Cleaning Up Your Online Presence Before You Job Search
What shows up when someone Googles your name matters. Here's how to take control of it before an employer does the searching for you.
You know the drill by now. You apply for a job, you get a callback, and somewhere between the application and the interview, someone on the hiring side types your name into a search bar. Maybe it's a hiring manager. Maybe it's HR. Maybe it's nobody at all and you're worrying over nothing. But you don't know which one it is, and that not-knowing is its own kind of exhausting.
Here's what I want you to understand before we go any further: you have more control over this than you think. Not total control -- I'm not going to tell you that you can scrub the internet clean with three easy steps, because that's not true and anybody who tells you that is selling something. But you can shape what's easy to find, clean up what's embarrassing but fixable, and build enough good material online that it starts doing some of your talking for you.
I've spent over a decade doing direct service work with people rebuilding their lives after incarceration -- starting at a halfway house as an alum, then through sober living homes, treatment centers, jails, and prisons across Wisconsin. I coach people through this exact problem all the time: how to manage what the internet says about you when you don't get to pick what got indexed. This guide is how I walk clients through it, step by step, no scare tactics and no shortcuts that don't exist.
What Employers Are Actually Looking For (And When They Look)
The Search Timeline
Most of the time, an online search happens in one of two windows: before they call you in, as a quick gut-check while they're deciding who to interview, or after a good interview, as a final look before they make an offer. Some employers do both. A smaller number don't search at all -- they rely entirely on the formal background check, which is a different process with its own rules (I cover that in the resume guide).
What this means practically: the version of you that shows up in a plain Google search of your name might get looked at before you've said a single word to anyone. That's the part that stings. A background check comes with context -- a form, a conversation, maybe a chance to explain. A Google search comes with none of that. It's just whatever ranks.
What They're Really Trying to Find Out
Employers doing informal searches aren't usually looking for a criminal record specifically. They're looking for red flags in general: Are you who you say you are? Is there anything alarming, unprofessional, or inconsistent with what you told them? A LinkedIn profile that matches your resume is reassuring. A blank search result is neutral -- mildly unusual today, but not damaging. A search result full of angry old social media posts, a court record aggregator site, or nothing but a mugshot is what causes a hiring manager to hesitate and maybe quietly move to the next candidate without ever telling you why.
That's the real risk: not that they find out something true about your past, but that they find it out cold, out of context, with nothing else on the page to balance it. Your job is to make sure that's not the only thing there.
Mugshot and Court Record Sites: How They Work and What Actually Helps
This is the part people get the most wrong information about, so I want to be straight with you.
Why These Sites Exist
A lot of "mugshot gallery" and "arrest record" websites aren't news outlets and they aren't official government sites, even though they're built to look official. Their business model is simple: scrape publicly available arrest booking photos and court records (which are public record in most states, regardless of the outcome of the case), publish them under your name so they rank high on Google, and then either run ads against the traffic or offer to take the post down -- for a fee.
That second part is the trap.
The "Pay to Remove" Trap
Do not pay a website to remove your mugshot or arrest record, at least not without doing serious homework first. Here's why:
- Paying doesn't guarantee it stays down. Some of these operations are run by networks of related sites. You pay one to take your photo down and it reappears on a sister site a few months later, sometimes run by the same people under a different domain name.
- It confirms you're willing to pay, which can make you a repeat target.
- In several states, this exact business practice is illegal. A number of states have passed laws making it illegal for these sites to charge a fee to remove a booking photo, particularly once a case has been dismissed, the charges were dropped, or the record has been expunged or sealed. Some states require free removal on request under those circumstances, full stop.
- State and federal regulators have gone after these operations. The Federal Trade Commission has issued consumer warnings about mugshot extortion schemes, and state attorneys general -- California's among them -- have brought criminal charges against mugshot site operators for running what prosecutors described as extortion rackets: publish embarrassing content, then charge people to remove it.
None of that means every removal request is a scam, or that you should never pursue one. It means: treat "pay us and it disappears" as a red flag, not a solution, and know your actual leverage before you reach for your wallet.
What Actually Works
1. Find out if your record qualifies for expungement or sealing.
This is the highest-leverage move available, and it's worth doing regardless of what shows up online. If your case was dismissed, resulted in an acquittal, or is eligible for expungement or sealing under your state's law, getting that done gives you a real legal basis to demand removal from record aggregator sites -- and some of those sites are legally required to comply once you show proof. A legal aid organization or your local public defender's office can usually tell you, often for free, whether you qualify.
2. Contact the site directly and ask, in writing, referencing your state's law if it applies.
Keep it short and factual. Don't beg, don't over-explain, don't threaten. Something like:
"This request is to remove the booking photo and associated record at [URL] for [your name]. This case was [dismissed / expunged / sealed] on [date]. Under [state]'s law regarding publication of arrest records, I'm requesting removal within [timeframe if your state specifies one]. Please confirm removal in writing."
