The Reputation Economy

Digital Reputation.

[I believe] The first time I heard this concept was watching one of the many videos of the AMEX Inside the Entrepreneurial Mind Series. Highly recommended by the way.

I remember thinking it was just the right way to condense something perhaps so obvious that many tend to overlook: the fact that your digital reputation is as important as your real world one.

See, today I started collecting applications for my agency's summer internship program and as I was going through so many resumes, I couldn’t control but realize how important a candidate’s digital footprint has become.

100% of the candidates are on Facebook.
60% have a blog.
30% belong to a sort of community or online group.
10% are on Foursquare.

[Clearly, this information is roughly estimated base on vague exploration]

Anyway, I guess what I am trying to say is that these days [in some fields more than other] having a great resume just doesn’t cut it. There is an embedded competitive advantage that comes with having some sort of digital reputation. Think of it as a window for recruiters to sneak into a candidate’s mind. Or something like that.

Biased? Perhaps. But ultimately it depends on what are you looking for and how do you use this information. Personally, I’ve used the approach as a starting point and, so far, the results have been quite positive. It has truly helped some candidates to stand out from the crowd.

Don’t get me wrong. It is not a requirement. Eventually the interview remains as the more tangible opportunity for a candidate to shine and get that desired spot. But I won’t deny that walking the talk gives you a pretty good competitive advantage.