Quiz

Win your challenges with our unique solutions

Want solutions to the problems that keep you awake at night? That’s where Karmic Ally Coaching helps you create breakthroughs with customized radical and innovative solutions to issues that are keeping you stuck in a rut in the shortest time possible. Believe it or not, even high achievers hit roadblocks in their careers or on their journey to creating a business that expresses their Soul’s Vision and Purpose. Every transformation requires a willingness to accept change. Are you ready to embrace change? Find out with Karmic Ally Coaching's special quiz - Fearing Change or Confident to Win Challenges!
 

Are You Game to Accept the Karmic Ally Coaching Google Yourself Challenge?

This post has already been read 4750 times!

Self-Google-Challenge

Game to self Google yourself and find out what others know about you?

 

Have you ever used Google or other search engines like Yahoo or Bing to see what information is appearing about you?

I learned to Google for information more than 15 years ago when I used to collaborate with the National Marketing Manager at one of my employers for preparing our pitch book to prospective audit and consulting clients.

We used to come up with information that helped us to prepare strong business cases why our company was the obvious choice over the other Big Four because we used that information to leverage our appropriate strengths and description of the services that we could provide.

The same principles hold for self-google or what is commonly known as Egosurfing.

Egosurfing, self-googling, vanity searching, ego searching are all terms used to describe the practice of searching for one’s own name or pseudonym on a popular search engine in order to review the results and see what information appears.

The term was coined by Sean Carton in 1995 and first appeared in print as an entry in Gareth Branwyn’s March 1995 Jargon Watch column in Wired.

While it can be fun to egosurfing for entertainment and amusement, a regular google search for your name has many benefits. One of the most important is using the results for online reputation management

Let’s take an example. I was speaking to a friend about this and was permitted to do a Google search on their name with a challenge that I would only find them on LinkedIn or Google Plus because they had limited use of social media and did not use the internet enough.

Here are the results which are being shared with permission:

 Google the first and last name – the results related to my friend.

Google the first, middle and last name – apart from the first result on the first page of Google which belonged to the person, the rest belonged to namesakes. In fact 7 were on Facebook and the description displayed for Facebook  in the Google search was “Call Girl at Work while a Student at XX School”- which we both knew was not true. I know my friend and we went to a different school.

Both results showed private details of my friend on social media sites that we were not aware of and on 1 site we could see the telephone number and directions to the residence. Both results were not updated for the job and as far as the world was concerned, my friend  had been in the same job since 6 years with no career progression!

As we used to write with panache after solving Math and Calculus theorem exercises in school

Quad Erad Demonstratum – QED

The hard reality is that just like you have a real-life reputation, in today’s day and age of technology, you have an online reputation too.

Just as your real-life brand and reputation is based on people’s perceptions of you, when the internet gleans information about you from your various internet activities, you evolve an online reputation which influences searchers perceptions about you and your brand.

Nowadays, it is crucial for careerists to have an online profile considering the fact that potential employers and executive search firms do Google applicants’ names before they even create a shortlist.

In fact, I read in a recent article that 60% of people Google you before deciding to meet!

More statistics?

79% of recruiters and hiring managers screen applicants by information available online

86% of hiring managers have rejected someone based on information available online

When you meet fellow professionals and exchange cards at a networking event, they form a basic impression about you in the short time of the conversation.

Now suppose they decide to get to know you better and want to prepare for a meeting to discuss potential business opportunities with you. Just like the Marketing Manager and I used to Google the prospective client, they too may go online to learn more about you.

Whatever they find out can strengthen or weaken their perception about you.  If you have a robust online presence that is super but if the information is adverse – imagine what happens next.

That is why it is in your best interest to play an active role in creating information for people to find that creates a favorable perception.

Developing and managing an online presence should be an important part of your personal branding strategy.

If you want to see what others will find out about you then you should Google your own name from time to time.

 

EU Ruling on Right to be Forgotten

The European Court of Justice ruled that Google had to accept requests from individuals to delete objectionable search results linked with their names.

The exact words of the EU ruling are that Google must remove links to information that is “inadequate, irrelevant or no longer relevant, or excessive.” It has been referred to as the “right to be forgotten”.

However, this does not mean that if you apply, your request will be automatically granted. It also does not mean that if you posted a photo on Facebook during your college days and that you now regret, the removal would be deleted from the original source of the information.

At best, it will get buried a little deeper in the internet and just a little more difficult to find.

A better way is to manage your online reputation with care and strategy.

 

The Self-Google Challenge

For just a few seconds, put aside your thoughts of self-google as EgoSurfing and search for your name.

Open your laptop, desktop or mobile device and open your browser to Google.com and search for yourself.

Just as I did with my friend, search for different variations of your first, middle and last names.

Scroll through the results and see how many relate to you and how many to other people who share your name.

Dare to go deeper? Search your name with variations of your job positions, companies and terms related to your vocation.

Each time you do a new search, look and see what information about you comes up.

Let’s assess your Google search. Please note your findings:

– Are the results relevant and up to date? 

– Does it say who you are? Does it communicate a consistent image? 

– Are there important things (achievements) missing? 

