I know what you did last summer...

A fine Labor Day morning to you,

Well, summer's over today. Time to put the whites back in the closet, get the grill ready for tailgate season, and, importantly, it's time to Google yourself.

You see, with the Web being the first place that people go to search for things to buy, places to fly, or new things to try, it's also where recruiters and hiring mangers go to learn about you "on the sly."

And it's important to Google more than just your full name. When companies are trying to poke around in your history, they'll search out all of your past experiences. Check it out, each of these searches yield different results:

Marc
Marc Cenedella
Marc Cenedella TheLadders
Marc Cenedella New York
Marc Cenedella Harvard Business School
Marc Cenedella 10013

It's the first page of results that's most important. Go through these searches and check each of the links on the first page to understand how you are being presented or referenced on the web.

If all you find is glowing praise and adulation, fantastic for you and congratulations!

But if you find material that might put you in the wrong light, it's important to try and do something about it:

Patch up: If you control the site or page that has the troubling information or photos, patch up your online reputation quickly by removing or deleting the questionable material.

Push it down: If you do not control the site, another way to improve your online reputation is to push the offending material down in the results. By expanding your presence on social networks, blogs, and community forums, you can generate new, highly relevant web content that could get ranked higher in the search results than the bad information.

Petition: It's a long shot, but if you're unable to remove the offending information, you can petition the site owner or webmaster to remove it. You are asking for a favor, so never approach a website proprietor with outrage, incredulity, or legal posturing. I can almost guarantee that won't work.

You best bet is to humbly seek their help... "I'm looking to clean up my online reputation so that my family, friends, and business colleagues won't get the wrong idea about me. There is some unfortunate information on your website, and I'd really appreciate it if you would consider removing this particular bit. I know you have the right to have whatever you want on your site, and perhaps you didn't even put everything up there yourself. So I would really appreciate it if you could help out a guy who is in a little bit of a jam."

Again, the anonymous Internet seems to make e-mail arguments much easier, and many website operators can be very prickly about preserving their independence, so never, ever take a high-handed or aggressive approach.

Prepare: If patching, pushing and petitioning don't work, that means you'll have to prepare for the question in your job interview. Simply and clearly state the circumstances that led to the bad information and then stop. Don't go into a long or tortured conversation about implications, how it makes you feel, or how unfair it is. By being open, honest and sensible, you may actually be able to come out ahead...

"Yes, during the downturn I was required to let go over 200 people in my division. Unfortunately, several of the impacted people shared their negative viewpoints of my performance in that role online. I can understand and sympathize with their anger, but I thought that preserving the ability of our company to survive very difficult economic times was in our best interests.

"Is there anything specific I can address for you?"

If you forthrightly answer the question, show an openness to further inquiry (the appetite for digging through dirty laundry in person is actually much smaller than you'd imagine), and then move on, you'll be doing the best to put a positive spin on an unfortunate situation.

OK, Readers, hope you're having a great Labor Day, and that you're ready to get cracking come tomorrow....

Warmest regards,

Marc Cenedella, Founder & CEO, TheLadders.com

Follow me on Twitter here.

Author's note:

I've been writing these newsletters weekly for almost a decade in order to provide you with the advice, encouragement, and assistance you need in your professional job hunt. I'll take what we've learned at TheLadders during the week, or experiences I've had with job-seekers all over the country, and try to find a usable lesson, a valuable insight, or a helpful tip to share with you on Monday morning (my writing deadline is 3 p.m. every Sunday afternoon).

I do read every one of your replies to this newsletter. Because of the volume of replies — typically over 1,000 per week — I'm unable to answer you personally, but one of our very qualified staff from our Job Search Support team will get back to you — most of the time within three hours or less.

As I am interested in every reply I get, I'll also occasionally reach out directly by phone or by email to say thanks, or ask a question, or to see how we can solve your problem better. Thanks for reading!