If the hiring director at your dream company were to search your name on Google,  what would they discover? Would they uncover some questionable pictures of you on Facebook out at a chic club? Or maybe an inappropriate comment you posted on a friend’s wall years ago? Perhaps they would come across information about other people with a similar name, or worse—find nothing to suggest that you’re even a real person.

I decided it was time to check out what my possible employers were finding out about me on Google. I opened up my browser, went to the search engine, and just typed in my name. Simple enough, right? Well, I was less than satisfied about the results. Among other things, the first page of results included:

1. My twitter page – okay, fine, totally acceptable.
2. A Facebook group dedicated to the two years I spent on crutches, that I am no longer a member of – definitely not ideal, but I guess there could be worse results.
3. Two Facebook profiles for “Erica Petri,” neither of which are actually me – this is certainly not something I want possible employers to see or to associate with my name.
4. A list of the articles I have written for HerCampus.com, a national website for which I founded the Emory branch of, and serve as the Editor-in-Chief – definitely something I want my prospective employers to see—I just wish this came before the Facebook group and the misleading Facebook profiles.
5. A YouTube video of an Erica Petri singing a Spanish song – I’ve always wanted to be able to sing, but it’s just not a talent of mine. And I definitely cannot sing in Spanish.
6. A LinkedIn profile for the wrong Erica Petri – come on, at least show a list of the other Erica Petri’s on LinkedIn.
7. My blog that I have yet to start writing for – I should definitely do that soon.

The possibilities of what they could find are endless, and in today’s world, the unverified and elusive information on the Internet poses a huge problem to job seekers. A 2009 study conducted by CareerBuilders.com indicated that “45 percent of employers questioned are using social media networks to screen job candidates” (source). In addition, 35 percent of employers did NOT make a job offer due to the content they discovered on a social networking site. This is where Vizibility comes in, the world’s first SearchMe button for Google.

Vizibility helps individuals distinguish and highlight themselves online by creating the most precise personal search results. Vizibility allows users to pre-select the information shown in search results. The user can then post their SearchMe Button on a variety of personal profiles and social networking sites, thus directing possible employers to the information that they chose to be displayed.

To view the rest of the article, visit ebranding.me

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