To remind people to google yourselves and manage your online image!!

[MoanaMum]

I am currently recruiting for two high profile posts in our company. I've had some great CVs and applications through, but if candidates think we won't google people and check social media they are a bit naive, and unfortunately it can really change the impression a potential employer is left with. So if you are looking for jobs, take a moment to go through what your FB page looks like from an outsider, your twitter, etc and do google your name!! Just come across one which, well, just wow!!

If it's on the internet, it's not private. If it's private, don't put it on the internet.

My maiden name is a famous children's author and an American high school sportswoman. And that's about it.
Neither are me!
The only things under my current name are work things, and all positive.

How long until undesirables begin holding social media profiles for sets of names for ransom, the way domain squatters do?

Thinking well if it's on Facebook and public...then it's not private is it? So how is it "invading privacy"?

I‘Ve done my best to cover my tracks but difficult with a online small business.

Hmm just googled my real name and first pic is a old picture of me that a friend used on a just giving profile. Ffs.

The only thing that comes up about me is a newspaper article from 3 years ago. I shared a pic of my ileostomy bag just after my surgery to raise awareness for crohns and colitis UK and a newspaper picked it up and published it.

There’s both and Irish and an English spelling to my surname with one letter difference, so only hope they would search the correct one!

As a few people are finding, even if they don't put themselves online, they can still appear in a search because someone else has named them in a picture, a blog, a comment somewhere ...

Also, it's worth noting the internet has a memory of kinds. Anyone delved into what Google archives from various websites ? Which is what the "right to be forgotten" revolved around.

My online presence is mostly LinkedIn. 😅

I remember when I was being vetted for my last job they said the company doing the background check would check my social media accounts. I thought "May the odds be ever in your favour, because I have none." 😂

I have made an FB account since then that I post on once or twice a month to update my family in the states on my family here.

I think it's wrong and invading people's privacy.

How "private" can a public - findable by anyone - Facebook profile be ????

You cannot judge someone on their Facebook.

Except we do ...

Or rather, hope they don't google the wrong one and take that as gospel?

This reminds of my BIL who is a partner in a Magic Circle law firm who shares his name with what was quite a high profile murderer in the early noughties. The murderer shows up on google first.

Sirfredfredgeorge it's perfectly acceptable for recruiters to gather information that is freely and publicly available, which is why it's important to either lock down your social media or be squeaky clean. Depends on what they're recruiting for, obvs, but perfectly acceptable. No issue with GDPR if you're using regular search engines.

I used to recruit student volunteers for placements in secondary schools. Doesn't matter how clean your DBS check is if you have an open FB profile showing numerous pics of you on the piss in Ibiza, comatose in a club and flashing your arse at passers by. If recruiters don't look for it, trust me, Year 9 (or anyone who wants to find out about you) WILL. Happened with monotonous regularity.

This is why my FB name is an anagram, my profile pic is my pet and it's locked down. It also helps that I have the same name as an entertainer so you have to go through 8 pages of googled results to get to me and even then it's not clear it's me.

Mine comes up with a random daily fail article 'about' me, which is mostly made up

What about people who deliberately game their social media profile ?

Here's me helping out the orphans
Here's me raising money for the donkey sanctuary
Here's me helping out at the homeless shelter
Here's me on a sponsored ride
Here's me volunteering at a local sports event
Here's me helping clean up our neighbourhood

Facebook profiles x2 are pretty much locked down, the only other thing I could find were a finance director of a local college with the same name. Other than that some court pages with my first name at one end of the page and my last name at the other end (so if my name is Sandra Jones then there would be someone called Sandra called up and then in another case someone called Mark Jones)

Apparently I’m an American country singer! 😂

Someone earlier suggested better to have an unusual name.
No way! I have an unusual (but not unique) name and if you google me you find for example something I posted on line more than 15 years ago - before I was smart enough to realise my whole name would appear on anything I posted. It is not embarassing in any way but is a good example of how "managing" your internet presence (my FB etc are all locked down) is not that easy unless you have a really really common name.
I have also been a company director and that is pretty much impossible to eradicate from searches - again not embarassing in my particular case but I can think of clients I have had in the past who just became "nominal" directors and that could create some interesting conversations with future employers who might think you really did something constructive for the company concerned.
If I had my time over again (i.e. the internet had been invented) I would probably have changed my name aged 21 (I did not change it when I married but even if I had it would still have been quite uncommon).

Hi MoanaMum Can you tell me how you know it is the correct person with out havingseen them first. I'm on LinkedIn, but when I google myself - I see lots of others before I come up. Do you google mobile numbers or email addresses?? Im going for new jobs atm, and would be keen to know what you google

Thank you!

I'm an American handbag designer, a doctor of biochem doing amazing research work, and a dead woman with and 28 children in American genealogical reports. and my pretend name (that I teach under) has me on companies House and LinkedIn, as I am a school govenor. Nothing to show me up😂 if only they could see my twitter account.

Ducksanddrakes I wondered how they knew it was the correct person. One of tye people who has the same name as me is a skinny blonde 20 something.... Not a short fat person of indeterminate ethnicity with crazy hair

When we had a huge data check at work in regards to the new GDPR, we were told that due to new GDPR regulation legally now what is found out about you online - as long as within reason and not detrimental to the company or illegal - can not be held against you when applying for a role. Yes I bet employers do look online but they cannot tell you they have done nor can they hold it against you.

So go ahead Emma, no one should care you got pissed in 2012

There is an awful lot about me but it is most all about work stuff so pretty positive. I work for myself so not trying for jobs anyway. I don't use twitter or facebook. Obviously my work linkedin profile and website come up which is desirable.

People also look for videos of people when potentially hiring them for a job so be careful what you have said and how you sound.

Yes I bet employers do look online but they cannot tell you they have done nor can they hold it against you.

And you would know they'd done it... How, exactly?

Maybe I'll put loads of racist videos on my Facebook profile and apply for loads of jobs and then when I don't get called for interview I'll claim I was unfairly discriminated against for being a racist arsewipe and sue them all for one beeeeeeeellion dollars.

Could be a great money spinner!

Moreover, people forget to put decent security settings on their social media profiles. I make sure no one can see profiles I post a lot on unless I allow it. The rest are fairly innocuous and don’t matter. But OP I agree.

My name is so common. There are thousands of me