jobs.ac.uk - Great jobs for bright people
  • Find a Job
  • Find PhDs
  • Career Advice
  • Jobs by Email
  • Advertise a Job
  • Recruiters
  • Your Account

  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to secondary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

career-advice.jobs.ac.uk

Secondary Sidebar

jobs.ac.uk Career Advice

  • CV and Cover Letter Advice
    • CV Tips
    • Free CV Templates
    • Cover Letters with Examples
    • Personal Profiles
    • CV Resources
  • Jobseeking and Interview Tips
    • Jobseeking Tips
    • Academic Interviews
    • Professional Interviews
    • Jobseeking and Interview Resources
  • Career Development
    • Academic Careers
    • Research Careers
    • Career Progression Stories
    • Professional Careers
    • Working in Industry
    • Career Development Resources
    • Global Careers
    • Working From Home
  • Women in Higher Education
  • FE Career Advice
    • FE CV & Interview Tips
    • Working in FE
    • Managing your Career in FE
    • FE Jobs Profiles
  • Resources
    • Academic Case Studies
    • Professional Case Studies
    • Job Profiles
      • Biological Science Jobs
      • Health and Medical Jobs
      • Engineering and Technology Jobs
      • Computer Science Jobs
      • Physical and Environmental Science Jobs
      • Professional Service Jobs
        • Business Development Manager Jobs Profile
        • Chef Jobs Profile
        • Civil Service Jobs Profile
        • Email Marketing Jobs Profile
        • SEO Jobs Profile
        • Office Admin Jobs
    • Vlogs
  • Webinars
  • Country Profiles
    • Africa
      • Egypt
      • Ghana
      • Kenya
      • Nigeria
      • South Africa
    • Americas
      • Canada
      • United States of America
    • Asia
      • Bahrain
      • Brunei
      • China
      • Hong Kong
      • India
      • Japan
      • Kazakhstan
      • Malaysia
      • Qatar
      • Saudi Arabia
      • Dubai
      • Singapore
      • South Korea
      • Turkey
      • United Arab Emirates
      • Work in Vietnam – Country Profile
      • Work in Uzbekistan – Country Profile
    • Europe
      • Belgium
      • Denmark
      • Finland
      • France
      • Germany
      • Ireland
      • Italy
      • Netherlands
      • Norway
      • Russia
      • Spain
      • Sweden
      • Switzerland
      • United Kingdom
    • Oceania
      • Australia
      • New Zealand
  • PhD and Studentship Advice
    • PhD
    • Studentship Resources
    • Vlogs
  • Need help advertising a job?
  • About jobs.ac.uk
  • Ask A Professional
  • Academic Spotlight Interviews
  • Menu
    • CV and Cover Letter Advice
      • CV Tips
      • Free CV Templates
      • Cover Letters with Examples
      • Personal Profiles
      • CV Resources
    • Jobseeking and Interview Tips
      • Jobseeking Tips
      • Academic Interviews
      • Professional Interviews
      • Jobseeking and Interview Resources
    • Career Development
      • Academic Careers
      • Career Progression Stories
      • Research Careers
      • Professional Careers
      • Working in Industry
      • Career Development Resources
      • Global Careers
      • Working From Home
    • Women in Higher Education
    • FE Career Advice
      • FE CV & Interview Tips
      • Working in FE
      • Managing your Career in FE
      • FE Jobs Profiles
    • Resources
      • Academic Case Studies
      • Professional Case Studies
      • Interview questions tool
      • Vlogs
      • Job Profiles
        • Biological Science Jobs
        • Health and Medical Jobs
        • Engineering and Technology Jobs
        • Computer Science Jobs
        • Physical and Environmental Science Jobs
        • Professional Service Jobs
        • Civil Service jobs
    • Webinars
    • Country Profiles
      • Africa
        • Work in Egypt – Country Profile
        • Work in Ghana – Country Profile
        • Work in Kenya – Country Profile
        • Work in Nigeria – Country Profile
        • Work in South Africa – Country Profile
      • Americas
        • Work in Canada – Country Profile
        • Work in the United States of America – Country Profile
      • Asia
        • Work in Bahrain – Country Profile
        • Work in Brunei – Country Profile
        • Work in China – Country Profile
        • Work in Hong Kong – Country Profile
        • Work in India – Country Profile
        • Work in Japan – Country Profile
        • Work in Kazakhstan – Country Profile
        • Work in Malaysia – Country Profile
        • Work in Qatar – Country Profile
        • Work in Saudi Arabia – Country Profile
        • Work in Singapore – Country Profile
        • Work in South Korea – Country Profile
        • Work in Turkey – Country Profile
        • Work in United Arab Emirates – Country Profile
      • Dubai
      • Europe
        • Belgium Country Profile
        • Work in Denmark – Country Profile
        • Work in Finland – Country Profile
        • France Country Profile
        • Work in Germany – Country Profile
        • Work in Ireland – Country Profile
        • Work in Italy – Country Profile
        • Work in the Netherlands – Country Profile
        • Work in Norway – Country Profile
        • Work in Russia – Country Profile
        • Work in Spain – Country Profile
        • Work in Sweden – Country Profile
        • Work in Switzerland – Country Profile
        • Work in the United Kingdom – Country Profile
      • Oceania
        • Work in Australia – Country profile
        • Work in New Zealand – Country Profile
    • Studentship Advice
      • PhD
      • Studentship Resources
      • Vlogs
    • Need help advertising a job?
    • About jobs.ac.uk

Your Digital Footprint and How to Audit it

Digital Footprint

Once upon a time, you were 100% in control of what recruiting managers knew about you during a job application process. You submitted application forms and CVs, academic transcripts and perhaps details of publications. The recruiting manager only saw what you wanted them to see.

