Fooling recruiters with google results
 

Some time ago it was on the news that when someone applies for a job that the recruiter often googles that persons name before the job interview. Just a quick background check, in hope he finds something interesting.

When I google my own name the results arn't exactly something to write home about. I only get one single result; I've gone to some geeky political event in the past and now it seems to be haunting me on the web. I actually find this quite disturbing as i always try to keep my things private and rarely give out my real name anywhere.

I've been pondering about how I could fix this situation. My resume isn't exactly special - and now i've also got some stupid google result to deal with.

This morning, when i woke up, it all suddenly came to me. I'm gonna make a fairly neutral looking webbie with some amazing accomplishments of mine. I just can't decide upon which amazing achievements, accomplished and successes i've had in my life. So maybe GD has some bright idea's on this.

What would you guys want your job interviewer to read when he googles your name?

Re: Googling your name
 

the first result thats actually about me, is the press release from my uni about my winning an award in first year for being the best student, so :happy:
besides you can exercise your rights under the dpa to get personal information about yourself deleted if you really wanted to

Re: Googling your name
 

'Personal information' under the terms of the DPA doesn't mean what most people think it means though. It was something of a tragic lollercaust when people didn't want their forums information handed over to Jolt when they took over PA. I own my screenname dammit!

However, when throwing my name into Google I'm not in the first 17 pages of results and didn't fancy trawling the rest. There're advantages to having a name shared by baseball players and ex-Treasury secretaries.

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I can't find anything about me whatsoever :)

Re: Googling your name
 

I dont know what this is all about but it seems he has written some pretty good columns in the past:
http://i27.tinypic.com/bk4yd.jpg :salute:


Just playing with ideas

Re: Googling your name
 

you know lying to a future employer is lying whether you put the lie on your cv or put it on the internet and hope they'll find it ...

Re: Googling your name
 

Employers also tend lie at potential employee's about what kind of fantastic job opportunities their offering at their terrific company. It's all part of the game. Besides, i'll do it in such a way that they'll most likely be fooling themselves.

Re: Googling your name
 

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Actually in my country lying to a future employer voids your rights to our rather fantastic protective employment laws.

what a hoot

Re: Googling your name
 

Well here only if it's relevant for the job. They can't fire me for not having the hobbies or interest that I said i had for example.

Re: Googling your name
 

and no one gets a job based on hobbies and interests so why this absurd obsession

Ah yes.

It's because you weren't talking about hobbies and interests.

You don't even have a career in politics the way this is going ...

Re: Googling your name
 

you can get turned down for one though on the basis of not having interests that propel you above the other candicates and are beneficial to the job

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bollocks.

Re: Googling your name
 

Theoretically, a future employer might find this.

The best part is of course things like Facebook.

My real name only shows a petition I signed along with 4000 other people and my tax listings :(
But then again, very few people know my full name as it's not information I like to hand out to just about anyone. And that's a personality trait (even tho in my case maybe a bit too extreme) that's completely lacking in today's generation. I doubt people realize how potentially dangerous a picture on the web or your name in the wrong place is.

Re: Googling your name
 

Ofc you can. If you have candicate a, and candicate b. Both are equally qualified, pleasant, etc - but one of them has an interest in the area they'll be working in; which would you choose?

Re: Googling your name
 

Fret not Snurx my dear - there are only two types of vacancy anyone can apply for:

The candidate rich job - in which case there will be faaaaar too many candidates to bother searching

or

The candidate poor job - in which case they won't care or even risk rocking the boat

There is no middle ground. The whole concept is a media fabrication based on late nights at the pub and the need to write a story people will believe

Re: Googling your name
 

How on earth could someone prove that 'I' 'lied' 'to them' anyway. The internet is pretty anonymous and it's also common knowledge that the internet isn't the most reliable source of information around. I can't help that my name ended up their.

Re: Googling your name
 

see your problem phillip dear is applying cold logic. instead you should apply empathy

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well (and i'll do this step by step because you're acting like a child) IF you create a fake webpage claiming achievements you do not have

AND IF you do so hoping the employer will look at it and give you the job

AND IF they do give you the job and find out

THEN you will be sacked (any UK empoyer would sack on principle) and you would lose at any first instace trial (assuming you had the balls to sue) WHICH would cost you 2 to 4 grand.

the points you raise may well be of academic interest to an appeal court but that would cost between 10 and 20K

I'm guessing, and it is just a guess, that you can't actually afford that right now

You are utterly naive - if you lie in this way the company will ditch you - why on earth wouldn't it?

Re: Googling your name
 

Here we have a special court that specialises in employment laws (and civil cases involving 5000 euro or less), the subdistrict court. Legal help should be available for everyone afterall. The 'griffierights' or the costs are about 80 to 290 euro in employment disputes, which the losing party has to pay. Their is no need for a lawyer as it's a civil proceeding. Costs arn't exactly an issue. And for the employer their is no way to appeal.

Ofcourse an employer can fire someone based on something they found on a website which wasn't even true. But they cannot reasonably argue that I intentionally deceived them by making that website, if they can even manage to connect that website to me. If they hire people on the basis of information found on the internet then they intentionally take a risk. It may sound childish but it's the simple truth. If they hired me on the basis of their own wrong assumptions then it's their own fault. If they fire me, i disagree, and they cannot justify it then it will cost them. If they didn't take it to court themselves, to terminate my contract, then it will proberbly cost them even more.

Re: Googling your name
 

you are planning to intentionally decieve. I would advise you not to.

I'll discuss law with a lawyer and hence not with you.

I am advising you to not lie. That is advice i will stick to.

Do as you wish; i have no intention of running your life for you

Re: Googling your name
 

Being active in your student environment (e.g. student organizations) boosts your CV. That is what will distinguish two candidates who are similar on other areas.

