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I'll admit that I have always wanted the ability to turn invisible.  Always.  Probably one of my earliest wishes.  I still wish this on a daily basis.  Think of all the things you could see and do if nobody knew you were there!  Way better than flying or super strength.

But if you are a job seeker, either active or passive, this is the last thing you should wish for, really.  I touched on this in my previous post, "Which is Worse, Bad Brand or No Brand?".  And it bares further exploration. 

Believe it or not I still run across people who are afraid to list any public info on social networks, etc.  However these same people will often upload a resume to a job board containing their full address, phone number, etc.  Makes no sense to me. 

If you are truly afraid of identity theft, telemarketers, or any number of other valid concerns then you should be on top of everything that is available about you on the Internet.  You are likely not quite as invisible as you think. 

If you think that anonymously posting extreme opinions or lewd comments on blogs or forums gives you that invisibility power, think again.  Many of the sites on which you post have ways to trace you.  And if you have ever registered for anything with your real email address, but didn't use your real name, try checking out Spokeo to see how transparent you can be, or not be.

 Web Worker Daily has some good thoughts on keeping your personal brand clean and safe in this article.  These steps will help you get a handle on how your are seen on the web.

The benefits of beefing up your online profile are numerous.  If you are a job seeker, they are essential.  Sure, submitting resumes to want ads still pays off occasionally.  But you should spend some of that time carefully crafting a profile online that steers potential employers directly to you.

Start with something easy like LinkedIn and maybe Facebook.    Gear your profiles here to give a full picture of your successes and capabilities.  Think of your target audience as someone for whom you would like to work (wow, proper grammar sounds strange sometimes).  This minimal effort will be a big difference in your favor over another job candidate who is "invisible".

Believe me when I tell you that when a recruiter or hiring manager goes looking for you (or someone like you) while seeking candidates for a job opening, or more info about a specific candidate they are considering for a job, and finds nothing, it's not a good thing.  Although it sounds fun to to be invisible, if you are looking for a job, you want to be as visible as possible.

Ask Kevin Bacon (Hollow Man), Jessica Alba (Invisible Girl), or Daniel Radcliffe (Invisible Cloak); they will likely tell you that it's fun to play at being invisible.  And they all probably wish they could really disappear at times.  But when it comes to being considered for a job they likely want as much positive info available as possible.  They want to be seen and found.  -CF

Labels: branding, careers, jobs, Social Networking