Photo: Look Up Page
In today’s job market, it’s critical to be visible online in order to get ahead. When I was hired on with My Colleges and Careers, the hiring manager had googled my name and saw that I had an active social media presence which was part of the reason I was brought on board. To build up your personal brand to become more visible, here are 7 social media sites that you can utilize in order to help with your job search.
- LinkedIn is today’s foremost professional social media website around. Not only can you list your resume, skills, and apply for jobs, but network virtually and connect with key people in your industry and area. To go the extra mile, join LinkedIn groups in your field and be a regular contributor to brand yourself as an expert.
- Facebook isn’t just a fun time waster anymore, but a tool that can also be used strategically in your job search. Personal Branding expert Beth Campbell-Duke suggests creating your own professional Facebook page in your job search so you can protect your personal information and reach out to companies you want to work for as your professional alias.
- Tumblr is today’s hottest microblogging platform. In a recent comparison between WordPress, Blogger, and Tumblr, Tumblr came out on top in page views and attention on blog sites by a long shot. Create a Tumblr blog in an area of your interest, then blog and share content consistently so you can brand yourself as the expert on the topic.
- Twitter is an opportunity to get your message out in 140 characters or less. One of the most valuable ways to use Twitter is to listen to influencers, engage with people, and send traffic to your blog by sharing your content. Don’t underestimate the value of a tweet either! The University of Iowa recently awarded a $37,000 college scholarship for a 140 character Tweet essay.
- StumbleUpon has an excellent resource that recommends articles to its users based on their interests. As active participants on this social media site, we have literally stumbled upon hundreds of excellent articles about job searching and career building. You can use StumbleUpon as an educational tool and can even use it as a bookmarking site to keep all your favorite sites cataloged in one place.
- about.me. Since you have social media profiles all over the web, about.me provides you with a free splash page where you can put up a bio, profile picture, and link to your blog and your assorted profiles from one place. You can also track the people that are coming to your about.me site.
- bigsight is an online directory recommended by social media strategist Neal Schaffer that has the benefit of being visible by Google, with 87% of their profiles showing up at the top of Google. You can share your story with the world and dig down into the details by adding publications, presentations, and affiliations in addition to your work history.
What are you doing to build your personal brand online through social media?