Discuss the
ways in which an authentic online professional profile can be developed.
There are various ways that an
authentic profile can be developed. In my opinion the most effective way to build
an authentic worthwhile profile is on LinkedIn.
LinkedIn is a great resource as
the majority of services on it are there to help you build an identity that
looks the part for employers, as well as highlighting key skills through the
use of endorsements e.g. communication skills.
For example it encourages users
to upload CV’s to their profile, and read relevant news articles about your
desired industry. This directed further reading that you can do around your
profile will definitely help when it comes to interviews and assessment
centres, as the articles are relevant and up to date.
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However building an online
authentic online profile cannot be done with a single service. In order to
build a complete profile you need to use a variety of services with a
consistent set of goals to portray the image you want.
A twitter account can be very
useful to enhance a professional profile; it can even be linked with LinkedIn
by using the #in. You can use them in harmony to post about useful links, or
articles online that interest you. Employers find this appealing, as it shows a
real interest in the industry.
An interesting statistic that I
found relevant to this topic is that 75% of HR departments are now required to
screen job requirements online. [2] I thought this figure would be high, but
not this high. Employers are also reported to be more worried if they don’t
find anything about you on the web.
Did you have
any online presence 10 years ago?
The importance of the profile
being the best is can be, is due to the fact that competition for jobs is now
on a global scale. [3]
15 years ago a job application
would have involved posting your CV to your employer’s physical location. Now
application forms are done online, often before a CV is required. After these
stage is when online profiles will be scanned.
The research completed by JISC
also mentioned the blurring between “’real’ and ‘virtual’, public and private”.[3]
This is a danger that we have to
look out for, as more and more people are blurring these lines, especially
public and private. Users posting all 500 of their holiday photos on Facebook is fine, but
you have to remember that everyone can see these, and that maybe certain photos would be better kept private.
Personal View
If like me you’ve already got
LinkedIn and Twitter accounts the current issue is maintaining these profiles
in a professional manner, and at the same time not blurring the private and
public lines.
This YouTube video highlights
how in years to come this could be the undoing of our future career paths. [1] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A2bniFJigI0\
Personally I let my Facebook
profile go a little as the privacy settings are set so that only friends can
see my information. As I primarily use this service for social interaction.
Conclusion
In conclusion building an authentic
online professional profile is a constant process. It is not possible to
complete it, and in order to benefit from having one (job prospects) new
content must be professionally written and updated at regular intervals.
References
[2] Cross tab Marketing Services Survey – In Lisa Harris
PowerPoint
