How an Online Presence Can Boost Your Likelihood of Landing a Job

How to survive and excel in this cutthroat job market?  One needs to have more than just an impressive resume and a killer handshake to land a job. You have to prove to your potential employers that you’re different than other applicants. You have more to offer than just a good work ethic. Therefore, a great advantage would be to create an online presence – and this might just be your ticket to your new job.

By creating an online presence, you can position yourself as an expert within your field.  You are not just a run-of-the-mill Joe that coasts through his career based on the accomplishments of others.

You can prove your worth to employers even before sitting in the hot seat and you can also find jobs that remain unadvertised on popular job boards like Monster.com and Indeed.com.

Below are several ways you can build an online presence to hook potential employers and reel them in with your unique spin on job searching.

Start a Blog

Gone are the days where blogs express only your personal musings and deepest thoughts about last night’s dinner. Create a blog tailored to your niche.  Utilize it to express your expertise in your field. For example, if you’re an experienced restaurant manager, you can create posts such as the following:

1. Five Simple Tricks to Improving your Service Times
2. The Real Reason Your Restaurant Has Such a High Turnover
3. Enhance Employee Performance by Following this Golden Rule
4. The Ins and Outs of Maintaining your Inventory
5. 3 Secret Tips for Handling Diner Complaints Efficiently

Surely, if you’re really as experienced as you claim to be on your resume, you’ll be able to write blog posts tailored towards your industry fairly quickly.

You can find blog post topics that employers are actually interested in reading by just performing a simple job description search. On an online job board, search for the position you’re seeking and analyze the required responsibilities. Next, create a list of the responsibilities and craft your blog posts on these topics.

A blog is beneficial to your job search because it allows you to display to employers just how knowledgeable you are in your current industry. It’s one thing to give short answers to a few questions at interviews, but if you’re addressing problems that the company currently needs help with on your blog, without even being prompted to do so, you position yourself under the best light.

Social Networking Profiles

Both corporate giants and small business owners alike are making their way onto the social media scene. They’re using social media to network, build customer loyalty, analyze trends, and find potential candidates to fill vacancies within their businesses. Because of this, it’s more important than ever to create a strong social networking presence for yourself.

LinkedIn

LinkedIn is currently the only social networking website of its kind. Master the basics of LinkedIn by filling out a complete profile. Include a presentable photo, a link to your blog, and interlink to your other social networking profiles.

LinkedIn is truly a place where being popular can help you get ahead, so feel free to send a connect request to just about every colleague or client you’ve ever had.

Maximize your exposure by answering questions related to your industry, as this allows you to openly showcase your expertise. And most importantly, make use of the job search function, which is restricted to members only.

Facebook 

Do an internal audit of your personal Facebook page and delete anything that a potential employer might feel wary of. Or better yet, adjust your privacy settings so only your friends can see your wall since you can’t control the type of wording your friends will use when they write on your wall.

Weed through your images and notes. Post more pictures of yourself in business attire and keep the ones with your family, but delete any that may seem promiscuous or scream: “let’s party!”

To make the most of your Facebook page, post notes about your thoughts on industry controversy and make them viewable to the public.

Twitter

Twitter is a goldmine for finding work! The great thing about Twitter is that you can search for job leads as they’re tweeted. By downloading a program called Tweet Deck, you can create alerts for any tweets that match your selected keywords.

For example, if you create an alert for the keyword phrase “need an assistant manager,” you’ll get updates from every public Twitter account in the world that posts a Tweet that matches your phrase.

Sometimes, when an employer is truly desperate to land a new employee, they make their hiring decision based on “first-come, first-serve.” Tweet Deck can help you be the first applicant on the scene.

The internet has come a long way from just being able to connect with lost friends. Now, you can create an online resume, showcase your work by creating a blog, search for job postings within seconds of vacancies occurring. Most importantly, you can build relationships with the right people. Use the internet to your advantage by mastering your web presence.