– Do the pictures/ video support your image? 

 

Based on the results of the challenge, you can make an inventory of the information that you have discovered through your Self-Google and update those areas where you have control or can take quick control, for example Yatedo.

For the rest, I have created the Crack the Code to Your Professional Brand & Create an Awesome Online Presence Bundle.

 

 

Click here to learn more about this workbook and bonuses here. 

 

You can get rid of the results you don’t like by creating content that Google prefers over the other articles. This takes time but is well worth the effort.

Did you accept the Karmic Ally Coaching Self-Google Challenge? If yes, then what did you discover about yourself on Google? Any insights that made you stop to think?

Please do share in the comments box below.

 

Written by: Vatsala Shukla

 

12 Responses to “Are You Game to Accept the Karmic Ally Coaching Google Yourself Challenge?”

  1. Tamuria says:

    I hadn’t even considered checking myself out on Google before reading this. I checked it today and have set up an alert as you suggested. It would be horrible to have your reputation smeared online but worse would be not knowing so you can do nothing about it. Thank you for the great advice.

    • Karmic Ally says:

      Absolutely Tamuria. If we don’t know what is being said about us, we won’t be able to do anything about it. I had covered that in some detail in my recent teleclass on monitoring our brand using LinkedIn’s Social Selling Index.

  2. Kevin Duncan says:

    I’m afraid to accept the self-Google challenge. I haven’t checked in a while, but there once was a guy with my same name, within a year of my age, who lived in the same town as me.

    I’ve been afraid he would commit a crime or do something embarrassing, and people would think it was me. 🙂

    • Karmic Ally says:

      That is a legitimate fear, Kevin. 🙂

      Wouldn’t it be interesting to see what your namesake has been doing since? At least you would know what you need to disavow with Google!

  3. Loralee says:

    Great article! And I think it’s as essential (or possibly more) than keeping track of your credit score.

    I’ve been using a free tool from BrandYourself.com to help me stay on top of my top 100 hits. I used to have a quarterly “ego surfing” date with myself, to see what I might want to clean up, but their system has made it just a tiny bit easier. Have you used it?

    • Karmic Ally says:

      Thanks Loralee. I ego surf every week and have also set up Google Alerts both for myself and the Karmic Ally Coaching Experience. I joined Brand Yourself during its early days and find their alerts very useful.

  4. Lisa Mallis says:

    Thanks for the challenge! Good news – I googled myself and “my stuff” comes up on the first 3 pages when I use my full name . . . and all but one entry when I use only my first and last . . . so YEAH!

    • Karmic Ally says:

      Congratulations Lisa. Looks like your hard work at maintaining your online reputation is working. Keep it up!

  5. Rachel says:

    Thanks for this! I googled myself and realized there are an awful lot of people with the same name as me. I’ll have to work harder at raising my SEO so that my blog comes up first (it was fourth after images — only a couple of which were me — and three other websites.).

    • Karmic Ally says:

      You are most welcome, Rachel. Looks like you have your work cut out for you. 😉 It does come as a shock when one self-Google’s and finds out that you or or your website are not at the top but doing this exercise regularly also helps to gauge your reputation and success to be first. All the best. Do let me know how it goes.

  6. Bev says:

    Hi Vatsala ~ this is awesome information. I am sure there are so many people who don’t know about this! When I have FB friend requests or people messaging me the FIRST thing I do is google them!! Thanks for a deeper look into this!

    • Karmic Ally says:

      Thank you Bev. I do the same especially when I find the LinkedIn profile is incomplete. Our reputation is our responsibility whether off-line or online. 🙂

Meet your coach

I believe the world would be a better place if high achieving professionals accepted setbacks and challenges to their careers as Wake Up Calls to embark on a Journey where their empowered course correcting actions create a New World Order that encompasses achieving their career aspirations & potential with authentic life balance.

If you’re a driven, passionate, talented and ambitious professional  who’s hit a speed breaker in your business or career and want to create your desired breakthrough to reclaim control of your situation, then you’ve come to the right place because we can work together on customized strategies and tactics that deliver results.

When my clients first reach out to me, they are not in a very happy place, needing clarity about themselves, their desires, chosen vocation and what will give them peace of mind. They are drawn to me for the very reasons that I highlight in Who Is Karmic Ally Coaching.

Lack of recognition at work, inability to project themselves with confidence and frustration are just some of their professional problems that are playing havoc with other areas of their life. They know they need to take radical steps to change the status quo but they also know they need support and accountability to get them their desired result.

I really get it, because I’ve experienced that dark night of the Soul. I know firsthand the outcome of getting lost in my work rationalizing decisions that were detrimental to other aspects of my life.

Like you, I’ve struggled with and won battles of stress management, corporate politics, life balance and career decisions to emerge in a place where I can confidently say that I live my desired life according to my personal Manifesto and have created a business that provides me with a platform for my desired lifestyle and self-expression for myself. I want that for you too!

I adhere to the Certified Coaches Alliance Code of Ethics and Standards. A copy is available on request.
1st place BCB 2012
Email: Vatsala(at)karmicallycoaching(dot)com Phone:91 9818517664
error: Content is protected !!