Your Visibility on the Web
Amazingly enough, people often do not consider what they are relaying to the world when they place posts on the internet. Everything from using provocative screen names or user ID’s, to verbiage that could be considered offensive and inappropriate in business or dangerous for minors to peruse, can be found online. Before you make another entry on Facebook, add a post to your personal blog, or ever send another IM or email, here are some valid points worth your consideration.
If you are seeking new employment or a business owner trying to expand your client base, do not be surprised if the prospective company has conducted a web search on your name. In fact, these web searches will usually include your name, your email address and any instant messenger accounts you have provided them. If you are marketing your business entity, the searches will also include the company’s name and company’s URL.
For employment candidates, many HRIS and recruiting software packages utilized perform standard searches for your name and aliases on Google, Yahoo, Facebook, MySpace, Delicious, Digg and more. When you submit an online application through their websites, the software automatically generates the search and attaches a link of the search results in their database. If your level of professional courtesy and online etiquette displayed in the results is lacking when compared to that of the company’s culture, expect to be passed over for the position.
The same is true for business owners and sales persons trying to generate new clients and revenue. Especially true in sluggish economies, decision makers are investigating potential business partners and vendors more closely. If you own and operate a small business website, it is highly recommended that you do not utilize your business email address or company name as log in ID’s for personal social networking accounts. The reasoning behind this is rather simple. Ponder this hypothetical situation, where you hold a very controversial viewpoint on the subject of Affirmative Action Programs and have made some colorful remarks on a social networking site under your company’s name. Shortly thereafter, you are attempting to sign a new client who promotes themselves as a proponent of Affirmative Action. Should the prospective client find your remarks during a web-based screen, it may impact their decision to engage your firm.
Even if you are not a job seeker, a business owner, a marketing or sales representative, it is still advisable to be wary of what you post online, what you utilize for an email address and user ID’s. You may not be seeking a new position at the moment, but what you post on the internet is there forever. There could come a time in the future when what you did online eons ago could jeopardize your success in landing a new position or gaining a new client. Consider each of the following points regarding personal choices during online activities:
Creating email accounts
When creating an email account, consider what your choice says about you professionally. This is especially important if you will be using this email address not only for business correspondence, but also as your user ID for logging into social networking sites. Refrain from provocative, controversial or offensive verbiage, selecting instead something that displays a high level of professionalism. Whether setting up a Gmail, Hotmail, Yahoo, MSN, Google or any other email account, use wording that reflects your name, profession, or professional field.
As an example, let us depict a fictitious person named Sally Someone who is a professional copywriter by trade. Appropriate choices could include the following name choices followed by the email service provider:
SSomeone
CopywritingSally
SallyAuthor
The following would be considered inappropriate user name choices if Sally ever plans on seeking new employment or generating freelance copywriting clients:
SwingingSally
Sally2hot4u
Selecting website domain names
The same holds true if the aforementioned Sally decided to market her copywriting online through her own website. The domain name she selects should reflect the skills, products or services she is marketing in a professional manner. Appropriate domain name choices might include:
copywritingbysally
sallyscopywritingservices
Whereas domain names that are unrelated to the skills, products or services, such as these should be avoided:
swingingsally
sally2hot4u
Website Content
When formulating the content text that will be placed on your website, ensure that it is grammatically correct. This includes making sure that there are no misspellings, that the verbiage is conjugated correctly and that all punctuation is placed appropriately.
If you are planning to utilize your website as a means to gain clients, to sell your products or services, the content should be enticing while informing the reader about what you offer. Websites that have numerous grammatical errors, misspellings and do not flow well can actually scare off a potential customer. If your writing skills are substandard, your best alternative is to engage a professional SEO copywriter to supply you with content for your web pages.
Above all, ensure that what is posted on your website would not be considered offensive to any reasonable person. Additionally, it is important to note that many directories bar sites that contain images or text considered pornographic. If the text you are debating posting on your website is not something that would please a prospective employer, perhaps the content should be altered.
Email Salutations
When composing emails, particularly those being sent to prospective employers or prospective clients, one should always commence with a proper salutation. Just as when composing a business letter, a proper salutation should include the person name preceded by a greeting. If the specific person’s name is unknown, then a greeting plus the job title will often suffice.
As an example, Sally is sending her resume to the HR department at a publishing firm. If the recruiter’s name is Joseph Smith, then her email should start with, “Dear Mr. Smith”. If she does not know the recruiter’s name, then it would be appropriate to use, “Dear Recruiter”, as the salutation.
Using verbiage such as “howdy”, “hi” or not using a salutation at all is considered professionally discourteous.
Social Networking Posts
This sub topic is so vast it could be used as the subject matter of a complete book. For the sake of brevity, here are two important points to consider every time one considers making a post online.
Before posting your entry, consider if you would be comfortable having every family member, every neighbor, your current, previous and future work supervisors reading it. Visualize your entry appearing on the front page of the Sunday newspaper across the country as the major headline for the day. If you encountered the slightest hesitation or concern – do not post your commentary – you may regret making such a post at a later date.
The second is based on the familiar cliché, that if you don’t have anything good to say about someone, perhaps the most valiant course of action is to not say anything. Just recently, several cases were found in favor of the plaintiff where the defendant posted slanderous information on social networking sites. Additionally, if you are making posts regarding extremely controversial subjects, using verbiage that could be considered offensive or adopting a very antagonistic tone, future employers or prospective clients might not deem you or your services an appropriate fit for the corporate culture.
The above points should not be considered all-inclusive for promoting a professionally savvy personality on the worldwide web, but rather as a reference on how to commence your approach to framing how your internet presence and visibility appears to others, especially future employers, recruiters and prospective corporate clients.
It is often amazing to see the truckloads of stuff some parents traipse around with for an afternoon visit to grandma’s house. Is it really necessary for a few short hours to bring along a portable pen or crib, an activity chair or walker, the stroller or carriage plus a diaper bag the size of a cargo trunk? For the newborns and the smallest tykes, a simple blanket spread on the floor is usually adequate plus a small bag of essentials. Pack the diaper bag with a change of clothing, several diapers and cleaning cloths, a bottle or two, a binky and a couple of playthings, and that will suffice. You don’t need to bring the entire nursery for a few hours, especially since the grandparents will most likely not let the precious bundle out of their arms during your entire visit.
