Online Reputation - Is it a thing?

Rob is working as an engineering manager in a software company. He is very ambitious and has set a goal to get into a senior leadership role in a famous multinational company he is passionate about working for. He had been preparing for it for months, and an opportunity finally emerged. Rachel, the recruiter from the MNC, reached out to Rob and explained to him about the open position. Rob shared his latest CV with her, which she forwarded to the hiring manager Kate. Many days and weeks passed, but Rob didn't hear back from the recruiter. After persistently pressing Rachel multiple times over email, she explained why they could not proceed with his application. Kate researched Rob online and, to her surprise, found some disturbing information about him. She found some criminal offenses and sexual abuse associated with his name. Rob was distraught and explained the backstory to Rachel.?

A few years ago, there was a massive data breach at a renowned financial institution where hackers stole millions of consumers' data. This data ended up in the darkweb, and unfortunately, Rob was one of the victims. The hacker further used Rob's information to search and brought more detailed information about him on the data broker websites. He used it to commit financial fraud, opened social media accounts that impersonated him, and indulged in sexual abuse with his friends and colleagues. He realized it after a few weeks when he lost his employment after one of his colleagues reported about him to HR. When he discussed his situation with his friend Ryan, who works for a cyber security firm, he suggested buying cyber protection and taking their help to clear up his name. Rob followed his suggestion and cleared up his name, but unfortunately, there were residues of this still left on the internet about him, which occasionally comes back and impacts Rob's life.

Rob is just one victim among hundreds of thousands impacted by identity theft. Different people with the same names, where one of them is the bad guy, often experience this as well. It happens to individuals as well as to organizations, businesses, products, and brands. It is so common that everyone turns to the internet and goes over the reviews about the product, company, or firm before they decide to purchase or work with them. Maintaining a healthy online reputation is necessary for the rapid digitalization era, whether securing a job or a client, getting a college/university admission, and selling your company's products and services. Hence, having no reputation is almost the same as having a bad reputation. How can one build a good online reputation?

• Cyber Protection?- Prevention is better than cure. In Rob's story, he could not prevent or at least react quickly before the damage happened. Having comprehensive cybersecurity protection would have helped Rob in securing his dream job. Let us not make a mistake and have cyber security. Please read my other article to learn more about cyber security's importance.?
• Social Etiquette -?Refrain from posting offensive and abusive content on social media and giving hate speeches in public forums. These will go a long way, leaving permanent scars on your reputation for the rest of your life.?
• Create your Personal Brand?- Like products and services, even individuals need marketing and promotion. Who else is more qualified as an ambassador of your brand than you? Only your near and dear may mostly know about your potential and achievements. Keeping your social media profiles up to date, being socially active, creating a healthy professional network, reflecting on your wins and accomplishments, sharing your knowledge and experience by writing blogs and articles, and finding opportunities for public speaking, creating a solid executive presence will eventually help you build your brand.?
• Professional Help?- Today, more professional services are available for building your resume and social media profiles. There are some reputed companies and startups now offering reputation management services for individuals and businesses. These are white glove services provided to consumers to increase their digital presence. They help consumers by writing and posting blogs and articles on their behalf. These services use AI/ML-based solutions to crawl through the search results of individuals and companies and calculate their reputation scores based on the content available on the internet. They push negative content down in the internet search results by surfacing more latest and authentic content to the top. For Rob and victims like him, this is a perfect solution to revive their online reputation and continue to chase their dreams. Some examples of these services are ReputationDefender, BrandYourself, etc.

Conclusion: Managing your online reputation is the key to your career growth. Building a false reputation may give you temporary success initially but eventually will hurt you. Hence trust and integrity is equally important, and your reputation should reflect that. It's good to see cybersecurity firms like GenDigital starting to offer reputation management services to their consumers alongside other cyber safety products. From Rob's story, you can see the value they can bring in to help cyber victims.