Have you created social media profiles and online resumes, only to neglect those parts of your online presence during your job search?
Keeping your online presence updated helps increase your visibility to hiring managers and recruiters online. It also ensures that the correct information is available online—increasing your chances of an offer or opportunity.
So, look back through those online profiles, your portfolio, and any other places you’ve signed up but forgotten to keep updated, and look at the following areas:
Your contact information. This sounds like the simplest part of your online profiles, but you’d be surprised how many people sign up on websites with an old email address and then fail to update it. Same goes for your phone number and address—are they correct? A recruiter or hiring manager will not go searching for your correct contact information if you haven’t provided it. You could be missing out on interview opportunities if your contact information is incorrect!
Work experience. If you started job searching several months ago, it’s likely that you’ve continued working at a job (or have been volunteering) throughout the job search process. Make sure that any relevant work experience and accomplishments are added to your resume in your online profiles.
Skills. This section should be completely filled out with any skills that you have or have learned since signing up for the site—computer programs, online tools, etc. Hopefully, if you’ve been job searching for a while, you’ve obtained new skills to add to your online profiles in that time.
References or recommendations. If you’re a recent college graduate, you should have references available online from college professors, volunteer positions, and work experience in college. Although you might have great recommendation letters from high school, you always want to keep your job searching materials as updated as possible—and this includes recommendation letters.
Profile picture. Update your online profile completely by changing your profile picture to something new. Just make sure that it’s professional, inviting, and appropriate.
Status. Updating your status on networking sites keeps your profile updated and increases your visibility on the site. Share content about your field, update your network about your job search, and send out any tips or advice you have—employers will notice.
Many recruiters and hiring managers are now looking to online resources to find the best candidate for their opening. If your profiles and portfolio aren’t updated, it’s unlikely that they’ll even find you, let alone reach out to you for an interview. Do yourself a favor and keep your profile information updated so you can be found online.
Do you have any suggestions on how job seekers can best keep their profiles updated?
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