Barrett Group Fields Complaints of Employee Internet Job Screening

Released on: November 12, 2009, 11:19 am
Author: The Barrett Group, LLC.
Industry: Human Resources

Businesses spend a great deal of time and energy to develop strong reputations in their industries. As a result, employers are conscientious about the types of individuals they employ as their reputation may have an impact on the reputation of the business. Among others, The Barrett Group, a career management service, has witnessed a shift in job screening. It used to be that prospective employers would have a cover letter, a resume, references, and letters of recommendation that essentially encapsulated the candidate for hire.

With the ease of information access, more and more employers are using the Internet to screen potential employees. As a result, career management service businesses like Barrett Group llc. are becoming more mainstream and more valuable than ever. Studies have shown that 66% of hiring professionals use the Internet as a first screening and 50% report they disqualified a candidate based on the discovered data. As a result, it is becoming more and more important to be aware of one’s Internet presence.

Text-based media is notorious for miscommunication. Oftentimes comments and information found on Facebook, MySpace, or Twitter may be damaging to a job seeker when discovered by prospective employers. Frequently, the damaging Internet data is a mistaken use of words or information that is completely unknown to the job seeker. As a result, Waffles Natusch, President of The Barrett Group recommended on an NECN TV interview that their clients ‘google’ themselves annually under normal circumstances. “If you are in a job search, we recommend our clients check every single week.”

During the NECN TV interview, Waffles Natusch, discussed ways in which individuals can, “Remove the ‘derogatories’ or things you don’t want people to see or that are erroneous.” Many individuals are amazed as to how many people have their same name, which can create additional problems for one’s reputation. There are methods to resolve these issues. The three recommended steps are:

1. Search for one’s name, its variances, and nicknames on various search engines and remove unflattering content,
2. Click on and place positive content on the Internet through Twitter, blogs and circulating articles
3. Setup google alerts so that an email notification is sent when new content is placed on the Internet.

The bottom line is that there may be erroneous or misleading information on the Internet that can have a negative effect on one’s ability to find employment. Waffles Natusch explained that “…somebody may indeed post malicious things about you.” which may, “…interfere with career aspirations.” Many individuals can manage their reputation themselves and for others it is advantageous to seek out professional assistance.

The Barrett group serves a broad spectrum of business professionals by providing premier career management consulting. With a proven track record of success since 1990, Barrett Group clients receive professional career management services by engaging and highly experienced consultants that produce results.

The Barrett Group, LLC.
100 Jefferson Boulevard Suite 310
Warwick, RI 02888
Phone: 401-921-5443 or 1-800-304-HIRE
Office Hours: 9-5, M-F, EST