What’s Your Student’s Brand?

by: Belinda Bobko

On a daily basis we are finding ourselves using the brand Google as a verb rather than a service.  I hear the question “Did you Google that yet?” on a daily (if not hourly) basis.  The power of information sharing is incredible which can make or break numerous situations.  When it comes to online brand reputation, where does your student stand? Have they Googled themselves recently?  If not, they should. (Or to really prove a point, maybe you should and e-mail them the results.)

According to a recent survey 79% of HR/Recruiters review information about potential candidates online.   Typically searches are resulted through the social media sites of Facebook, MySpace, Twitter or YouTube.  Also, information can be found on blogs written by students, academic papers on-line or even scholarship applications.  Last year, I had a student who after Google-ing herself found her official academic transcript (complete with address and social security number) from a scholarship application she had applied to while in high school.  If she herself hadn’t done a search, information could have been shared without her knowledge or consent.

Ultimately, the information and branding made available online is the responsibility of the student themselves.  So what can a student do to protect themselves?  There are some simple steps anyone can take to take care of their online brand reputation:

• Students need to run search engines on themselves and often.  If negative posts/images are in top result function, click on positive results.  (Remember: Google is just a search engine and offers up what is searched for most.)
• Adjust privacy settings on Facebook and MySpace. In addition, do not make comments about professors, previous or current employers.  It could potentially come back to get students.
• Do not Twitter negatively.  The power of the re-Tweet has residual social media impact.
• Create professional profile through LinkedIn, allowing for the “best” version to be highlighted digitally.  Students can highlight presentations, academic papers as well as awards and honors.

Encourage your students to consistently be checking what their Google search results are.   They are responsible for how potential employers gain access to their online reputation.  Based on the survey, 70% of recruiters rejected candidates due to what they found regarding a candidate online.  While 86% of recruiters a positive online reputation has a definite impact on candidate’s application. 

With that data, what kind of reputation do you want your student to have online?