Dive Summary:
- Schools like Syracuse, Rochester and Johns Hopkins are beginning to offer students free help with online tools that put their most flattering and professional digital footprint front and center in Google searches, instead of party photos and prank videos that can hurt chances of employment even when that material belongs to another person with the same name.
- These schools are part of a growing trend based on studies that show most employers Google prospective hires and won't go past the first page of results, so while they don't get rid of the embarrassing material completely, they do help students push the better material forward.
- One such tool is Brand Yourself, which normally charges $10 per month for an account and launched as an affordable alternative to online reputation repair companies that charge hundreds and thousands of dollars per year--though Syracuse has struck a deal with the company to provide free access to undergraduates, graduates and alumni.
From the article:
Samantha Grossman wasn't always thrilled with the impression that emerged when people Googled her name. "It wasn't anything too horrible," she said. "I just have a common name. There would be pictures, college partying pictures, that weren't of me, things I wouldn't want associated with me." So before she graduated from Syracuse University last spring, the school provided her with a tool that allowed her to put her best digital footprint forward. ...