The only things that comes up when I search my name is a ranking in a sporting event, the phone number and a gaming site (can they reveal that? Thought "nicknames" were there for a reason. Not that it matters much.)

Alessio, I would not make a site like that. If they for some reason should find out, you will look like an asshat. Honesty gets you much farther than lying in the long run.

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It is rather obvious that you need to take the source of any information on the web into account. An employer should therefore obviously be careful if they read some fantastic info about your person on some page which can be easily forged or is controlled by somebody they cant even verify. Therefore your attempt shouldnt work too well unless the employer has no clue about the internet.

Now if the employer isnt completely stupid, they may actually find out that the pages are forged. In that case they would likely suspect you. Lets say - if you dont know how to gather HTTP/DNS infos about the server and dont know how to forge file dates on an apache/IIS server, you should better not try to put up a forged page ;)

Yes you can. Manipulating the page ranks in common search engines is a normal business nowadays. Check SEO contest for example.

Re: Googling your name
 

I googled myself and didn't find anything about me personally. I did however find a website with a history of my Scottish family name with crest and motto.

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Lots of people with PhDs and Doctorates and in the employ of fashion magazines, but no me unfortunately.

Re: Googling your name
 

What on earth are you talking about? If a potential employer decides to independently google your name, and finds some "fake" information you've posted somewhere, that can hardly be regarded as you lying to them.

It's like saying that if an employer saw a picture of me on Facebook dressed in a Top Gun costume, then sacked me because I'm not really an elite fighter pilot who flies with the best of the best.

Re: Googling your name
 

I thought the candidate selection process in general was now focussed on evidence based examples i.e. it's no good to say "i worked as an IT support desk worker" you've got to say "i worked as an IT support desk worker" AND give examples of the times you:

* dealt with a difficult or abusive customer
* solved a problem in a new or innovative way
* responded positively to change
etc etc etc

As such putting up bogus details online is a complete waste of time (but that's already been stated by Yahwe in his 'candidate rich / candidate poor' example). You're FAAAAAR better off actually keeping a note of particular achievements you've accumulated in your job It should be noted that if you don't actually achieve anything in your job you should start putting in that extra effort if you want a new one 'cause you'll need things to talk about in any interview you might get.

Re: Googling your name
 

theres one link about me and its some kind of student poker thing i signed upto:\

Re: Googling your name
 

this forum. A couple of random things like that racing game. And a lot of stuff about my local councellor who happens to have the same name as me.

Re: Googling your name
 

the law and various other things you don't understand.

Re: Googling your name
 

I once saw Paul O'Neil hit a home run.

Re: Googling your name
 

What do you think a person's chances of being hired would be if they listed "playing Planetarion and chatting on GD" on their application for a job?

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When I googled my name there was one hit on an old case that I handled. Of greater interest to me was the fact that Moore Fleming Ltd. showed up. Moore is not my first name. However, Moore Fleming Ltd. is in Leicester, UK. My first name is Lester which I believe has the same pronunciation as Leicester, more-or-less.

Re: Googling your name
 

I actually won the galaxy banner competition once. It might hold some value for a clueless jurist who's terrible at English. I still blink away a tear when i think about it. Also, I've been a top 100 planetarion player, which could only be achieved by showing my communicative and leadership skills in an international setting to manage several dozens of people in tight situations, even if it meant overworking. Maybe my former alliance members are willing to be references for my outstanding duties as an officer.

You might be able to refer to it as relevant experience if the recruiter is woman. Rumors go that women tend to hold chatting skills in high regard aswell.

Re: Googling your name
 

Nah, it's pronounced Ly-sess-tuhr.

Re: Googling your name
 

Not really I'm jus fukkin' wit ya.

Re: Googling your name
 

sorry i dont even know where i was going with that :(

Re: Googling your name
 

So, what IS the proper pronunciation of Leicester?

As far as that goes, what is the English pronunciation of Lester?

Re: Googling your name
 

try to understand that making a webpage that lists bogus achievements isn't lying to your employer if the material on the webpage is never discussed with your employer.

try to understand that with any position that requires certain qualifications, they will be discussed with your employer.

try to understand that if a company actually hires someone based on a website and finds out it contained false information, they will fire that person due to them being unqualified for the position. that will be their justified reason, not because the employee 'lied' to them via internet propaganda.

Re: Googling your name
 

Jesus value all of your opinions however irrelevant, stupid or boring they may be.

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shit you're a fed cheese it

Re: Googling your name
 

It's going to vary by accent, but I'll give it a bash.


I pronounce Leicester the same way as I pronounce Lester, but with a slight difference.


Les- is pronounced as 'less'

Leicester = Less-ta

(as in fiesta)

Lester = Less-ter

(-ter pronounced as in TER-minate)

Re: Googling your name
 

Mine name is so common as to not be worth googling. I don't even have a middle name to make myself stand out in a google search.

Re: Googling your name
 

You only pronounce it like that 'cause you're a soft southern ponce. dda, it's pronounced the same (i.e. with an rrrr).

Re: Googling your name
 

I disagree that furball's failings are necessarily southern.

try as i do but lester and leicester sound the same to me

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They're incredily similar but I pick up on a slight difference. Perhaps your intonation isn't quite as nuanced.

Re: Googling your name
 

I googled my name and the first result was a gay bondage site. Will this negatively influence my chance of finding a job, when the time comes?

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you have a speech impediment - let's not get cocky.

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Yeah they're exactly the same.

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I got 432 google hits on my name. The first 20 were about me. Number 21, 23 and 31 were about someone who has the same name. The rest seemed to be 80-90 percent mostly about me. I think that gives me an advantage when I apply for public relations jobs.