Take action · 3 min read
Review your online presence before your next move
A focused self-audit before a job application, client pitch or public project, without trying to rewrite your entire online history.
THE SHORT ANSWER
Review the public pages most relevant to your next step: your current profile, portfolio, credits, contact routes and important older mentions. Check accuracy, ownership and working links. Preserve useful evidence of your work, update misleading details and leave uncertain same-name results out of your conclusions.
Define what needs to be clear now
A job application, a client pitch and a project launch involve different public pages. Choose the small set that supports your immediate purpose rather than attempting an unlimited cleanup. The objective is to understand and improve information you can verify, not predict what every future reader will think.
Write a brief description of your current public identity: the name you use professionally, your role, your main website and how someone should contact you. Compare that with the pages you control. Historical pages can remain accurate descriptions of the past without needing to look like your current biography.
Use three passes: accuracy, evidence and access
First, check accuracy: role, dates, names and contact details. Second, inspect evidence: whether a project credit or description genuinely supports the claim being made. Third, check access: whether the intended public links work for a visitor and whether anything unnecessary is exposed.
Keep the passes separate so presentation does not substitute for evidence. A polished portfolio can still link to a removed project, and a simple public credit can be useful even if it is visually dated. Fix the specific issue you find rather than assuming every old page needs to disappear.
| Pass | Questions to ask |
|---|---|
| Accuracy | Is this role current or clearly historical? Are names and links correct? |
| Evidence | Does the source substantiate my involvement? Is the surrounding context fair? |
| Access | Can the intended visitor open the page? Are private details unnecessarily visible? |
Prioritise changes by control and usefulness
Start with pages you own and changes you can complete: a broken portfolio link, an obsolete bio or an incorrect public contact route. Next, make specific requests to publishers for material errors. Keep a record of requests so unanswered messages do not disappear into the rest of your preparation.
For third-party commentary, check the source and context before deciding how to respond. A critical opinion is not automatically an error or removable content. Do not create a new public argument merely to ‘fix’ a result. Choose a proportionate response based on what the page actually says and what you can substantiate.
Keep personal and company reviews distinct
If your name is closely tied to a business, make separate lists for your own footprint and the company’s public presence. A review of a company’s service is not automatically a statement about you personally. Keep the target of each source clear when summarising it.
DarkEye’s personal-account boundary is one verified adult reviewing their own presence. It is not a background-check route for applicants, employees, partners or strangers. A business review should concern a business you own or represent and use permitted public sources, with its own scope.
Finish with a record you can reuse
Keep the URLs checked, changes made, requests pending and relevant gaps. Reopen your updated public pages to confirm the changes took effect. If search descriptions still show old information, distinguish that delay from an unsuccessful edit at the source.
Schedule a sensible follow-up around your own next milestone, such as a new role or portfolio update. You do not need to monitor every result continuously to benefit from a repeatable review. The useful outcome is a clearer, more accurate set of sources and a short list of unresolved questions you can actually act on.
PUT IT INTO PRACTICE
Your checklist
- Choose the pages most relevant to your immediate purpose.
- Check accuracy, supporting evidence and public access separately.
- Keep useful work visible while fixing specific problems.
- Record changes and outstanding requests for a later follow-up.
This guide is for reviewing your own public presence. Platform tools and eligibility can change; check the linked official guidance when taking action.