In today’s digital age, creating and maintaining a memorable online presence is more important than ever to stand out within candidate pools. Everyone seems to be personally branding themselves as an expert in their field to showcase their knowledge, not just at conferences and speaking slots, but also through their online presence.
Nowadays, there are numerous ways to cultivate a strategic online presence to highlight your skill sets, connect with potential employers, and better engage with your field or industry.
Social Media
Your social media presence is much more than simply casual profiles where you interact with friends and family. Now, your social media profiles can be used as a means of making yourself stand out to potential employers. While it’s always best to be strategic about the content you post and/or interact with publicly, having professional social media accounts can also be a space to share your passions and achievements with a significantly larger audience.
Sites such as LinkedIn are now a critical space to interact with employers and recruiters and highlight the work milestones you’ve achieved and/or are working towards. Job seeking becomes more streamlined when you can connect with others in your field and get a first-hand view of what a company culture looks like, how employees speak about their companies, what types of projects are being facilitated at specific companies, and how you might align with company values.
Virtual Networking
One of the most beneficial components of maintaining a cultivated online presence is its networking capabilities. Interacting with others in your field and engaging in conversations about your industry with those individuals helps to build your field of influence and can introduce you to potential employment opportunities! Publicly acknowledging that you’re open to work, or actively seeking a new role, can draw in recommendations and referrals from others in your industry that you may not have found otherwise. In addition, it opens the door for recruiters to be able to connect with you regarding new opportunities whether you are actively looking or just open to networking for the next possible step in your career.
Embracing technology and developing a strong online presence can make all the difference in your job search. Not only will these tips and tricks increase your visibility to other professionals, but they can also allow you the freedom to engage with hot topics in your field and showcase your unique professional style beyond a simple resume.