Social networking

Google yourself

• Review your results focusing on the first three pages since it is unlikely most employers will take the time to look further than this.
• Determine if the content is positive, accurate, and relevant to your career goals.
• Check for diversity in the type of content social networks, blogs, websites, photos, videos.

Clean-up

• Un-tag yourself from all content that is inaccurate or unprofessional. If you do not have access to the content, connect with the person who has posted the negative content and ask them to remove it.
• Create as much positive content as possible to cover-up any unprofessional content.
• If you can't remove all negative content, your online identity can remain positive if the majority of online content is positive and accurate.

Claim your name

• Check out https://namechk.com/ to find out which sites have your username available, and register for the most popular networks.
• Buy your domain name, for instance, JaneDoe.com. Even if you never put up a website, you'll ensure that no one else will launch one in your name.
• Create profiles on major social networks, including  those you don't use regularly, to "claim" your name on these sites.
• Consider using your middle initial if you have a common name or the same name as someone who is famous.

Build

Now that you’ve evaluated and cleaned-up your online presence the next step is building a positive online identity that promotes your personal brand and allows potential employers and recruiters to find you.

Get social

The major social networking sites LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter generally zoom up the Google rankings and will likely appear on the first page of results when someone searches on your name.

• Profiles should be complete, accurate and regularly updated.
• Post content you’ve created relevant to your career interests that demonstrates your strengths and skills.
• Demonstrate your expertise by being active in discussions and sharing content that professionals in your career field could use.

Create your brand

• What value do you bring? How are you unique?
• Engage in self-assessment and identify your passions, strengths, attributes, and values.
• Clarify your purpose, create your career goals and develop a vision.
• Your brand should be authentic and relevant to your target audience.
• To succinctly communicate your brand write a personal branding statement.

Be consistent

• Align your personal brand on all social networking sites.
• Make sure information on social media sites is exactly the same as it appears on your resume.

Monitor

It is important to continuously monitor your online identity to be certain all online content is positive and supports your personal brand.

• Routinely google yourself and review the results. Deal with any negative or inaccurate content immediately.
• Set-up a Google alert. You will receive an e-mail anytime your name is mentioned on the Web, including news sites, video sites, and social networks.