How the Internet Can Make You the Right Person for the Job

The first and most critical thing you can do on the web to increase your chances of being hired is to make sure that search-engine inquiries under variations of your name do not come back with any potentially disastrous results. Recent surveys have shown that a large percentage of employers 'Google' potential employees by name before deciding whether or not to hire them. Beyond that, however, there are many other things you can do online, from looking for jobs to posting your resume and CV. Each of these strategies will be discussed (in order) below.

Get rid of the bad: if a search of your name brings up an embarrassing picture, ranting letter to your former boss or any one of a number of other things it can easily mean the difference between getting or losing a job opportunity. If you do find material online that reflects poorly on you there are two things you can do: (1) kindly ask the webmaster of the site that hosts the offensive/embarrassing material to remove it and (2) hire a company that will negotiate with and contact webmasters, as well as doing a more thorough sweep of the internet for potentially harmful results.

Start listing the good: once you have 'cleared your name' so to speak, there are a great many more positive things you can use the web for in finding a job. First of all there are job listings as well as places to list your resume for potential employers. Many of these are free (like Craigslist) but others cost money (like Monster). You might want to start by looking through other resumes of people in your field and emulate the style and format of ones you find more convincing or appealing. You should also start with free listings unless you are in a hurry to find a job - you can always pay money later if the free listing turns up no results!

Other strategies: of course, the internet has a great deal of other resources you can use in your job search, from tips on web pages for people in your position to forums in which to discuss search strategies and promote your skills. You may want to start your own free website (a blog on Wordpress is easy and free to set up) and use it to host a digital copy of your resume, CV and other information about you. That way you can refer prospective employers to your page via a business card, even during a 'casual encounter' such as at an office party. As a designer, I also find having a website for my design work helpful so that I don't have to carry a physical portfolio with me - I can boot it up wherever I am. An important note: remember that there are no spell-check programs built into sites like Wordpress, so be sure to copy and paste and resume or CV text into a program that will allow you to check for grammar and spelling before you make your information available to potential employers!