The last time Ratan K K, a senior employee at Pinstrom Ventures received a bio-data from someone applyingfor a job, he did not call up the candidate's 'references'. Instead, he simply typed the person's name on the Google bar and hit the search button.
Within minutes, the search engine presented to him links about the candidate's active social networking profile, strong opinions on online forums, blog posts, a complaint that he made on the website of his mobile service provider, pictures from his recent trip to the An-damans and more.
"The connect was made even before I got to interview him," says Ratan.
As the head — global delivery centre for Pinstorm Ventures, a leading search engine marketing company, this is a common practice for Ratan. It is another thing, though, that the wealth of information available online can sometimes be overwhelming.
Online reputation sure matters.
"The next time you create an online profile, blog or post a comment on an e-forum, you better be careful. Online reputation matters and headhunters, employers can track all of it," says Ratan.
The advice comes as internet users are getting ever more candid about their personal lives and opinions on social networking and blogging sites.
"Moreover, the nature of the web is such, no data ever gets deleted. Everything is getting archived and if somebody really had to stalk you, with some level of technical expertise, it is possible," cautions Ratan.
HR managers and headhunters contacted were unwilling to share details of background checks conducted by them on social media profiles.
A senior recruitment manager with a leading media company said, traditionally, verification checks are done by calling up previous employers. "But checking their online reputations is important," she admitted, "because when he/she is working for your company, you'd want to make sure that the person is not breaching confidentiality clauses by sharing too much about the company."
The digital footprint is therefore emerging as a double-edged sword. It isn't just job-hunters who need to be careful, but the prospective employers, too.
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On online forums, blogs and travelogues, internet users share experiences. This is why product review websites such as Mouthshut.com, which carry corporate blogs where consumers can directly interact with organisations, write product reviews, hi candid posts, brand reputation can be marred easily. A quick scan of Mouthshut.com reveals that customer relation managers actively pursue consumer reviews on the web.
The practice has given rise to a new breed of social media marketing consultants who are doing what can be described as 'online reputation monitoring'.
Moksh Juneja, a social media catalyst says there are two ways of looking at online reputation. "One is where you merely monitor what people are writing about your brand. The other is where you manage effectively whatever is being written about it. The idea is simple — if there is no redressal of consumer grievances either through phone, e-mail or direct interaction, the consumer can now use the web to share his grievance either through blogs, forums and any other social media platform. And the viral nature of the web is such that brand reputation can take a hammering if this snowballs."
This is why, now search engine marketing companies like Pinstorm are providing services in online reputation management.
"For example, if somebody has a bad experience on an airlines and blogs about it or posts it on a forum, people start accessing it and adding to the thread, sharing their plight, if any. Once it attains a certain critical mass, it starts figuring prominently on Google's search results and causes anxiety to a brand's online personality And once this starts entering the offline world, it could be damaging to the firm's sales figures or more," says Ratan.
Search engine optimisation basically ensures that the links carrying the best reputations are displayed in the top searches. And the clients are a diverse lot — a billionaire, a leading airline, a political party and a social entrepreneur, amongst others.
So how does a company or an individual ensure a clean image on the web? Analysts from US-based Elixir Systems have this tip to offer: "Clients often get panicky after they get negative information about them in search engine results. At this stage, a major campaign is needed to clean up the results. By monitoring on a daily basis, this type of campaign can be prevented."
But underlying caution still remains the same: Be very careful of what you post online. Everything can be tracked down. |
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