So the second generation thing never really caught on–you know, the thought that everyone would have their real life and then an on-line fantasy life--famous actor, athlete, world-renowned executive search consultant.   

Although most of us don’t have a second life, we all have an on-line reputation. If you are following my advice from last week’s blog on building your LinkedIn (LI) profile, you’d better start managing your on-line identity. Microsoft conducted a study with 1,200 hiring and recruitment managers http://www.microsoft.com/privacy/dpd/research.aspx 

Most of those surveyed consider what they find on-line to impact their selection criteria. In fact, 70 percent of United States hiring managers in the study say they have rejected candidates based on what they found.   

At the executive level it’s unlikely you’re posting pictures of yourself on Facebook streaking the quad during senior week, but here are three other things you have to watch out for:   

Consistency: Every recruiter (and just about every hiring manager) I know will look you up on LI when they are considering you for a position.  If your resume and LI have noticeable discrepancies, you’ve just created a hurdle for yourself.  I believe resumes should be customized for the position you are applying for, so your LI profile and resume don’t have to be identical--but they sure better “feel” the same and by all means if you have any numbers (size of team you managed, budgets, revenue growth), they had better jive. 

Mistaken Identity: You can assume a fair bit of intuition on the part of the recruiter but why leave it to chance?  It’s likely there is more than one person with your name, so rather than let someone find the wrong “Matt Gill”, put a link to your LI profile on your resume.  Not only will this avoid confusion, it’s much easier for the recruiter. 

Outdated Info: This doesn’t apply to LI but it does to all other entities out there like Spoke, ZoomInfo, Plaxo and numerous other search capabilities that pull info on you when you’re Googled.  I’m not recommending that you manage a profile on every networking site out there, but take the time to regularly Google yourself. See what results you get and if you find info you don’t want a potential employer to see, figure out how to fix it. 

P.S.!

Just finished this blog and someone sent me this link: http://www.getunvarnished.com/beta 

It’s in beta but this scares me.  It’s a place where people you’ve worked with (friends and enemies) can post anonymous comments about you as a professional. I’m going to do my research but if anyone has info on this and wants to share please email me at mgill@pileandcompany.com