It’s one thing to weed out people that are extremely sketchy, find felony convictions, find hateful and destruction stuff from previous jobs and quite another to ignore people that do silly stuff or get drunk or are very passionately pro-life. This is stuff that 99.9% of the time has zero relevance as to how good a job a person is going to do. To weed them out based on a perceived image (Are we all politicians? Who exactly is judging your image?) is to weed out employees that would be a huge asset to have.

The people that don’t have any of this stuff online to find? They’re either better at hiding it (for now. I don’t think it’s fair to fire someone because they posted a picture of themselves drunk and peeing on a dumpster for instance, but it’s okay to weed them out before hand?) or are so completely boring and dispassionate and will likely work in the same manor.

Only a fool would rant or gossip about former clients – or other writers, for thatv matter – under his or her real name on a blog or forum for which he or she registered using his or her real name. I Google myself now and then, BTW; I have common first and last names and a Google search brings back over two dozen matches with ordinary folks who may or may not be me. An employer’s only clue would be a link to a blog or Web site also in my resume. Unless, of course, employers can obtain from webmasters personal information gathered during the registration process, and things like ISP addresses. Are you suggesting that they do?

“And, quite often, the “you” people think they found many not be YOU at all.”

I meant:

“And, quite often, the “you” people think they found ONLINE many not be YOU at all.”

It is important to present yourself as a respectful, reasonable, decent person in all aspects of your life. In face-to-face encounters, people get to meet YOU, not your digital representation of a facet of a fragment of you. And, quite often, the “you” people think they found many not be YOU at all.

There are far too many variables to rely on a Google search for accurate data related to employment candidacy or professional relationship determination. I knew a guy who would post articles about himself on various sites under different names just to inflate his own reputation as a salesperson.

People are going to judge you for any number of conflicting reasons, you may lose business without ever knowing why simply because you posted your religious beliefs somewhere. Or someone noticed that you are a republican, democrat, or affiliated with some other party. You may be discriminated against based on your age. Your color. Your sexual orientation. Your gender. Any number of things. With the anonymity of a Google search, an employer can discriminate against you without you ever being able to prove your Civil Rights were violated.

You never really know a person until you know a person. It takes a lot more than a Google search for that.

So many people forget (or simply don’t realize) that Web content is eternal! Even if you delete a post, or switch to private, the content still exists ‘somewhere’. The instant you publish something it is cached, if it remains online more than a few days it will have been crawled, more than a few weeks it will have been web archived and backed up. Once you publish content you have very little control over where it might appear in the future.

What it really comes down to is living life with the same integrity you intend to bring to your business ventures or professional life. If you are reckless and wild away from the office and efficient and reserved at work then which you is the real you? In one case you are outside of your personal integrity and not being true to your potential.

Yes, obviously, you can let down your hair a little at home and in your non-business activities but even that side of yourself should be true to who you are. You should be able to reflect on your non-office hours with as much pride as you reflect on your work.

If you live with integrity you’ll find Google slime just doesn’t stick. The true you will shine through.

I also split my time between freelance writing and creative writing, with the goal of moving my career more toward the latter. I write some pretty raw stuff, and have NEVER heard any negatives from a prospective client. Maybe the ones who don’t like me just don’t contact me. That said, I’ve gotten a few chuckles and thumbs up from clients who have read my spicier creative work.

Should I include a note on cover letters about this?

I agree with many of the conditions posted in this piece.

As a former senior editor, I can relate totally!

I think I’ve been careful to adhere to all of your points… which is why I’m wondering if you ever even received my application to write for your website…
just curious.

“Things get mixed up, for sure.”

Indeed they do. Should be interesting to see what happens when the teens of today start looking for serious careers. The Google Snoopers are going to have a lot of juicy material to drool over.

@Burman – I’d like to say you’re right and it shouldn’t matter but it does. Googling the people who write for me tell me a lot about a person’s character, demeanor and how s/he will treat my brand and I’ don’t dig too deep. The big employers have people in human resources who will spend days searching out information on potential new hires. Yes, you can do whatever you like in your private life, but if that’s the case it should remain private.

We do live in an age where many of the up and coming professionals spent a good deal of time on the Internet doing and saying stupid things before they were really old enough to know better. It is also possible to post content to the Internet using another person’s name specifically to cause negative associations in search results. It’s a growing trend in teenage circles, kids are taking bullying to new levels these days.

And as mentioned in some of the other comments, there are a lot of same/similar names in the world. How do you know who is who when you don’t really know the person you are searching for information about?

Let people live their lives for crying out loud.

Lisa

Well said!