Now it’s a different story. Your CV and application, as well as the details you reveal about yourself at interview, are only part of the picture. Any recruiting manager worth their salt will also look you up online and uncover anything else in the digital realm about you. Indeed, 70% of employers will screen applicants according to their digital footprint. It can feel like you’ve lost control.

However, with a digital footprint audit, you gain complete insight into what information is in the digital domain about you. You can assess what prospective employers will see and discover. You can take steps to mitigate any negative effects. A personal digital audit is how you do this.

What an employer is looking for

Before you begin your digital audit, first consider what a future employer is looking for.

Employers don’t waste time searching every single candidate online. They do it when they are already thinking you could be a match. They are trying to verify that what you say in your CV matches your real life persona, as well as build a more comprehensive picture of a candidate they are beginning to like.

However, that doesn’t mean that they will ignore negative online behaviour. What constitutes this will partially depend on the nature of the role and organisation. They won’t expect you to only have a professional life visible online. But they will probably expect you, at the very least, to know how to lock down social media profiles which are purely social so that they can’t access them.

Therefore, as you go through the steps of auditing your digital footprint, always remember to look at everything from the perspective of a future employer.

How to carry out a digital audit during a job hunt

Search engines

The simplest way to start a personal digital audit is with search engines. We recommend repeating this process with a number of different search engines, as well as Google. Start with a straightforward search of your name and any shortened names or nicknames.

It’s worth undertaking this exercise away from your usual work and home IP addresses. The algorithms of search engines deliver results using personalised search bias. This means that all of your search history affects results to deliver what the search engine hopes will more likely fit your needs. Therefore, it isn’t always reflective of what someone else conducting the same search will see.

Beyond nicknames, also search for your name alongside companies listed in your career history section of your CV. This will bring up work-based results. Repeat this with any hobbies you list or educational institutions you’ve attended. It’s also worth doing it with your location.

Social media

Beyond a general search engine exploration, you also need to drill down into your social media presence.

Go to all of the social platforms that you use and go back through your profile and activity. Even if you lock these down, it’s good practice to be fully aware of, and in control, of everything you post. Remember to look through the lens of a prospective employer, not your best buddy.

How to act on what you find

Having conducted the research, you now need to know what to do about it.

If you find content you aren’t sure displays you in the best professional light, then you need to take steps to remove it or mitigate its impact. Where you are in control of it, the simplest thing to do is remove anything you don’t want future employers seeing. You can ask people to remove links to you, or tags. You can also increase the privacy settings on social media.

However, sometimes, you can’t remove everything. In these cases the easiest thing to do is add to your digital footprint. Post professionally minded comments on industry news, publish professional articles on LinkedIn, contribute to thought-leadership discussions and more. The aim here is to fill leading search results with a more positive view.

Be mindful

Always be mindful about your online presence. Be aware of what’s out there about you and take steps to make a positive impression, digitally.

About the Author

Andrew Fennell is the founder of CV writing advice website StandOut CV – he is a former recruitment consultant and contributes careers advice to websites like Business Insider, The Guardian and FastCompany.

What did you think of our article? - please rate

3 / 5. 8


Share this article

Andrew Fennell

Andrew Fennell is a former recruitment consultant and contributes careers advice to websites like Business Insider, The Guardian and FastCompany.

Reader Interactions

You may also like:

  • Close up of a man looking at a job search recruitment web page

    How to Search for a Job in Higher Education

  • recruiters using ai agents to scan applications

    How do recruiters use AI?

  • Using AI for job applications

    Using AI for job applications

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

eleven − three =

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Follow us

Searching for a job in the United Kingdom

Latest Jobs

  • PhD Opportunity in Bioinformatics

    Department of Metabolism and Systems Science, University of Birmingham

    Location: Birmingham

    Salary: Fully Funded for UK Home Fee Students


  • Lecturer (Type B) in Bioinformatics

    School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences , University of Galway

    Location: Galway

    Salary: £55,339.90 - £88,282.55


  • Lecturer (Teaching) in Fine Art (Maternity Cover) (0.4 FTE)

    Slade School of Fine Art , UCL

    Location: London

    Salary: £54,172 - £63,752 pro rata


  • Postdoctoral Research Fellow (Noursadeghi Team)

    Division of Infection and Immunity , UCL

    Location: London

    Salary: £43,374 - £51,860


  • Pre-doctoral Research Assistant (Noursadeghi Team)

    Division of Infection and Immunity, UCL

    Location: London

    Salary: £35,930 - £41,255


  • Communications Manager

    Institute for Global Health (IGH) , UCL

    Location: London, Hybrid

    Salary: £43,374 - £51,860


Footer

jobs.ac.uk - Great jobs for bright people
  • Find a Job
  • Find PhDs
  • Career Advice
  • Jobs by Email
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Terms of use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Accessibility Statement

Copyright © jobs.ac.uk 1998 - 2025

  • Find a Job
  • Find PhDs
  • Careers Advice
  • Jobs by Email
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Terms of use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Accessibility
jobs.ac.uk - Great jobs for bright people

Copyright © jobs.ac.uk 1998 - 2025