An online profile is one of the four key components of your marketing campaign because it represents you online where recruiters and employers do look for candidates. Compare your profile to other profiles at your level and target, and make sure that you are competitive in your experience and skills. Continuing the PR example from earlier, if certain keywords (or, specific words or phrases) are often found in PR profiles, make sure you have these in your profile. (If you don’t have a legitimate reason to weave those keywords into your profile, this could be a sign that you lack something considered a prerequisite to getting those jobs!) Check also for specific computer or other technical skills to ensure you are competitive with your peers.
Social media enables you to update in real time, so make sure you update your status. In social media, status refers to what you are currently doing and may include professional or personal activities. LinkedIn has a status area on the profile. Facebook has a Wall to post what you are doing. Updating your status notifies site members connected to you. Frequent updating also ensures that people who view your profile always see the latest version. Each update is another nudge to view your background. It reminds people what you are doing. Don’t just think of status as your employment status—that is, whether or not you have a job. Use your status to communicate projects you are working on, informational meetings you have attended, and other professional activities that may not be directly job search related, but clearly demonstrate that you are keeping busy. Your status is not static, but should reflect your ever-changing skills and experience.
With a paper résumé, it is unwieldy to include a lot of attachments, such as a portfolio of your work. A work portfolio might include published articles if are a writer, or illustrations and designs if you are a designer. Using your online profile, you can link to an online collection of your work (for example, using the SlideShare application to showcase a slide presentation) and create a comprehensive view of everything you offer. LinkedIn and Facebook have applications that enable you to link your blog to your profile. If you have a blog and your blog showcases examples of your work, your profile updates with samples of your work whenever you post to your blog. LinkedIn also has applications that allow you to share what you are reading, where you are traveling, and even slide presentations you have created. While this level of detail would be onerous for a paper résumé, online it is easy to page through and access as much data as you’d like, so you can offer the reader (in this case, recruiters and employers) much more information.
If you are positioning yourself for a job in PR, ask the following questions about your profile:
- Do you share the same important keywords as other profiles active in PR?
- Do you describe your projects in a similar way?
- Should you join certain Groups so that you are active in the same circles?
- Can you update your status periodically to showcase PR work you are doing for a school club or professional association? Have you attended a conference or read an article that you’d like to share in your status?
- Can you share samples from a recent campaign?
- Have you read books or articles on the industry that you can add to your status?
If you are positioning yourself for a job in the nonprofit intersection of children and the arts, ask the following questions about your profile:
- Do you have examples of work with children and the arts in your profile?
- Have you isolated a functional area, such as fund-raising or programming, where you can focus your keywords?
- Are your Groups, status updates, and applications consistent with an interest in children and the arts?
- Can you post a status update or sample of a recent project or volunteer experience involving children, the arts, or both?
- What books or articles have you read in this area that you can add to your status?
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