When it comes to your personal reputation, you may oftentimes find yourself wandering what is being said about you by those you know and those you do not.
Now, stop for a moment and think about how not only your personal reputation, but also your professional reputation could be taking a hit. Yes, that professional reputation that you’ve used to hopefully create a successful career up to this point and time. What if it has some skeletons in the closet that you in fact were not even aware about?
In today’s digital age, it is not entirely uncommon for individuals to find out only when it is too late regarding something being said about them, especially when it involves the Internet.
Now, imagine how worse the situation can get when it is more than just words. What if you have let’s say a warrant out for your arrest, something you had no idea about?
By doing a little research and staying on top of things, you can oftentimes stop potential trouble in its tracks.
With that being the case, is it time you knew what people were saying about you?
Be Pro-Active in Today’s Information Society
So that you can do everything possible to be pro-active and not reactive when it comes to your personal and professional reputations, keep in mind a few pointers:
- Internet – Like it or not, the digital age just about everyone lives in these days has its ups and downs. On the downside can be finding out you have an arrest warrant out for you, something you likely had no idea about before doing a computer search. If you do a warrant check and find that to be the case, you will at least remove the surprise aspect should you be stopped by law enforcement while driving, walking from one place to another, even just sitting at home one day. Given the emotions that oftentimes can boil over between citizens and law enforcement when one is stopped and found to have a warrant out for their arrest, knowing ahead of time can potentially avert disaster;
- Career – Don’t think even a traffic ticket can thwart your career plans? If so, think again. With all the information that is essentially out there on the Internet on citizenry of all walks of life, many employers are turning to the worldwide web to find out not only about their current workers, but also those they might hire down the road. As a result, it is imperative that you know as much about your current and past lives as employers do. By doing the occasional Google sweep of your name, you can discover if there is some unpleasant information about you floating around the Internet. If so, do your best to clean it up. Also, if you go in for a job interview, be sure you can answer any questions that an employer brings up regarding such information.
Personal Accounts Do Matter
- Relationships – Finally, what people are saying about you, along with what might be out there in terms of warrants or other issues can have a profound impact on your personal life too. Always keep in mind that some people will never form the right opinion about you, even in cases where you have done absolutely nothing wrong. That being the case, knowing what is out there about you takes on even more importance. From potential warrants to comments and/or images floating around social media, be as cognizant as possible. Doing so makes you less vulnerable to being prime-time gossip for those in your life, even those individuals closest to you.
Although you likely want to protect your online and offline identities as much as possible, you will likely find that you can cover everything.
As such, do your best to know what people are saying about you.