All aspects of your online presence matter when conducting a job search. Social media makes it so much easier to promote yourself but it’s imperative that you do so wisely. Everything you put out there online creates your image and it’s an excellent platform that you should take full advantage of. You need to present yourself in a confident and professional manner in order to reenergize your search.
Be Specific About Achievements
Think about the things you are most proud in your career. Be specific when you are promoting yourself on your LinkedIn profile. Vague statements don’t really tell recruiters or hiring managers what you are about. What would your 30 second commercial sound like? If your company recognized you or gave you an award for a particular accomplish, then state that. What makes you unique as a candidate? What differentiates you from the competition? Did you do some meaningful volunteer work that you feel good about? Tell your story in a compelling and specific way.
Social Media Platform for your Search
Take special care of how you present yourself. Your LinkedIn profile reflects how you want to present yourself as a business professional. Instagram, Twitter and Facebook are typically more about sharing the more personal side of you with your inner circle of family and friends. Before putting out a tweet, think “If my boss saw this, would I be embarrassed? What about my possible future boss, would he hire me?” I see things on social media that make me cringe. Once you put it out there, you can’t change your mind so think twice about how you want to present yourself in the professional world. Some make think that your Facebook page shouldn’t matter but it absolutely does. All these different platforms help to tell your story.
Adding a picture makes you 10 times more likely to be viewed on LinkedIn. Make sure it’s a business oriented photo. Including a strong summary is critical. That may be the only section they look at so make it count.
Share Your Knowledge and Insights
LinkedIn provides so many opportunities for you to share your knowledge. Marketing yourself is an ongoing effort, it’s not something you should suddenly decide to do when you find yourself unemployed or unhappy in your current role. Self promotion is an important part of advancing in your career. Share your perspective. If you like to write, consider a blog post. If you are not much of a writer, that’s ok. You can share insights about someone else’s post, or post something simple that speaks to your knowledge and presents you in a positive light.
There are so many tools and platforms out there for you to promote yourself and reenergize your search, demonstrating the true value you bring to a company. The people that stand out are the ones that take full advantage of these opportunities. Hiring managers and recruiters are looking for people that want to contribute, share their knowledge and will make a difference at their company.