The days of building a reputation offline have become a thing of the past. Today many employers are looking for candidates who are active online and in social media. As a job seeker you will want to effectively utilize these tools to build your personal brand and project an image that demonstrates your skills, knowledge, and career aspirations.
When creating an online persona job seekers need to see themselves as an asset to a potential employer, and build upon what they have on both a website and in social media. Using a name as a personal domain is a great place to start, and can even include just a one-page of your skills, awards, and achievements with all of your active social networks included.
A personal brand is developed over time, and includes connecting and communicating with like-minded individuals and companies. Since this is not an overnight process there is no better time than right now to get started in this process.
The individual who projects a transparent and authoritative persona online stands out from the rest. Not only will you want to showcase your strengths, but demonstrate an ability to solve a potential employer’s problems. After creating your own landing page, the next step is to become active on social media.
Here are a few key places to build your personal brand and connections.
Personal branding on social media
There are several major social networks that are the most active and effective places to be online. Daily interactions and check-ins are vital to building success here.
• LinkedIn for professionals – This is the network to be on if you want to show employers that you are serious about moving forward in your career. Just like a resume, you will want to showcase your skills, education, endorsements, recommendations, and so on.
• Build connections with Facebook – Outside of your profile consider creating a Page for your name, and build even more professional connections from there. Connect with company pages and prospects with daily interactions and postings related to your area of expertise.
• Microblog your way to success with Twitter – Because of the public nature of this social network it is very easy to connect with others of influence in your niche. Genuine, professional communication and retweets help build authentic relationships that can carry over into other social networks.
• Create a Blog – Consider posting original, fresh blog posts to your website with links to the major social networks. This can be an incredibly useful place to build your personal brand and establish yourself as an expert in your field.
