POIs Googling you

[TenaciousBushLeaper]

Well, at least you're not applying to a Criminal Justice program.

Mind you, both of these individuals are from the same city I'm from. 

[briarcliff]

I have an academia page, which is the first thing that comes up when you google me. I have a bio, my CV, and my publications on my academia page, and academia notifies me when anyone googles me and which city they're googling me from, so I had a little bit of a heads up about which POIs and programs were most interested after I first submitted my applications.

Edited February 24, 2015 by briarcliff

[TXInstrument11]

If this is something you are concerned about, set up an academia.edu account. When anyone accesses your profile from google, you will be notified of the location of the person (e.g., what city/state) and what key words they used to find you. If you have such a profile, chances are professors may be more likely to view that (at least first). Also, when I applied, there was always a "trend." Right before I heard back about interviews, I noticed I would get hits from the same city/state within the week...it was interesting. 

This is  PRO TIP folks. I got a ping from academia.edu a single minute before a prospective prof from the same location emailed me. Highly recommended. 

[Arcadian]

I don't care if people look at my social media. I hope they do. I have nothing to hide. I explicitly advocate everything that I post. So this is a non-issue for me.

Edited February 26, 2015 by Arcadian

[cognitivepsychqueen]

If this is something you are concerned about, set up an academia.edu account. When anyone accesses your profile from google, you will be notified of the location of the person (e.g., what city/state) and what key words they used to find you. If you have such a profile, chances are professors may be more likely to view that (at least first). Also, when I applied, there was always a "trend." Right before I heard back about interviews, I noticed I would get hits from the same city/state within the week...it was interesting. 

 

Is there a way to set this up without an academia.edu account? My alma-mater kicks everyone off the email server a year after graduation and I have no way of accessing my email but would like to get notified if my POIs/departments are looking me up...

[cognitivepsychqueen]

Okay I am officially FREAKING OUT. I modeled professionally (NEVER anything adult/nude/overly suggestive) for about 3 years in my late teens/early twenties and my first name is really unique. I just googled myself for the first time in years and there are tons of photos of me uploaded on photographers and make-up artists' sites and even just randomly from strangers who found my photo online and tagged me(?). I am not now down to the wire waiting to hear from schools and really worried about how I might be perceived as a result of these images. None of the photos are any more revealing than a typical magazine advertisement but there is one or two in which I am wearing bathing suits...What are your thoughts? What should/can I do?

[mb712]

Okay I am officially FREAKING OUT. I modeled professionally (NEVER anything adult/nude/overly suggestive) for about 3 years in my late teens/early twenties and my first name is really unique. I just googled myself for the first time in years and there are tons of photos of me uploaded on photographers and make-up artists' sites and even just randomly from strangers who found my photo online and tagged me(?). I am not now down to the wire waiting to hear from schools and really worried about how I might be perceived as a result of these images. None of the photos are any more revealing than a typical magazine advertisement but there is one or two in which I am wearing bathing suits...What are your thoughts? What should/can I do?

 

Well I mean, it isn't like they found your nudes or anything. I honestly don't see why professional modeling photos would be a problem, especially if none of them are particularly revealing. Your side job is just more public than most, it isn't like modeling is any worse than waitressing. (Did I succeed in helping you feel better? Hopefully. Ha.)

[grad_wannabe]

I have a pretty common name. Interestingly, most of the people who share it have similar interests as me -- most are artsy, intellectual, or both. 

 

After I hit "submit" on all my apps I started working on my web presence: built a website, beefed up my linkedin and academia.edu, started a twitter, and moved my favorite posts to the top of my blog. I also linked all of these sites together for some of that search-engine optimization stuff, where I guess a site moves up higher in Google results if other sites link to it. 

Edited March 5, 2015 by grad_wannabe

[when]

Okay I am officially FREAKING OUT. I modeled professionally (NEVER anything adult/nude/overly suggestive) for about 3 years in my late teens/early twenties and my first name is really unique. I just googled myself for the first time in years and there are tons of photos of me uploaded on photographers and make-up artists' sites and even just randomly from strangers who found my photo online and tagged me(?). I am not now down to the wire waiting to hear from schools and really worried about how I might be perceived as a result of these images. None of the photos are any more revealing than a typical magazine advertisement but there is one or two in which I am wearing bathing suits...What are your thoughts? What should/can I do?

I think if you also have search results associated with your name that bring up positive academic-related information and you have a strong application, some modelling pictures shouldn't say anything bad about you. As long as none of the pics are "bad' (which it sounds like they're not), I'd like to think most potential supervisors understand that this was a job you had when you were younger and is nothing to be ashamed of. It's not the same as finding inflammatory tweets or pictures of you being irresponsible, and as long as it's clear that you're serious about your chosen path, it shouldn't even be a factor. In fact, some might argue that the "halo effect" may come into play here...

 

It may also hearten you to know that in my cohort alone there are two individuals who were in a very similar, easily searchable line of work.

Edited March 6, 2015 by DeltaSkelta