How to build a professional online presence
Creating an online presence is something we do every single day without even trying, everything we post online is part of our online presence and how we present ourselves is extremely important both personally and professionally.
When you’re looking for a new job it’s important to ensure you’ve built a professional online presence that can go alongside your CV. For some, social profiles can be used to highlight skills and can help you showcase yourself to a potential employer.
On the other hand, it’s worth remembering that employers rarely make a hire without checking a candidate’s online presence – social media included. It’s important to ensure you’re public profiles are professional and respectable – and if you have any private accounts you don’t want potential employers seeing, make sure they’re set to private.
We’ve got a few tips to help make sure you have a great online presence to impress any potential employer.
#1 Separate personal and professional
If you’re starting from scratch with no professional online presence simply review what you already have. Is your current Facebook and Instagram account for friends and family only? That’s fine – keep it that way and change all settings to private.
If you’re a creative with a passion or talent to showcase create yourself a more professional account that you use for business online – you can share the link to these accounts on your CV or LinkedIn profile.
Keeping your personal account public is fine too. Just spend a little bit of time going through them and tidying up. Be mindful about the content you’ve shared in the past and delete anything you wouldn’t want your future boss to see.
#2 Use social platforms that work for your industry
There is a range of social platforms that can be fantastic tools professionally. The first obvious one is LinkedIn, the most important tool when it comes to finding a job and networking. We’ve got some great articles on what to include on your LinkedIn profile which will be a great start to building an online presence.
Think about what platform works best for you, are you a photographer trying to showcase your creative work – maybe look at a professional Instagram account, are you a small local tradesperson – maybe look a creating a Facebook business page to target your local area, are you a developer looking to showcase your work – maybe look at creating a GitHub, do you have a mixture of skills to share – maybe look at setting up a blog or website to show care it all.
Create a platform that works best for you and your industry and make sure you’re following the right people too. You can include any links you want on your CV and LinkedIn Profile to allow employers to see your skills and work.
#3 We can always see your profile photo
Wheatear your profile is public or private remember your profile picture will always be on display and anyone can view it. Take a little bit of time to ensure you’re photo is something that you would be happy for future employers to see.
#4 Google yourself
A quick Google search of your name and maybe where you’re from will give you an overview of your current online presence – is there anything you see there that you wouldn’t want anyone else to see? Maybe an old Facebook profile picture coming up on image search, take the time to go back and delete anything you don’t want around anymore.
#5 Know what to share
Even once you’ve landed yourself a new job it’s important to think about what you’re sharing online. Social media is a huge asset to professional development but it does come with some risks. You don’t want to tarnish your reputation by posting something bad. This could be anything from complaining about current or past employers to expressing views that might be seen as discriminatory.
Don’t be afraid to show some personality or humour on a professional account but just keep an eye on what you’re posting.
#6 Network
One of the best ways to build a professional presence is to network, this helps build your professional circle and get your name out there. Once you’re happy with your profiles it’s time to start building on them.
Connect with people in your industry on LinkedIn, share any articles you find interesting, share work you’ve done, get involved in the comments of posts you like and keep building your profile.
There are many different ways to network – you could join Facebook groups where you’ll find a community of people in the same industry as you. You could look at certain hashtags on Twitter to keep up with discussions around your industry. This all helps build your presence and build your professional profile, all whilst getting your name out there.
#7 Keep your profiles up to date
One of the most important points, keep your profile up to date. There is nothing worse than going onto a profile that is either half complete or for someone who hasn’t posted anything in 6 months. It’s important to keep your profile up to date, post any work you can showcase – or even if it’s just making sure you’re commenting on different things to show you’re still active and relevant.
At Adapt Talent we are an eCommerce & AI Recruitment Staffing Agency. We have a range of job roles available at some fantastic companies. Get in touch today and our team can help find the perfect job and company for you.
