Is it time to clean up your on-line image or personal brand?
Does your on-line image convey exactly the type of person a potential employer would want to hire?
Do your communications – blog commenting, tweets, linkedin updates, flickr comments, facebook postings on your wall or your friend’s walls – convey the communication, writing, spelling, grammar, language a potential employer might evaluate.
Could you get away with the public email address, nickname, avatar, photo streams if you were employed by your ideal employer vs. what you’re doing now on the social media sites.
From an employer perspective – your image or “personal brand” is a conglomeration of all these on-line/public activities. We’ve discussed in a number of our Internet Radio Talk show the issue of personal branding in your job search. Feel free to listen or download the audio from our past shows by clicking here.
Social media has taken what a few years ago was very private between friends and made it transparent for the world to see. First impressions play an important role in helping hiring managers decide whether to call or meet you. We’ve got an active discussion group on LinkedIn discussing this and many other topics related to your job search. Join us on the LinkedIn Discussion Group by clicking here.
Would your Mother be ashamed or proud of you? How about your next boss? The HR department at your next company? What would your co-workers think?
What would your most respected friends offer you as advice about your current on-line image or personal brand? Would they be comfortable telling you to clean it up.
Is it time to apply a little detergent to your on-line image, activities, and personal brand?
It might make the difference between taking months off your job search, add thousands to your annual compensation, and lead to a job that provides a lot of personal satisfaction vs. drudgery.
Barry
photo credit barkdog
Tags: Job Search, Personal Branding
Job Search Preparation | Barry Deutsch May 7, 2009
About the Author
Barry Deutsch is a founding Partner of IMPACT Hiring Solutions, co-author of "You're NOT the Person I Hired", and "This is NOT the Position I Accepted". Barry is an award-winning international speaker, retained executive recruiter, and expert on hiring and retaining top talent, and executive job search.