Keep a copy of everything you send and any response you get.
3. Use Google's own removal tools where they actually apply.
Google has a formal process for requesting that certain content be removed from search results -- but it's narrower than most people expect. It's built for things like non-consensual explicit images, exposed personal information (Social Security numbers, financial account numbers, images of signatures or government ID), and "doxxing" content published to harass or intimidate someone. A plain arrest record or court filing usually doesn't qualify on its own, because U.S. law treats those as public record.
Where Google has acted at a broader level: back in 2013, Google changed its search ranking algorithm specifically to push mugshot-gallery sites lower in results, in response to widespread complaints about the extortion pattern described above. That doesn't mean they're invisible -- it means they generally don't dominate the first page the way they used to, especially once there's other, stronger content about you to compete with. Which brings us to the move that actually works best.
4. Build enough good content that it outranks the bad.
This is the strategy that works regardless of what any individual site does or doesn't take down: give Google more good material to show instead. A complete LinkedIn profile, a personal website or portfolio, an active and professional presence in your field, mentions from volunteer work, articles you're quoted in, a personal blog if that's your thing -- all of it ranks, and fresh, active content tends to rank above old, static content. Most job seekers have almost nothing online with their real name attached. Even a modest, well-built LinkedIn profile will often outrank an old court listing within a few months, just because Google favors content that people are actually engaging with.
Think of it less like erasing something and more like out-building it.
Building a LinkedIn Profile From Scratch
If you don't have a LinkedIn profile yet, this is one of the highest-value hours you can spend this week. It's free, it ranks well in search, and it's the first thing most employers check after your resume.
Photo and Banner
Use a real, current photo of yourself -- shoulders up, decent lighting, looking at the camera, dressed the way you'd dress for an interview in your target field. No sunglasses, no group photo cropped down to just you, no photo from ten years ago. A profile with no photo reads as unfinished or inactive. A recent, professional-looking one builds trust before anyone reads a word.
Headline
Your headline is the one line that shows up everywhere -- search results, comments, connection requests. Don't leave it as just your last job title. Say what you do and what you're looking for:
"Warehouse Operations | Forklift Certified | Seeking Logistics & Supply Chain Roles in Milwaukee"
About Section
Write it in first person. Keep it short -- three to five sentences is plenty. Focus on what you bring, not your history. This is not the place to disclose a record; that conversation belongs in an interview, on your terms, when you can control the context (see my resume guide for how to handle that part).
"Reliable, hands-on operations professional with five years of warehouse and inventory experience. Forklift-certified, safety-focused, and known for showing up early and staying steady under pressure. Looking to bring that same work ethic to a logistics team in the Milwaukee area."
Experience
List your real work history, including gaps if there are any -- LinkedIn doesn't require exact dates down to the month, so you have some flexibility, but don't fabricate employers or titles. Under each role, list two or three concrete things you did, not just your job title. Volunteer work, training programs, and reentry-related work experience all count as real experience here. List them.
Skills, Endorsements, and Activity
Add five to ten real skills relevant to your target field. Ask a former supervisor, mentor, case manager, or program coordinator you trust for a short recommendation -- one paragraph is enough, and it doesn't need to mention your record at all. Then use the platform a little: follow companies you're interested in, comment thoughtfully on a few posts, share something relevant once in a while. An account that's been sitting untouched since the day it was created looks abandoned. A little bit of regular activity signals you're a real, engaged professional -- and it gives Google fresher content to index and rank.
Old Social Media: What to Do About It
You don't need to delete your whole digital history. You need to make sure what's easy to find matches the professional version of you.
Step One: Search Yourself the Way an Employer Would
Open a private/incognito browser window (so your own search history doesn't skew the results) and search your full name, plus your name with your city, plus your name with your old employer. Look at what comes up on the first two pages. That's your starting map.
Step Two: Lock Down What You're Keeping
For Facebook, Instagram, and similar platforms, go through your privacy settings and set old posts, photos, and your friends list to private or "friends only." Most platforms have a bulk privacy tool for old posts -- use it rather than going post by post. You don't have to justify anything you post to yourself in private; you're just controlling who can see it without a personal invitation from you.
Step Three: Delete or Archive What's Genuinely a Problem
Some things are worth actually removing, not just hiding: anything illegal, anything that could be read as threatening or discriminatory, anything tied to substance use if that's part of your history, and anything from an old account or persona you've fully moved past. If it makes you wince to imagine a hiring manager scrolling past it, it's worth taking down rather than just tucking behind a privacy setting.
Step Four: Decide What Stays Public
You don't need a scrubbed, personality-free footprint -- that can look just as off as a messy one. It's fine, often good, to keep public: photos with family, hobbies, community or volunteer involvement, faith or recovery community involvement if you're comfortable with that being visible, posts that show steadiness and follow-through over time. Consistency reads well. A public account that shows a person who's been showing up, working, and building for a while is worth more than a blank one.
