Are you an active social media user? Do you know what all security features you need to take in order to protect your identity and keep your personal information safe and secure?

Today, most people use the internet and social media, without actually caring about safety and end up ruining their life and career. The Internet is a web that can provide you useful information when used rightly and can destroy your life and career when misused. Studies have proven that a Google search result can destroy your career in one single second.

Importance of Online Presence

There is no doubt that online presence is important for getting a good job and it is one of the easiest ways to market your skills and experience. Most companies look for candidates LinkedIn profile and social media activity before hiring them for a job. These companies will do a Google search and collect all the relevant information about you so that they are 100% confident about the candidate.

If the first page of Google search results shows correct and accurate details about you, your achievements and educational details, it can create a good impression in the eyes of a recruiter. But, at the same time, if the first page of Google search results shows negative results, it can reduce your chances and even destroy your career. Below are few Google search results that can affect your life and career negatively.

5 Online Search Results That Can Destroy Your Career

Negative Feedback on Your LinkedIn Profile: One of the first social media profiles that the HR will look is your LinkedIn profile and it contains any negative remarks or poor feedback from past employers, it can damage your chances of getting selected for the new job. Usually, your LinkedIn profile will contain your career details with some feedbacks given by your ex-employers. Those feedbacks reflect your skills and quality and employers consider them as vital information about the candidate.

Any Information about Your Arrest or Illegal Activities: If you are ever involved in any kind of illegal activities that resulted in your arrest or lawsuit filling, it can be found out through online search. If the HR of the company where you are going to attend the interview gets this information, it can damage your career. In most circumstances, the new company will be no interested in hiring you and will reject your profile.  

Poor Reviews by Ex-Employers: There are many sites that allow anonymous users to put reviews about you or your firm. If you are a job seeker and your ex- employers or employees have written a poor review about you, it can harm your future offers. A company will never like to hire an employee who has got poor reviews from ex-employers and therefore, it is always good to make sure, you have a good relationship with the ex-employers and colleagues so that you don’t get poor reviews.

Victim of Revenge Porn: In the last few years thanks to the growth of the internet, many people, especially young girls, have been a victim of revenge porn. It not only destroyed their career but also their life. Even though “revenge porn” is a term, there are many instances where you can become a victim of revenge porn even though there is no revenge motive involved in the case. Lately, there are many groups like Cyber Civil Rights Initiative have come forwarded against revenge porn and how it can affect one’s life, it is always better to be safe when dealing with strangers, so that you don’t become a victim of revenge porn.

Damaging or Defamatory Post about You: Today, due to the growth of the internet, anyone can post a blog or even create a website to damage your name. Any defamatory post about you, if seen by HR of the company you are planning to join, can harm your chances of getting your dream job. Whether you have actually committed the said mistake or crime does not matter much, as most companies do not wish to hire someone who is having a bad image in public eyes.

Conclusion

Negative search results about you can harm your future and therefore as a first step, you need to prevent yourself from posting anything that will land you in trouble. As a job seeker, it is your responsibility to make sure, you have a good relationship with your ex-employers and create a positive presence online.