Building your online presence
Trying to come across as professional on social media can seem like a minefield. Learning to separate personal and professional posts is tricky. But, fear not! I’m writing this blog to help you to develop your online presence, so you can connect with and get noticed by employers.
Establishing a professional online presence is vital as it makes you more visible to potential employers. It also demonstrates that you have a professional mindset and are a pro-active member within your industry. Being active online can help to grow your network with professionals and employers, but can also help with job hunting as it makes you more aware of opportunities and puts you forward as an engaged candidate.
Building your online presence is an ongoing mission if you want to be noticed. I am constantly trying to develop and maintain my online presence. This very blog you’re reading is content I’m creating to help you and show my skills! By managing SRS’s social media I have learnt a lot about being an active user and knowing what to post.
One of the most important things to take away from this blog is to be yourself! Showing your personality is something that attracts employers. Standing out and making your content personal is a great way to display your character. People are naturally drawn to charismatic people and can tell easily who is forcing content or not believing what they are saying/sharing, so making sure you show who you are is important when building an online presence.
My 5 social media top tips
My top tips are inspired by SRS’s ‘Develop your online presence. Get noticed by employers’ employability webinar. To watch the full webinar, click the button at the end of this blog.
Below are some top tips for being professional on social media.
Examine your existing social media profiles
You first need to evaluate your existing online presence. A handy thing to do to see how you come across online (and to feel famous) is to google yourself. This will show you what potential employers may see and associate you with, and is a good place to start when thinking about how you want to position yourself online.
Set up dedicated professional profiles
Whether you already have a social media profile showcasing your work, an account filled with selfies, or just an account for your cat, you need to distinguish between personal and professional profiles. If you feel as though your online profiles aren’t professional, try creating a separate one that is dedicated to connecting you to employers and your career.
Be an active user
Being active on social media shows that you are engaged and have an understanding of your industry. Try creating your own posts to show off your talents and skills and gain more followers. Following other relevant users, commenting and sharing posts is a great way to start conversations and expand your network with professionals and potential employers. You can also use social media actively to search for jobs - for example, LinkedIn has a job search function. If your LinkedIn account is active and up-to-date, you increase your employability chances by showing you have your finger on the pulse.
Generate posts
It can be scary trying to come up with content and ideas to post, you may often feel like what you’re posting won’t be seen or that no one is paying attention. Yet, even if you have only 5 followers or no likes, employers will still see your work. Try to think of your social profiles as your own personal and professional portfolio, where you and others can keep track of what you are doing, creating, learning and sharing.
Be professional, but also show off your personality
It’s important to remain professional when building your online profile. Remember the tone of voice you use when writing your bios, sharing certain posts and generating your own content. Make sure you look professional in the imagery you use, so with your profile pictures and making sure you are consistent and appropriate with your colour palette and choice of images. It’s also important to consider your industry, to think about who may be viewing your profile and who you want to appeal to. If you are in more creative areas of work, then showcasing your artistic flair is important. If your industry is law, then presenting your knowledge and keeping up to date with policy changes is more significant.
With the importance of professionalism, it is also important to still show your personality. Employers aren’t just hiring you for your amazing work and skills, they are also hiring you as a person, so it is important to show them who you are. This may include all the things I previously spoke about, like tone, imagery, colour, etc. Be creative in how you present yourself as there are millions of profiles employers will look at, so you need to ensure yours stands out.
A good example of this is from my vlogs I have been producing. Every fortnight I started to record vlogs on my placement journey with SRS to help me reflect and to build my online presence, so employers can see what I’m learning in a fun and visual way. Click HERE to watch my vlog as a
LinkedIn is an amazing platform for professional networking
I’m going to go into more detail now on LinkedIn as it is the best social media platform for connecting with employers and building your professional online presence. LinkedIn allows you to grow your connections and network, while letting you create a detailed profile that acts as an online CV containing your skills and experience. Keeping your LinkedIn profile up-to-date and being active on the platform is a sure fire way to catch employers’ attention.
Below is a handy LinkedIn checklist which you should make sure to refer to when setting up your profile, or if reviewing your existing profile.
There is a PDF print version of this checklist that is available to download, which is located at the bottom of this blog.
In your headline, you should include your current position to tell the employer about yourself. Your about section is a key summary so make sure it is engaging and to the point.
Make certain to include what, where, date and result in the education section.
It is important to have personalised recommendations so the employer can learn more about you objectively. Recommendations can provide evidence of your skills and character.
Make sure your profile and header photos are clear and professional, and relevant to you and your industry.
You should outline all your duties, responsibilities and achievements in your experience and volunteer sections.
Getting endorsements is important to prove to employers that you actually have the skills you state.
In your accomplishments you should include any awards you have received, this can include organisations and teams you have been part of that have won things.
I asked our Managing Director, Sophie Milliken, my top 4 questions on how to build an online presence
I've given you some social media top tips, a LinkedIn checklist, useful SRS resources and an inspiring video featuring our Managing Director, Sophie Milliken, who is renowned for her online presence; go check her out on Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram.
I hope you’ve enjoyed reading my blog and have learnt a little something about building your online presence and getting noticed by employers. Don't forget to follow me on LinkedIn and Twitter.
Keep an eye out for my next blog; Online Tests.