developing an authentic professional profile.
This week I’ve decided to do something a little different. Whilst I have got a LinkedIn account, which I do use, and am starting to use social networks such as Twitter to keep up with the marketing and advertising world as well as for personal purposes, I am by no means a pro when it comes to developing an authentic professional profile. That’s where my friend James Shamsi comes in, a King’s College London graduate who has been featured on Good Morning America and made headlines around the world for putting his résumé on Tinder.
Click to view slideshow.
Before we look into James’ case study, it’s worth looking into what an authentic professional profile is. Employers are now Googling people more than ever and as this infographic below from Mindflash shows, it’s not just our professional social networks that they’re looking into. Mindflash also highlights that 35% of employers found content on social networks that caused them not to hire a candidate, so it’s important to create an authentic, consistent and positive professional profile to act as an effective personal portfolio across a broad range of online media.
So back to James, what makes him stand out? For a start, one of the main things James always does is to link back to his video resume. Whether it be on his Tinder profile, his LinkedIn or even on a Buzzfeed article, James has made sure he has a consistent online profile that is always seamlessly linked back to his video CV. Not only is a video resume a really unique thing to have, it’s also a great way to highlight his achievements in an eye-catching way. Considering that the average time spent reading a CV is just 6.25 seconds, it makes sense to showcase your skills in a different manner. It’s worked for James too – he’s now a Social Media Manager living and working in Los Angeles.
How can we go about doing this ourselves?
This Prezi presentation by David Timis outlines the basic steps on how to brand yourself in the 21st century.
To sum up, make sure you reflect on who you are and what motivates you, exploring your interests and skills in order to find words and phrases that define you. You can then use this to join socio-professional networks such as LinkedIn to connect with groups and companies that interest you and even find employment, ensuring you highlight your successes and specify what you are open to as you go along.
Mindflash, 2011. Social Screening: How Companies Are Using Social Media To Hire & Fire Employees. Available at: https://www.mindflash.com/blog/2011/08/social-screening-how-companies-are-using-social-media-to-hire-fire-employees/ [Accessed 07/11/14]
Shamsi, J. 2014. 12 Reasons to interview me. Available at: http://www.buzzfeed.com/shamzinator/10-reasons-why-you-should-read-my-resume-ntaj [Accessed 07/11/14]
Telegraph Jobs, Does your CV pass the 30 second test? Available at: https://jobs.telegraph.co.uk/article/does-your-cv-pass-the-30-second-test-/ [Accessed 07/11/14]
Timis, D. 2014. Branding Yourself in the 21st Century. Available at: https://prezi.com/po5kk-3zdfts/branding-yourself-in-the-21st-century/ [Accessed 07/11/14]
