RSS FeedThe Most Important Research You May Never Do (Part Two!)
8 September 2010In a previous post on DocHunterDiary, we explored the importance of doing a bit of pre-interview investigating of one’s own media presence. Before you embark on your practice search, you need to know: What is the internet saying about you? You need to find out before a recruiter, hospital executive, or future colleague finds any potentially disparaging information about you on the internet, so that you can anticipate any questions or concerns, fix any issues, or at least be prepared to explain them.
In a conservative industry such as healthcare, it often doesn’t take much to scare off a potential employer. Obviously, any egregious malpractice or criminal background pose a problem, but did you know that any revealing photos, comments, etc. could be considered to be “in poor taste” and may turn off a potential employer?
With an increased popularity in social media, and an age where so much information is catalogued on the internet, there are layers upon layers of information that are stored about you online. Google only scratches the proverbial surface when it comes to accessing personal information about a candidate (such as yourself) online. There are several websites which now specialize in aggregating and storing vast amounts of information about individuals across the globe. In addition to doing the basic Google search, you should also be checking with these sites to see what information they are displaying about you.
At the very least, you can identify people who have the same name as you, and be prepared to explain that their data is not you. For example, upon doing a search for my name, numerous people are identified by the name “Andrea Santiago,” from teenage students to elderly folks in a variety of countries. “Andrea Santiago” is a student, a tennis player, a softball player, a medical recruiter*, a writer*, a doctor, a criminal, and more. (*For the record I personally only identify with the writer and medical recruiter – the other Andrea Santiagos are completely different people!) Often there are even doctors who share the same name, or very similar names, which can be confusing when researching backgrounds online.
Before you start interviewing or talking to recruiters, you should conduct a search of your name on the following sites:
- www.pipl.com – This site contains a lot of information regarding addresses, residences, jobs, public records, and government documents. It pulls information from sites such as spokeo.com. You will search by your name and a location.
- www.polymeta.com – this site pulls information from a variety of sources. Search by your name.
- www.viewzi.com – This site is great for uncovering one’s social media sites and accounts, as well as any blogs, blog comments, or mentions on any website about any topic. If someone wrote an article, was interviewed for an article, or was referenced in an article or mentioned on any website, it will show up here. You can search your name, your website, anything.
Additionally, searching works both ways – you can also uses these sites to search your future colleagues or employer to see if there are any concerns that may need to be addressed.
More:
- The Most Important Research You May Never Do – (Part 1)
- Follow The Medicus Firm: Facebook | Twitter | LinkedIn
- Search practice opportunities
top
April 17th, 2012 at 6:43 pm
[...] The Most Important Research You May Never Do (Part 1 and Part 2) – these posts helped physician candidates and other medical professionals find out what the internet is saying about them, and how to manage their online presence effectively. Part 1 was actually a 2009 post, but we can’t mention this year’s part 2 without including part 1, as both of these posts were very popular. [...]