still job searching? tips for updating your online resume & profiles

Contact Heather at heather@comerecommended.com

Still Job Searching? Tips for Updating Your Online Résumé & Profiles

What Employers Want to See Online

• Consistency

– Dates of employment, previous jobs, skills, etc.

• Communication skills

– Can you convey your skills and experience across in a concise and compelling way?

• Skills & experience

– Can you clearly convey your strengths?

– Do you have a handle on your brand?

Common “Problem Areas” Online

• Incomplete profiles or professional websites

– A lot of users sign up for social or professional networking websites, but don’t go beyond the sign-up process

• Inactive accounts

– No activity on your account might convey that you don’t care about your presence or aren’t serious about job seeking

• Lack of updates

– Updating your network lets them know how you’re doing and what you’re interested in

• Lack of interaction

– Social networking sites are made for meeting new people and interacting with others in your field

– If you’re constantly posting information only about you –instead of interacting – you might come off as self-absorbed

• Difficult to find

– Lack of consistency in usernames or linking to other profiles may make it difficult to find you online

– When profiles aren’t complete, you won’t be as visible to employers or recruiters searching for candidates

• Inappropriate content

– Many job seekers don’t realize employers are looking at all of their online profiles

– Accounts used for personal reasons might not be considered work-appropriate

– Take advantage of privacy settings or clean up your profile before job seeking

• Update your experience & accomplishments

– Does your résumé or online profile list responsibilities instead of accomplishments?

– Employers want to see results – quantify what you accomplished at each past organization to show why you are the ideal candidate

– Follow this outline:

Tips for Updating Your Résumé & Online Profiles

• Complete your profile

– According to LinkedIn, users with complete profiles are 40 times more likely to receive opportunities through LinkedIn

– For LinkedIn: Follow the “Profile Completeness” percentage on the side of your profile to ensure your profile reaches 100%

• Use free online tools to create a sleek online résumé

– Although many employers still want you to turn in a copy of your résumé, creating an online version is proactive and tech-savvy

VisualCV.com is a free & simple way

to create an online résumé – and some

companies even ask for your

VisualCV link when applying

About.me is a free site that allows you

to point users to content from

around the web.

Flavors.me helps you create a free homepage in minutes by simply connecting an existing Google, Yahoo or Facebookaccount

– Convey your strengths, experience & skills

– Include work samples & accomplishments

• Claim your personalized URL

– Purchase your domain name for your online résumé and portfolio

• Ideally, www.yourname.com

• Typically under $10 per year – a great investment for your job search & career!

• Check on GoDaddy.com to see if your name (or some version of it) is available & the cost

– For LinkedIn, go to “Edit Profile” and click “Edit” next to your Public Profile link

– Click “Customize Your Public Profile URL”

– Choose your first name and last name or something similar to your social networking usernames

– Consistency in your usernames will help recruiters & employers find you easily

– You can opt for creating a professional Facebook page instead of using your personal profile: http://www.facebook.com/pages/

– Claim a personalized URL for your profile or page at: http://www.facebook.com/username/

• Connect with relevant contacts

– Add people you know to your networks on online profile sites

– Use address book importers to easily find everyone who is already on the site & invite others who are not yet

• Include relevant keywords & links

– In your Twitter bio, mention your field/industry, interests, skills and other relevant keywords

– Include a link to your professional portfolio, website, CV or LinkedIn profile

– In your LinkedIn profile, include keywords in your summary and specialties section

• Employers and recruiters search keywords on LinkedIn to find ideal candidates for positions

– List your previous work experience on your profile to connect your account with the organization(s)

– Link to your professional Twitter account on LinkedIn

– You have the option to include 3 additional links to your LinkedIn profile

– Pick the type from the dropdown menu or choose “Other”

– By choosing “Other” you can name each link yourself

– Don’t forget to fill in your interests, groups/associations & honors/awards as well!

– Your LinkedIn headline defaults to your last position title

– Consider broadening it to convey your expertise by including relevant keywords to your field & concentration

• Use a professional headshot on your profiles & résumé site

– Not having a photo on sites like Twitter may make others question whether you’re a “real” person

– A professional headshot is preferable for online profiles

– Avoid anything that may be considered inappropriate, such as excessive cleavage or visible alcoholic beverages

• Change your privacy settings on personal accounts

– For Facebook: Account > Privacy Settings

– Choose “Custom” or “Friends Only” to ensure non-friends cannot view religious views, wall posts, etc.

• Change your privacy settings on personal accounts

– Photo albums privacy settings are within each album

• Join professional groups

– Search for relevant groups on LinkedIn to coincide with your industry and interests

– Sign up for e-mail notifications when new discussions are posted – and join in or start your own when possible

• Join professional groups

– LinkedIn groups recently added a “Jobs” tab with jobs relevant to keywords set by the group manager or from the group itself

• Follow organizations of interest

Keep up with companies and professional associations through Twitter, Facebook & LinkedIn

• Share & create relevant content

– Increase your visibility by updating your status on your online profiles regularly

– Share content related to your field or interests

– Create your own content by keeping a professional blog or tumblr

• Share your expertise in your field

– Check out LinkedIn Answers http://www.linkedin.com/answers

– Look for questions you can provide answers to

• Request recommendations

– Connect with former co-workers, supervisors and colleagues

– Send recommendation requests to display on your profile

Summary

• Creating a positive online presence is a proactive and tech-savvy way to connect with potential employers

• Just taking a few minutes to improve your profiles and online résumé can drastically improve your visibility online

• Many employers are now checking job candidate’s online images before hiring – make yours an impressive one by being active & involved on each site

Thank you!

Join us for our next job seeker webinar on:

March 22, 2011: Things Recruiters & Hiring Managers Won’t Tell You

still job searching? tips for updating your online resume & profiles

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