SEO and YOU, the Job Seeker - Part Four

Are you an Observer, Participant, or Outcast?

Once you have spent all that time and effort into building your personal brand, it also makes sense that you monitor the result of your labour. To illustrate this point, you need look no further than eBay. Did you know that eBay has a seller rating that attempts to represent the ‘trustworthiness’ of the seller and that a negative rating of 1% can decrease the selling price of an item by 4%.

If your current state of employment puts you in the position of looking for a new opportunity, then the published and quantified results for eBay should be viewed as of significant importance to you as eBay’s results can be directly applied to your current situation. If you are unemployed or looking for a new opportunity, you are in the business of sales and the product you are selling is YOU. Further, it is not in your best interest to have anything that can be interpreted as negative out there floating around the airwaves or your paycheque is likely to suffer.

Unlike many years ago, when people talked, it was behind your backs and you almost never found out about it. Today, all kinds of dialogues occur right in front of your very eyes and the number of places where that information can be found is astronomical. Just like many years ago, when you had no choice and you could not control what was being said about you, the times have changed and you now have a choice. Now that you know that someone somewhere is talking about you, with or without your consent, that choice is to manage what is being said or continuing to remain lackadaisical about the issue.

Today’s technology now allows you to be in the position wherein you can choose to be an observer, a participant, or an outcast. Should you choose to become and observer or an outcast, you need to be cognizant that some conversations that occur without the benefit of your input can have a negative effect on your personal brand. You should also know that when these conversations start on the web, they, like forest fires, can travel very fast and can wreak havoc along the way.

When all is said and done, a reputation is a terrible thing to lose, so it makes sense to mitigate the possibility of tarnishing your personal brand by doing the following:

• Add your name to on-line communities and discussion boards that will add to your credibility


• Claim your name on every social networking site you can think of


• If able, position yourself as an expert in the field


• Make positive well-thought out comments on other people’s blogs


• Become familiar with and optimize the privacy settings on all of the social media sites where you are a member

Developing your personal brand is a living and breathing exercise. You began the process of creating your personal brand the second you created any kind of Internet account. Once you created the account, you became part of the on-line community and consequently been pushed into the public eye. If, you are currently seeking a new career opportunity, it is critical that you learn how to manage your personal brand properly or unfortunately, suffer the consequences.


Copyright © 2010, Career Matters. All Rights Reserved.Permission to Reprint: This article may be reprinted, provided it appears in its entirety with the following attribution: Copyright © 2010, Career Matters. Reprinted by permission of Mary Salvino.“Career Matters” is a blog hosted by Mary Salvino, Senior Consultant for SMART Career Planning.com. This blog is dedicated to those who are seeking advice on managing their career and future job opportunities. We welcome readers to share their experiences, post their comments or ask questions about career related matters. For any questions or comments that are better addressed privately, please feel free to e-mail Mary directly at Mary.Salvino@shaw.ca