This Month: "Your Online Identity: Digital Dirt vs. Digital Gold"

In This Issue of On Target

• Special Executive / Senior-Management Resources
• Your Online Identity: Digital Dirt vs. Digital Gold
• Computer/Email Problems
• News & Tips
• Thought for the Month

Coming Next Month: "What is Your USP?"

Special Executive / Senior-Management Resources

If you haven't already checked out a site called ExecuNet, you might want to do that soon, especially if you're employed in or targeting an executive / senior-management position. Currently, ExecuNet is offering two special membership programs that could prove useful:

• Full ExecuNet CareerSmart membership: The offer gives 10 percent off the normal rate for a 180-day or 360-day membership, which includes full access to the site, the member-to-member connections directory, and the private, members-only job board. If you're interested in finding out more or signing up, go online to the ExecuNet CareerSmart information page and enter the following code: KENCSX7.
• Introductory f*r*e*e membership: Usually there's an annual fee for this, but for now, ExecuNet is allowing my colleagues and me to extend a no-cost option to clients, which includes listing in the directory and receipt of a twice-monthly e-letter, Executive Insider, and a quarterly Member Bulletin. You can check out this option and see if it works for you. You can upgrade your membership to the full version at any time.

FYI, ExecuNet is particularly designed for executives looking for jobs with $100K+ salaries. For over 19 years, it has alerted members to top-notch six-figure jobs, helped them find opportunities in the hidden job market, and provided personalized links to executive jobs that aren't widely publicized. It gives members a way to connect directly with recruiters and company decision-makers and to accelerate their executive job search with an exclusive network, insider advice, and market intelligence.

Your Online Identity: Digital Dirt vs. Digital Gold

As mentioned in the previous issue of this ezine, you could find undesirable information about yourself online for a variety of reasons, and this would be disturbing under the best of circumstances. When you're contemplating a job change, career advancement, or career transition step, it could have a catastrophic impact. Companies and recruiters increasingly search online for information about prospective employees before making a decision on whether or not to pursue them further.

If you do find "bad news," you can choose one of at least three approaches to deal with the problem:

1. Ignore it and hope no one else sees the information. (However, I don't recommend this one! I'm naturally an optimist, but in this case, I suggest adopting a cautiously pessimistic attitude.)
2. Try to contact the site where the information appears and convince whoever controls the site to remove the offending item. (They might do that, but don't count on it. Even if they do, the same information may surface elsewhere online. Such things tend to spread like wildfire on the Internet.)
3. Work diligently to generate so much "good news buzz" about yourself online that it forces the negative information far down in the search results, where few people will have the patience to find it.

Assuming you choose the third approach, here are just a few actions you can take to try to counteract the effect of the negative information:

• Align yourself with respected organizations, companies and/or institutions that have a strong online presence.
• Establish and maintain an active blog focused on your area of expertise and network with other, similarly minded individuals by posting related comments on their blogs.
• Set up a well-written, keyword-rich profile at reputable social networking sites such as LinkedIn and search sites such as Zoominfo.

P.S. Even if you don't find negative information about yourself, you should be looking at taking these and possibly other similar steps to increase your positive visibility online. The more easily people find you there, in a constructive way, the better your chances are of being considered for the kinds of opportunities you most want to obtain.

Computer/Email Problems

Recently my main email program crashed and "died," so I've been using an alternative (Mozilla Thunderbird). In the process of trying to deal with the initial problem, however, I lost a number of incoming email messages that I hadn't had a chance to respond to yet or needed to research further. If you sent me a message and haven't received a response or are waiting for a follow-up from me, your message may have been one of those that were lost. Please feel free to re-send the message or at least to contact me regarding it. I don't want to overlook something I'm supposed to be taking care of for you.

News & Tips

• Career Tours: An Internet-based recruiting resource that lets career seekers experience companies through profiles, video, and audio clips. The tours let people learn about a company's culture and career opportunities and provide a way to experience "a day in the life" of a job—all from their computer. This site appears to be at least partially "in progress," so you might see a message like the following: "We are currently enrolling career seekers in upcoming Career Tours for Hospitality - Hotel opportunities in San Francisco, CA. We are working to schedule CareerTours with companies in this location. New tours may be available beginning July 2007."
• Bully-Free Workplace: Bullying takes many forms, including "mobbing" in which two or more coworkers are involved in bullying an employee, and abuse happens in ALL levels in an organization. Valerie Cade has compiled 12 years of information and statistics on the subject, including the long-term effects on victims and has written extensively about how to fight back against such treatment. Her work includes an e-book, "Bully Proof Yourself."
• Commissioner's Statement on the Employment Situation (6/1/07): Among other things, this information includes the fact that health-care employment grew by 25,000, with gains in hospitals and ambulatory health-care services, and that employment increased in computer systems design, architectural and engineering services, and in wholesale trade, information, and private education. On the other hand, manufacturing employment continued to decline in May. (Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics )
• Corporate Social Responsibility: About 80% of businesses surveyed in seven countries have executed some type of corporate social responsibility (CSR) practice, according to a Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) study. The emphasis on CSR varied from 52% in Australia to 26% in Mexico, with the United States coming in at 47%.

Thought for the Month

Everything that is really great and inspiring is created by the individual who can labor in freedom. Albert Einstein (1879-1955)

Visit me online at www.ablueribbonresume.com or www.asuccessfulcareer.com
coach at asuccessfulcareer.com