Digitally Portraying the Professional within
Now that personal statements and CV’s are relatively short and limited in scope, employers are constantly looking for new avenues to single out that a candidate is truly passionate about their work, whilst also being a well-rounded human being! With the advent of digital and real-life personas becoming one and the same with platforms such as linkedin, it is quickly becoming a necessity to have such a presence if you wish to stand a chance at all:
“If you haven’t started [making a digital profile] then you’re already late to the game” – Michael Weiss (1)
And the statistics back this up; according to the Social Recruiting Survey results for 2014, over 90% of recruiters use Linkedin as an aid in recruitment ((2) page 8), whilst they have also recruited applicants through social sites such as Facebook (26%), Twitter (14%) and even candidate’s blogs (7%)!
In light of this you should aim to:
1.Spread your professional profile as widely as possible: Zadi Diaz (3) recommends keeping all your maintained social web pages linked, and consistent with your ‘brand’,with a clear image of yourself as an avatar. This creates a “one-stop-shop” that points back to yourself and allows for recruiters to see your professional profile in the most efficient manner possible and what you represent.
2.Connectivity/Networks: As mentioned by Lisa Harris (4), it is important to follow important figures and corporations in fields you are interested in to both show your interest whilst also keeping you up to date on the latest news and job openings in all these fields. Connecting yourself to aspects of your Company, College or Colleagues (5) can associate yourself with strong brands, thereby elevating your own.
3.Make your voice heard: whether it’s through a blog, or twitter, or even comments, your voice can spread fast online. As Justine Sacco (6) found out, her tweet to 170 followers became the No.1 trend on twitter within 24 hours. All you have to ensure is that it’s for the right reasons. If someone with a large online profile endorses you or even retweets you, it could be the spark which blows up your blog!
4. Narrative: As Shama Hyder states (5), if your fields of interest are varied, try to find unifying themes which will allow your branding to remain strong whilst making your varied interests able to complement one another, strengthening your image further.
Now all that remains is for you to start creating a brand people will happily invest in!
Sources:
1. BBC, quote by Michael Weiss
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-25217962
2. Jobvite
https://www.jobvite.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Jobvite_SocialRecruiting_Survey2014.pdf
3. 7 Steps to building your online identity
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2UlcOX1fZW4&spfreload=10
4.Using social media in your job search – Lisa Harris
http://moocs.southampton.ac.uk/websci/2014/03/13/ill-tweet-job-spec-snap-cv/
5.7 Things You Can Do To Build An Awesome Personal Brand – Forbes (Shama Hyder)
6.How One Stupid Tweet Blew Up Justine Sacco’s Life – New York Times Magazine (Jon Ronson)
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/15/magazine/how-one-stupid-tweet-ruined-justine-saccos-life.html?_r=2
