Ever heard of the term egosurfing? Dictionary.com defines egosurfing as searching the Internet to find references to one’s name or one’s personal information. Egosurfing may sound a little vain, but it is something that all students should do. It is common for employers to Google potential candidates to make sure their candidate is someone they would like to hire. This can sometimes make the difference between a company offering a job or choosing another candidate. Therefore, students should highly consider egosurfing their own names to make sure they are represented in a positive light – this goes for using search engines like Google and Bing, and social media profiles such as Facebook and Twitter.
University Career Services offers a free service, Reppler, which will scan a student’s social media accounts and show how they are perceived online. Reppler also can identify any potential issues and risks on social media profiles. In summary, students should egosurf and make themselves aware of their online reputation.