Don’t have a professional digital profile? You’re behind already! Creating a professional digital presence for myself is the best thing I have done for my career development, generating opportunities for expanding my networks, digital knowledge and career pathway.
Why do I need one?
E-recruitment, particularly through social media, allows for shorter hiring times and an acceleration of recruitment processes. In a world where everything is digital, it’s no wonder that recruitment has moved online too.
Jobvite’s 2014 ‘Social Recruiting Survey’ shows just how important a professional digital profile can be in recruitment.
Summary of the findings of Jobvite’s 2014 ‘Social Recruiting Survey’
Online identities are something I have previously discussed on this blog, with me preferring to keep my professional and personal digital profiles separate. Although this may affect my networking opportunities through my choice to keep my Facebook account separate, with 94% of recruiters using LinkedIn to find potential candidates, my strong presence on this site means I am not at a disadvantage.
This doesn’t mean I don’t act professionally on my personal accounts!
Justine Sacco’s case is extreme but of the 55% of candidates reconsidered by recruiters based on their social profile, 61% of those reconsiderations were negative. With companies such as Reppify helping to sift through the information presented by us online on behalf of recruiters, it’s time to stop and think… if you wouldn’t say it in the workplace, do you need to say it online?
How do I make one?
Building an authentic professional digital profile is easy enough if you follow these four simple steps…
What do I do next?
The work is not over! Managing and maintaining your professional digital profile is integral in strengthening your online presence and making your accounts worthwhile.
Updating and Authenticity
Adding new experience and qualifications to your profiles, and being honest about them, increases your employability and networking opportunities.
Digital Visitors and Residents
It is not enough to be either a digital visitor or a digital resident when promoting yourself professionally on social media, you have to be both. Using the internet just to search for a job is not enough, you need to maintain your presence to expand your networks and generate opportunities.
Why stop at social networks?
Creating a blog about your interests and passions is a great way to suggest dedication and motivation, demonstrate creativity and sets you apart from the competition. Keeping yourself in the loop with a blog, either about your field of work or your personal interests, boosts your professional online presence.
Creating and maintaining an authentic professional digital profile does take time and can be hard work. However, the benefits far outweigh the effort, boosting your employability considerably.
Word Count: 408 words
References
Broughton, A. Foley, B. Ledermaier, S & Cox, A (2013) Research Paper: The Use of Social Media in the Recruitment Process from ACAS [Accessed 12th March 2016]
Nigel Wright Recruitment (2011) The Impact of Social Media on Recruitment from Nigel Wright Recruitment [Accessed 12th March 2016]
Ronson, J (2015) How One Stupid Tweet Blew up Justine Sacco’s Life from the New York Times Magazine [Accessed 7th March 2016]
Jobvite (2015) 2014 Social Recruiting Survey from Jobvite [Accessed 7th March 2016]
Quast, L (2012) Recruiting Reinvented: How Companies are Using Social Media in the Hiring Process from Forbes [Accessed 12th March 2016]
LinkedIn (2013) LinkedIn for Students: Top Five Profile To-Do’s from LinkedIn [Accessed 12th March 2016]
BBC News (2013) Job Hunting: How to Promote Yourself Online from the BBC [Accessed 7th March 2016]
TheEmployable (2014) How Blogging Can Help You Get a Job from TheEmployable [Accessed 7th March 2016]
Media
‘Building a Professional Digital Profile’ video created using stupeflix.com, uploaded to my YouTube channel
[Featured Image] via pixabay.com
‘Social Media and Recruitment’ infographic created using piktochart.com
Ellis Metcalf 
Hey Ellis,
Firstly great post! It was an interesting read.
I completely agree about why we should have a professional profile. Seeing that in the new age of technology, connections and opportunities that are available on the web has definitely made me push to build an online profile myself. I was always very reluctant but nevertheless decided to do it because I know the benefits of doing so. When you mentioned blogs, I actually never thought about using blogs as an effective tool towards building a professional profile online. I have always used LinkedIn as the main source of developing my online professional presence because I feel it provides me with more opportunities. Do you think that developing a blog will definitely open myself to a wider range of opportunities, especially if I link it to my LinkedIn?
Rofini.
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Hello Rofini, thank you for the positive comment! I too had never considering blogging as an effective tool for building a professional online profile until I read TheEmployable’s article [http://www.theemployable.com/index.php/2014/10/28/blogging-can-help-get-job/]. Since publishing my post I have come across many articles that encourage blogging as a way to develop your online profile professionally and expose you to a wider range of opportunities. Cheston’s article for Forbes [http://www.forbes.com/sites/work-in-progress/2012/06/13/how-to-blog-to-your-new-career/#23d0c2e95582] advocates blogging as a way to find the right career path for you. I definitely think that blogging is a great professional development tool for yourself, and linking your blog to your professional accounts including your LinkedIn is a good way of showing potential employees your motivations, dedication and drive. Hope this helped to answer your question!
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Hi Ellis, I really enjoyed your blog post this week. Not only were your points valid and thought provoking but I loved your use of headings and media, which gave it a little something extra, enticing me into reading and now commenting!
You mention that we ‘need’ an online profile, statistics through studies by sources such as Jobvite as you mentioned definitely support this but I am interested on your use of the word ‘need’ suggesting that without an online professional profile we are not recruit able. Do you think this is the case? I would almost agree as if an employer were to Google your name with nothing relevant to show they may conclude your job application as a hoax and simply flick past it, proving that we need to be active online.
This links to referencing the requirement to be a digital visitor and resident as we discovered in topic 1, something that I also mentioned in my blog post this week. You might like to check it out! I look forward to seeing how you add a creative edge to your blog when we continue the module after Easter!
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Hi Holly, thank you for your comment! I never truly understood the importance of an online professional profile until I started this academic year. After gaining real-life experience in the workplace, those I was working with were shocked that I didn’t have a LinkedIn account. Since then I have been an avid user of the site and update my profile regularly. My own personal experiences as well as the overwhelming statistics from Jobvite led me to suggest that we need an online profile to compete with the amount of qualified potential candidates out there; a well-designed, authentic online profile can set you apart from the competition!
I will definitely check out your post from topic 1, and it’s interesting that you made such a link between the two subjects as they seem vastly different on the surface.
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Hi Ellis. Great post!
Your post helped create a new insight for me in terms of using a blog to boost your online presence and make you more employable. I had never before considered the fact that creating a blog shows dedication, motivation and creativity; and can actually set you apart from competition!
Inspired by this, I actually now think that writing a blog is an excellent way to build an online professional profile and believe this may be something I do with my blog after finishing this module. However, I don’t think this necessarily applies to everyone. For me, someone who wants to go into marketing, I think it’s of high importance. But for some who, say, wants to go into a health profession, I struggle to see the benefit of writing a blog. Do you agree with me, or do you think writing a blog can help anyone build a stronger online professional profile?
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Hi Sam, thank you for your comment! I too was interested in blogging as a tool to help you get a job and it was something I had never considered before this topic. I still think writing a blog can help anyone build a stronger online professional presence, regardless of their profession. Blogging demonstrates the ability to dedicate yourself to a task, passion for a subject, motivation to keep posting on something that isn’t a necessity but is a great tool to set you apart from the competition. These skills are essential in any job, not just a profession like marketing! If both candidates for a nursing role have the same qualifications, work experience and people skills, would not pick the one with a blog about their career and passion for nursing and helping others?
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