The article cited below brings up the not-so-old saying, “You are what Google says you are”. What this phrase means is that you do not personally have control of how people perceive you and Google, or other search engines, can be very influential in effecting how people perceive you. If search results are keeping you from being hired–you’ve run into a major problem.

Search reputation management, then, is the process of monitoring and managing one’s “reputation” across the SERPs. For branded search queries, are there one or more results that could be potentially damaging to your organization? We’re looking here for results that could preclude your organization from making the consideration short-list; perhaps even prevent you from wrapping up a deal you thought was done.

When you find such examples, it’s time to take action. Not necessarily to respond directly to the online “detractor,” but to create a message of your own that would be identified as more relevant and useful for the particular search query.

An online reputation is extremely important, and it is important to defend it against others who might want to unfairly malign you or your company.

http://searchenginewatch.com/3641105