8 ways to improve your online profile

Whenever you meet someone new one of the first things you’re likely to do is look them up online. It may sound peculiar, but this is the digital world in which we live. If you’re a professional but aren’t the kind of person to actively update and manage their online profile, you could be missing out. These days one of the first things recruiters and headhunters do when vetting a candidate is to review the candidate’s online profiles. Having solid social media profiles not only benefits you during a job application, it can also lead to a new opportunity. If your LinkedIn, Xing or everjobs profiles are lacking you can follow the simple tips below to improve your social profiles and improve your chances of being seen.

Authenticity

An overall theme that should be present in your social profile is one of authenticity. The best online profiles are the honest ones, the ones that don’t attempt to spin anything. Rather they focus on what makes a person unique, try to create your online profile in a way that highlights what you can bring and your unique qualities but keep it authentic.

Create a strong headline

A great way to catch a person’s eye is with a strong headline. This is your first opportunity to tell the reader a little bit about yourself. A good headline will get you noticed, so be sure to keep it short, clear and above all try to include relevant search terms people are likely to use for your profession. Also make sure you avoid any troublesome clichés, words likecreative and team player will usually cause your readers to cringe.

Upload a picture

Your personal brand needs a face. And what better face to use than your own. When selecting a photo you need to ensure your picture is professional looking (in terms of workplace, not necessarily professional photography), it needs to be of your face, you should be front on and it should reflect your personality to some degree. Try to avoid pictures of you at the beach or wearing sunglasses – and more often than not, any picture is better than no picture.

List your contact details

This should be obvious, but just in case anyone is unsure that this is in fact a requirement – please list your contact details. This doesn’t have to be your full address and phone number, but you should at least include an active email, one that you check regularly. Don’t make it harder than it needs to be for a recruiter to find you.

Sell your skills

Most professional social media sites allow you to include certain skills in your profile. Sites likes everjobs and LinkedIn both encourage users to fill in as many relevant skills as they can. When deciding on which skills to list, you’d do well to only list the skills you feel are personal strengths or skills that you’d like to use in your future job. If you’re an expert at a particular skill but don’t want to do it anymore, leave it out.

Scan for red flags

Now you’ll need to start looking through all of your social media pages. Look for any inappropriate posts, images, or statuses on your public pages and delete them. When creating your professional page you should also be wary of any red flags a company might be on the look out for. Avoid long gaps in your employment history, or if you have one, be prepared to show how you attempted to better yourself with either volunteer work or furthering your education.

Post relevant content regularly

Who doesn’t love a great cat picture? I mean, really cats wearing hats are amazing, but that shouldn’t be the kind of content you post for your professional profile. You want to find or write or share intelligent and relevant content. But it won’t be enough to post just one or two fantastic thought pieces, you need to make sure you post on a regular basis. If you keep people coming back to read your articles and posts, you’ll start to develop a reputation, which will get you noticed.

Share in groups

Okay, so you’re posting regularly – which is an excellent step in the reputation building direction. Now it’s time to take it a step further and share your updates and posts to groups. Find relevant groups in places like LinkedIn and share your updates – remember every group post you make is a way for you to be seen. If you’re new to an industry, joining a group is a great for you to learn the ins & outs of the industry.

Connect with influencers

Being involved in industry groups is a great way for you to see who the influencers are. Find the people who are posting the most relevant content and then connect with them onLinkedIn. Find and connect with people who have developed profiles and large followings, share their content, comment on it and if you’re feeling particularly brave you can send them a message. The added advantages aren’t just limited to relationship building but also your visibility will start to grow.

Improve your online profiles, grow your network, spread the content and your visibility will improve significantly. If your online self is as amazing as your offline self you’ll be one step closer to landing your dream job.

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