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Job Search Tips for College Students: Build a Positive Web Presence, Employers Will Google You

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Job seekers may be wasting their time pulling out their hair to optimize their resume when the chances of an employer reading it are already very low.

According to Job-Hunt.org's Susan P. Joyce, most employers Google job seekers' names before reading their resume. Afterward, they match what they find on the Internet to the resume.

This means job seekers need to focus more on what turns up in a standard Google search of their name and making sure it reflects their resume. For most job seekers, LinkedIn will be among the top three results. The professional social media tool is a perfect online resume that is much quicker and easier for employers to read.

Another site that comes up high on the list is About.me, if the person has an account. About.me allows the user to write a short blurb about him or her self as well as link to all personal websites or blogs, as well as their accounts on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and other social media sites. Your employer may not want to see these, but being transparent with them is a plus.

Joyce wrote for the Huffington Post that 80 percent of employers take three steps before inviting a job seeker to an interview. They take so much precaution because an interview can be costly for a potential employer, but is not nearly as costly as hiring the wrong person for the job.

1.     The job seeker's resume may be classified "possible" or "no."

2.     Of the "possibles," candidates are divided into "more likely," "less likely" and "no." All members of the "possible" group are Googled.

3.     The "more likely" group is screened further and their web results are compared to their resume.

4.     Formal interview invitation extended.

Joyce noted that a job seeker has full control of what an employer will find on a standard Google search. She said job seekers can even use this technique to make themselves more attractive to potential employers and heighten their chances of winding up as a "more likely."

"DO NOT be happy if they find nothing about you on Google!" Joyce wrote (emphasis is hers). "That means either of two things to most employers -- you don't know how the world works today (so you are out-of-date) or you are hiding something. Neither of those two impressions will help you in your job search.

"If you prefer, think of it as 'personal branding.' The greater your positive online visibility, the better your online reputation, and the greater the likelihood that you will have a response to your resume the next time you submit it to an appropriate opportunity."

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