career development
Taking Networking to the Next Level:
Getting Your Name Out There
by Katharine Hansen, Ph.D.
H
ave you ever Googled yourself?
You know... have you entered
your name into the well-known
Internet Google search engine to see
how many times your name appears on
the Web. To get a fairly accurate read-
ing of how often your name appears,
place it in quotation marks in Google,
e.g., “Katharine Hansen.” If you have a
very common name, add some other
identifying information, such as the
town you live in or your employer, e.g.,
“Katharine Hansen” “DeLand, FL”
“Quintessential Careers.”
What does this little exercise have
to do with networking? Even if you’ve
never Googled yourself, it’s possible
that an employer or recruiter has. It’s
part of an emerging practice — espe-
cially at senior and executive levels —
to find out how visible a prospective
employee is. The number of citations
or “hits” on Google is considered a
reasonable gauge of a candidate’s visi-
bility.
Networking has long been consid-
ered one of the most effective ways to building your aura as an attractive can- iation, religious preference, and even
job-hunt, in part because of the old didate for hire. Symbiotically, elevat- your family, could unfortunately work
adage that it’s not what you know but ing the world’s awareness of you cre- against you. A comment that you inno-
who you know. But increasingly, in the ates new opportunities for networking. cently post to an online discussion
Information Age, success can spring Keep in mind that employers and group could be viewed negatively by a
not just from who you know — but recruiters aren’t just looking for how prospective employer. The advice of an
from who knows you. many times your name pops up in a anonymous contributor to a Web log is
This article explores a new type of Google search. They’re also interested worth heeding: “Never post anything
passive networking with some very in how positive your online image is. that you wouldn’t be willing to read on
active elements. While some may con- Thus, you need to be very careful of the front page of the New York Times.”
sider getting your name out there to be how you project yourself online. The A New York resume writer, for
a form of personal branding or horn- Internet is a highly public medium, and example, tells the story of submitting
tooting, networking can provide personal information floating out there names of two executives to a recruiter
avenues for raising your visibility and in cyberspace about your political affil- who was unimpressed with both candi-
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