Is your online reputation stalking you?

Whether you’re aware or not, everyone has some form of online presence or as referenced in this post – a digital shadow. Are you proud of your online reputation?

Go on, Google yourself. Put “Your Name” in quotations to capture content about you and see what others have the potential to see. What shows up first? Who shows up first? Is it even you? What if it’s not you? Do people think it’s you? How will they know? What if the information is unflattering? What recourse do you have, as an individual, against the World Wide Web?

Effectively monitoring and managing your online reputation is a crucial tactic for ensuring that, as a young professional, you aren’t being overshadowed by what’s present online. Being able to effectively monitor and manage this content begins with what you’re actively putting out there for the digital world to see.

Take some time to review your social media accounts and ask yourself:

• Am I taking the necessary steps to present myself professionally?

• Is my account public?

• Am I joining the right groups?

• Am I attending the right networking events?

• What does my profile picture say about me?

• Is the content I’m sharing better suited for a diary or is it too controversial?

• Are others in my network benefiting or hindering my professional presence from their posts/tags?

It can be tricky to field some of these questions personally because what may seem appropriate to you might be misunderstood or misinterpreted by someone else. As a general rule of thumb, if you wouldn’t share it with your clients, customers or supervisor, you may want to think twice about sharing it with the digital world.