Platforms People Forget to Check
Old Twitter/X accounts, old MySpace or Tumblr accounts if you're old enough to have one, comments left under news articles, forum posts, and old YouTube comments all show up in searches more often than people expect. If you don't remember the login for something old, most platforms have an "account recovery" path that will still work years later.
If a Search Turns Up Your Record Before You Can Explain It
Sometimes, despite everything above, something is going to be findable. Court records in most states are public and searchable through the county or state court system's own website, separate from any of the sketchy aggregator sites. There's no removing that one, generally, short of expungement or sealing where you qualify.
So here's the real question: what do you do if you suspect they already know before you get the chance to bring it up yourself?
Get Ahead of It, on Your Terms
If you have a strong instinct that a hiring manager has already looked you up -- maybe the tone shifted, maybe they asked a vague or leading question -- it's usually better to address it directly and briefly than to let it sit unspoken in the room. You're not confessing to anything; you're taking back the framing.
"I want to be upfront with you -- I do have a record from [general timeframe]. It's part of my past, not what defines my work now. I've spent the years since then [building X skill / staying steady in Y role / completing Z program], and I'd welcome any questions you have about it."
Say it once, calmly, and then let the conversation move forward. Don't over-apologize and don't over-explain. A short, steady answer reads as someone who has dealt with this before and isn't rattled by it -- which is exactly the impression you want to leave.
If They Never Bring It Up
Plenty of the time, nothing happens -- they either didn't search, didn't find much, or didn't think it was relevant enough to raise. Don't bring it up unprompted just because you're anxious about what might be out there. Let the interview be about the job.
Frequently Asked Questions
Should I pay a company to remove my mugshot from the internet?
Be very cautious. Many "mugshot removal" services are run by the same networks that post the photos in the first place, and paying doesn't guarantee permanent removal. Before paying anyone, find out if your case qualifies for expungement or sealing, and check whether your state has a law requiring free removal once it does -- several states have exactly this kind of law.
Can I get Google to remove a mugshot or arrest record from search results?
Google's content removal tools are built for specific situations -- exposed personal information, non-consensual explicit images, and doxxing content -- and generally don't cover plain public arrest or court records. What does help is building other content (like a strong LinkedIn profile) that ranks above the old material, since Google tends to favor fresh, actively-updated pages.
Do I need to delete all my old social media accounts?
No. Set old posts and photos to private rather than deleting everything, unless specific content is genuinely a liability (anything illegal, threatening, or tied to a chapter of your life you've moved past). A public account showing steady, real activity over time reads better to an employer than a blank or deleted one.
What should my LinkedIn profile include if I don't want to disclose my record there?
Everything you'd put on a strong resume: a real recent photo, a clear headline stating your field and goal, a short first-person "About" section focused on your skills and work ethic, and real work and volunteer history. LinkedIn isn't the place to disclose a record -- that conversation belongs in an interview, where you control the context.
What if an employer finds my record before I get a chance to explain it?
If you sense they already know, address it briefly and calmly rather than letting it sit unspoken: acknowledge it in one or two sentences, point to what you've built since then, and move the conversation forward. A short, steady answer reads better than either silence or over-explaining.
Is it illegal for a website to charge me to remove my own mugshot?
In a number of states, yes -- specifically once a case has been dismissed, resulted in acquittal, or the record has been expunged or sealed, some states prohibit charging a fee for removal or require free removal on request. Rules vary by state, so it's worth checking your specific state's law or asking a local legal aid organization before you pay anyone.
The Bottom Line
You can't control everything the internet says about you, and anyone who promises you a clean slate for a fee is telling you what you want to hear, not what's true. What you can control is real: get honest legal advice about expungement or sealing where you might qualify, don't hand money to a site that's profiting off your past, lock down what doesn't need to be public, and put real, current, professional material out there for Google to find instead. Do that consistently and the search results start working for you instead of against you.
Ready to Build Your Resume?
None of this matters if the resume behind it isn't strong. Steel Man Resumes built Forge, a free career intelligence tool, to help you build a resume that gets you in the door -- no cost, no credit card required.
I've walked people through exactly this -- what to lock down, what to leave alone, what to build -- more times than I can count. If you want to talk through your specific situation, I'm one call or email away.
Call (262) 391-8137 or email troy@steelmanresumes.com
Last Updated: July 2026
Sources: Federal Trade Commission consumer alerts on mugshot-removal and background-screening scams (consumer.ftc.gov); Google Search Central Help documentation, "Removing content from Google"; California Department of Justice press materials on the 2018 prosecution of mugshot website operators for extortion; LinkedIn's official profile best-practices guidance; published research on employer use of social media and informal online searches in hiring screening.