Be Proactive - Building Your Professional Online PresenceStanding out to potential employers can be an easy task if you approach your participation on social media platforms including Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, Pinterest, and blogs as an opportunity to highlight the unique skills and experiences you would bring to the workplace. Social media and other online resources are invaluable resources for networking, learning, and identifying opportunities to advance your career.
Items worth considering...
- Complete a self-audit to see where you currently stand. Determining how you currently appear online is an important step to decide how you can maximize your exposure in a positive way.
- Decide on a consistent version of your name. Consistency across social media platforms allows for a clear identity when employers begin to search for you.
- Select an appropriate photo. First impressions matter to employers, so choose a photo that shows you in professional attire that is a high-quality image.
- Define yourself. This description will appear as your profile headline, so ensure that it is both memorable and concise.
- Highlight skills and experience. Share examples of your work that can give prospective employers a glimpse into your background and experience, as well as the type of quality work they could expect from you.
- Your friends and network reflect you and your character. Be mindful of their content and how it reflects on you
Next......
- Connect. Continuously look for professionals that work in your field or area of interest, as well as professional associations related to your field. Networking is a key component of identifying opportunities for internships, career development, or sources of information.
- Follow. Following key professionals, professional associations, and related blogs will keep you up to date on pertinent information and best practices in the field.
- Update. Sharing interesting resources including articles, websites, and even your own work related to your field can garner interest from potential employers and professionals in your field.
- Grow. As your skills and experiences change, make sure your profiles are up to date to showcase new qualifications you have to prospective employers.
- Be selective!! Use the social media platforms that make most sense for you. It is better to be active and engaged on one or two networks, rather than having a presence on multiple but your content equivalent to a ghost town.
Tips for Success...
- Be cautious about what you post. Everything you post online is viewable to the public- including your future employers.
- Keep your personal life private. Since potential employers have access to much of the content and pictures you post on your personal sites or social media accounts, post accordingly.
- Use privacy settings. Ensure privacy settings control what information you keep to your personal network and what is available to a public audience. As sites update their settings, make sure your privacy settings are set the way you intended.
- Google yourself and set up a Google alert for your name. Make sure the information that appears is appropriate and professional as employers routinely search for candidates online. You may set up an alert for your name by visiting http://www.google.com/alerts so that you are alerted when someone mentions your name. Should you see something you aren’t comfortable with, you may delete the information from the original source. Utilize http://support.google.com/webmasters/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answers=164734 to try to delete information. However, realize that it may not be possible to delete all undesirable content.
