by Randall S. Hansen, Ph.D., and Katharine Hansen Ph.D.

Having an Online Presence

[Part 1 of 7 of Career Portfolios: Proof of Performance]

One of the hot topics in job-hunting relates to the degree to which recruiters and human-resource professionals are "googling" prospective candidates. The point of this exercise (using whatever search engine they wish, though "googling" has become an accepted term for this practice) is to see what kind of information is available online about the job-seeker.

According to a recent study by ExecuNet, three out of four recruiters conduct Internet searches on candidates -- and one in four has dropped candidates based on the results of the search. "Smart hiring managers will always Google their prospective people," says Allison Hemming, president of the Hired Guns, a New York interim-staffing company, in an article on CareerJournal.com.

So, we asked recruiters and career professionals in the focus groups about the importance of having an online presence. Most of our participants described it as an emerging trend that is not yet in widespread use -- except, perhaps, for higher-level positions (where one would expect to find more documentation of work experience, but where the stakes are also higher).

"I have not actually googled a candidate; however, I would do so now. I would be looking for corroboration of information in the portfolio and resume, if possible," stated a former college career-services professional. "News articles can be helpful, as well as information about the current employer."

If a job-seeker is working to develop an online presence, it's critical also to remove sensitive or potentially damaging information from the Web. "Negative components could be Web pages that are 'too personal' and/or unprofessional," a focus-group participant and former college career-services professional notes.

A professional resume writer in the focus group states, "I believe the importance of an online presence for job-seekers parallels the importance of an online presence for companies 10 years ago, when the Web was first gaining traction. In time, as with Web sites for companies, an online presence will be second nature to job-seekers -- like a resume, but better as it continues to promote the 24/7, and can provide more and better information than the traditional constraints of a paper resume allow."

"If you don't have an identity on the Web, you don't exist," stated Ross Mayfield, CEO of Socialtext, an enterprise social software company, in an article published in NewsFactor Network.

Navigation:

• Go on to Part 2: The value to the job-seeker in developing a career portfolio is profound
• Go back to Main Page: Proof of Performance: Career Portfolios an Emerging Trend for Both Active and Passive Job-Seekers