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Online Nicknames Google better than Real?
An anonymous reader writes "I was recently laid off, and during several of the interviews looking for a new job as a mid level IT manager, I was asked "So, I can just Google your name and find some of your work?" The answer is "yes", but searching for my name doesn't really bring up many results compared to searching for my online nickname which I have been using for about a decade. I am very tempted just to put that nickname on my resume. Is the professional, albeit technical, world ready for this step? Where should I put it? At the top or somewhere in the body?" And the other problem- how hard will it be to get a job when your nickname is something ridiculous. Boy I wish I would have thought of that in 95 ;)
Back in the early 90s usenet was "safe" because everyone knew that it got expired after a week or two. We all used our real names and email addresses too. Then someone found some old backup tapes 10 years later and handed them over to Google.
A friend of mine was quite a good troll back then, but now it haunts him due to his unique name. He's written Google and gotten them to delete his posts, but they won't delete other people's posts that quote him, so he's a bit screwed. I advised him to start posting lots of technical stuff to hopefully flood out the bad crap, and then write off the rest as youthful indiscretion.
Another friend who is now in his 40s got busted and convicted for dealing drugs when he was a teenager and spent a few years in jail. He's absolutely reformed now and eventually got a pardon from the governor of the state he was convicted in. He has no trouble getting a tech job these days -- except for banks. He doesn't even bother applying there.
Also, doing drugs won't stop you from being President these days, saying the wrong thing 20 years ago will.
Moral of the story, do drugs, don't talk shit on the net.
(Gawd, this tongue-in-cheek post is going to come back to haunt me someday I bet...)
Collect your online work into your own portfolio and put that online (with the URL on your resume). That way many employers will see your work without all the crap that might show up in a Google search. If they want to Google you anyway then they will and you can't control that, but putting your best work forward might satisfy their curiosity or at least draw a line between what you're serious about and what you've put on the web as part of your personal life. If you give your employer enough information to get a good picture of you, they likely won't look much further. And a portfolio gives you control over what they'll see.
Sure, that's a good idea, but your online nickname doesn't need to be on a resume. The emphasis should be on the projects you created or contributed to, not some virtual persona. You should explain in person, the online or FOSS projects that relate to the position applied for, and earn their trust. The whole notion of googling a nickname being more validating than telling someone the work you've done and demonstrating your knowledge is ridiculous. It comes down to trust (both ways). Besides, if you _really_ cared about getting recognition from the professional, err.. real world for your online projects, use your real name or at least a semi-professional looking email address!
Here it is in a nutshell, if your potential employer is relying on a google search to make a decision, YOU FUCKED UP YOUR INTERVIEW.