Written by Carl Freelove, Marketing Manager, Big fish Recruitment
In today’s transparent digital world, where practically everything we create and share online through sites such as Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, YouTube or blog posts, collectively feed search results in Google, building a powerful reputation online is crucial to expanding your professional success.
People are Googling you all the time. It’s a phenomenon that’s guaranteed to impact on your career. In fact, according to online marketing resource, MarketingProfs, 75% of recruiters Google candidates before deciding to invite them in for interview, so a poor on-line profile could prevent you from advancing your career.
So in an era of ‘social web’ where Google is the new reference check for recruiters, this month we have put together an article with some top tips on building and maintaining stellar Google results to help expand your professional success.
Building brand 'you'
Read the current trade press and you will see that many businesses are actively using internet marketing to a deliver good return on investment during a tough economic climate, so job seekers should apply the same mind-set and use online brand building to ‘climb their way to the top of google’ and gain a competitive career advantage.
But firstly, what does Google say about you? Google yourself right now. What type of on-line identity do you currently have? The results might not make or break your chances of landing your next job, but do the results say what you want them to say about you?
If you aren’t happy with the results, then check out our top tips below to define and express your personal brand and take your career efforts to the next level:
7 easy ways to enhance your online brand:
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Write a blog - Lots of people have a blog these days. However, a well-written blog focused on your area of expertise is a good addition to your professional branding package. When creating an online blog, always use your name as your URL whenever possible to help bolster your search engine rankings.
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Create an online presence - Find blogs in your area of expertise, subscribe to them, and comment frequently (and intelligently, of course). Use Google Blog (
http://blogsearch.google.com/) to search for blogs using relevant key words. In your comments, include a link to one of your profiles (e.g. LinkedIn, your own blog, website etc). Be sure that all your articles are focused and relevant to both your skills and your career goals
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LinkedIn - Create a LinkedIn profile and start connecting. Ask and answer LinkedIn questions to increase your visibility. Recommend others, and ask them to recommend you. Invite folks you know to join LinkedIn. Look for ways to proactively connect two folks in your network to each other. Check out our previous LinkedIn article for some top LinkedIn tips
http://www.bigfishrecruitment.com/linkedin-job-hunting.html
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Create links - Drive traffic to yourself by using hyperlinks to guide users from your website or blog to your LinkedIn profile and vice versa — creating your own self-referring network
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Try reviewing relevant industry books at amazon.co.uk and other on-line bookstores and link back to your website or blog.
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Push the bad stuff out of sight – Get the word out professionally by removing any suspect pictures or comments about you on online social networks. Potential recruiters don’t need to see pictures of your wild social exploits on Facebook. Alternatively, to be careful what you're sharing, make sure that you make your account on any social networks private so only your friends can access it.
The bottom line? By building a positive online brand, you can ensure that you influence what someone would find if they Googled you.
And even when you think you’ve reached digital distinction by building your brand everywhere possible, remember that your Google results can change as fast as the weather, so regularly monitor your online identity and continue to update your online content to remain relevant and one step ahead of the competition.
Happy brand building!
Carl Freelove
Marketing Manger
Big fish Recruitment
