How to Use an Online Presence to Market Yourself?
Walk down any street, step onto any bus or even into any café, bar or restaurant and it’s almost guaranteed that a significant proportion of the clientele will be glued to their phones. Indeed, according to a study carried out by Silentnight last year, the average person currently spends more time on the internet than they do sleeping! If we spent as much time pursuing our careers as we do scrolling mindlessly through our Facebook feeds, we’d surely all get a lot more done – especially when it comes to looking for a job. Pay attention to your online presence to market yourself!
Five years ago, the boffins over at Forbes magazine predicted that an online presence would replace traditional CVs within a decade. With possibly only a mere five years more before a paper CV becomes obsolete, it’s vital to act now to get your nose in front of the competition. Here are a handful of top tips on how to go about crafting an eye-catching cyber-status to make yourself look like a temporarily unemployed demi-god crying out to be hired.
Tart up your social media profiles
Facebook, Instagram and Twitter aren’t just for making friends jealous with fictitious holidays and filtered snaps of your last meal. Time magazine recently reported that as many as 93% of hiring bosses will vet prospective candidates by checking out their social media before making a decision. Even more concerning, 55% of those said that they reconsidered their decision based upon their findings.
It should go without saying, but any references to drugs, sex and rock ‘n’ roll need to be eliminated immediately (and yes, that includes all photographs of that time you tried to climb inside your own shoe on holiday in Magaluf). On the other hand, knowing that you will be Facestalked gives you a weird sort of power – you can use your profile to paint yourself in an improbably flattering light.
Show them you mean business on LinkedIn
When it comes to social media and careers, LinkedIn is the undisputed king. As of April 2016, there were 433 million users of the site worldwide, with two more joining every single second. It’s so powerful in today’s job market basically because it allows you to permanently put yourself in the shop window without lifting a finger – simply create your profile and let it do its magic. For these reasons, it’s imperative you don’t waste another minute losing more ground on the half a billion people already using the site to their advantage. First thing’s first: upload a picture (the inclusion of a professional photograph improves your employability chances by 14 times) and really pimp up your profile to wow all those who chance upon it. It could make all the difference.
Not only Linkedin, but your profile on all platforms, including your profile on JOB TODAY, should be business-like and have a professional appearance. Always put your best foot forward!
Be so proud of your domain, you put your name on it
When you want to find out the answer to a question you don’t know, you ask Google, right? So will head-hunters, recruitment agencies and potential employers. If one of the first hits in the search results is a website with your name as its domain, you’ll instantly be on their radar. In fact, of 600 professionals with their own domain name from domain.me, 84% reported seeing real career benefits from having their own personal website.
Of course, simply acquiring the domain name in itself won’t be enough. You’ll have to ensure that it’s linked up to your other social media profiles and that you keep it constantly updated with engaging and informative content, such as blogs, infographics and suitable links. Doing so will make you look like some sort of incredible whizz kid in your field and make potential employers falling over themselves to hand you a contract.
Get ahead of the game with online job-seeking tools
With the collision of the cyber world and the employment market, there certainly comes increased competition – but there also come oodles more opportunities and abilities. While LinkedIn, social media and your own website are great ways to paint yourself in a positive light and bat your internet eyelashes at prospective suitors, there’s no replacement for tracking down vacancies off your own back.
That’s where job-seeking tools and apps come into their own. JOB TODAY, for example, is a great method of uniting employers and jobseekers with ease. Users can apply with the touch of a button, be chatting in seconds and receive a response within a maximum of 24 hours. For finding jobs in your area which suit your abilities, it’s an invaluable weapon in your online arsenal. Try it today!
