Job Tip #11: Have a professional online presence
Like it or not your next employer will Google you it’s just a matter of what you want them to find. Your Facebook page does not count as your web presence.
It goes without saying that if you are gunning for a web developer or designer job that you need to have your own website featuring your portfolio. However, if that’s not you, you don’t have to be intimidated at the thought of showing off your work online. The great about all these sites is you don’t need to be an HTML guru. These sites allow you to have a personalized profile showing off your talent, skills and background without knowing a tag.
If you haven’t done so already and if nothing else, create a LinkedIn profile, even if you are still in school. This is important for two reasons. One, you can have a profile that shows where you have been and where you want to go, but also it lets other people find you through people they know. People are more likely to hire someone they know or a personal referral. Don’t stop at the profile; make connections. The power of LinkedIn is being able to build your network and leverage your network. Personally, I only connect with people I feel comfortable making a connection for that person.
I previously wrote about having your own domain name, but not everyone has web skillz to create a site (you should still buy a domain and set up and email address). There are several sites you can have an online identity without knowing HTML. One of my favorites came from my pal, HR expert and blog writer Laurie Ruettimann: VisualCV. This is a great way to spice up your resume and showcase your work. It has come in handy when people unexpectedly wanted to view my resume and I could point them to the link.
Another good site is Card.ly. This is an easy one-stop shop where you can add links to all of your profiles and give people one easy link. It is essentially an online business card.
What are your suggestions for creating an online presence for the non-web skilled crowd?
Comments
@Allison: Before launching my personal website, I used a paid Card.ly profile to aggregate my profile links (Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook). It's a good non-techy "hub" alternative. And if someone registers a personal domain name, they can send visitors to the Card.ly page.
A self-hosted WordPress blog is probably the best bet for long-term personal branding, but that's more than most people want to set up (and maintain). It gets easier every time, but most people should consider hiring a WordPress consultant to set it up.
Setting up a Tumblr site is a very easy way to set up a snazzy looking blog to show off a portfolio or writing. They now let you set static pages, and you can easily set it up to appear as a domain name (such as theantisocialmedia.com) without figuring out how to host the thing.
@karl and jay
I realize a blog is another way to have an online presence, but I intentionally left it out because I wanted people to know there are ways to have an online presence that's fairly easy and low-maintenance. As we all know social media, blogging, etc is hard work that not everyone is inclined or committed to doing. Not wanting to commit to maintaining a blog doesn't mean you can't have an online presence. And with the above mentioned sites, there really is no excuse to not have one.
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