”

    You’re totally right when you say, “Potential employers can look you up online and decide if they want to pursue you PRIOR to you even getting an interview!”

    It’s up to us to understand the power of the web and use it to help create a future with more career opportunities.

    Thanks for the comment!

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  • http://www.2dolphins.com/ Rob O.

    I’m completely in favor of posting comments and employing other tactics to leave “digital breadcrumbs” around the Internet as much as possible. Sure, comments are a valuable means of self-promotion, but they also give other bloggers a bit of much-needed validation that we all crave sometimes – it’s just part of being a good netizen.

    However, since this stuff floats out there in the ether indefinitely, you’ve got to be certain that your writing is professional – even if it’s an informal comment, make sure it’ll reflect positively on you in some way. Posting a nasty zinger comment might feel satisfying for a moment, but could come back to bite you later on…

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