Food for thought:
"According to a recent study by Cross-Tab Marketing services, 75% of HR departments worldwide are required to screen job candidates online. Seventy percent of recruiters and HR professionals in the U.S. clam they have rejected potential hires based on information surfaced online, and nearly half say that a strong online reputation influences their hiring decisions to a “great extent.” A similar study conducted by CareerBuilder last year found that 45% of HR professionals screen job candidates on social media sites." (source)
Part of our work in ENG 203 is building a professional online presence for you as an up-and-coming member in today's job market. We will be creating Google profiles - either a straight resume, a "cover letter" style, or a hybrid of the two - which will highlight the qualities that make you an attractive candidate for your ideal job. We'll also be making LinkedIn profiles, where your professional information is available on a respectable, business-oriented social networking platform. Linking your LinkedIn profile, your semester blog project, and your business Twitter project to your Google profile will be part of this process, so that the image you want is the one that will appear to prowling prospective employers.
LINKEDIN PROFILES:
Make sure to play with the privacy settings on LinkedIn to insure Google searches of you will only show what you'd like them to see. Photos aren't required, but a generic, smiling photo that makes you seem approachable is fine. Join your classmates and me, making your network larger, and we will, in class, write character recommendations for each other. It may be wise for you to use the same username/password for your Google and LinkedIn profiles. You may view my LinkedIn Profile here: http://www.linkedin.com/in/erinmccoy03
GOOGLE PROFILES:
1) The straight professional profile is one where you simply place an extended resume - still edited! - next to your links and perhaps a photo. This profile may even contain information about you already available online, such as an article about you or a professional photo or contact information at your current job. For an example of a professional profile, click here.
Notes on the sample profile: Jobs are listed simply, with consistent format re: dates, etc. Links are explained and alphabetized. This profile is simple and to the point, much like a resume available online.
2) The cover letter professional profile:
Using the this example (no longer activated - 10/10) we can break down a cover letter profile:
Make an introduction by establishing a professional tone that is still approachable. What do you know first about me? What I do (alphabetically, no less). So introduce yourself with who you are. As for tone, here we have a semi-conversational tone (to achieve a truly professional tone, refrain from using contractions, but this can sound a little stiff, so keep your future job’s attitude in mind, i.e. banks, law offices = no contractions). We have full professional introduction, with interests, foci, and current projects mentioned first. Since I’m looking for a job where I teach what I talk about first, it’s important that I mention that I’ve been teaching for a while. Because universities also look for publications in their applicants’ files, I mention that as well. So, for your “cover letter”: What does your prospective employer want to see? What should you mention – what can you anticipate them asking and answer now? What might entice them to hire you – experience, interests, current projects, background, etc.? Remember to use action verbs!
Mention more: Who you are outside of work is important too! Everyone does their fair share of day-to-day drivel that doesn’t sound fantastic on paper, but the key here is to make it interesting and apply it to your job’s requirements. For example, university professors are expected to do “service” for the university along with their teaching and publishing requirements, so I want them to know that I can do that while teaching (and going to school), hence the volunteer work listed. I opened with a number – “11 year yoga practice”; remember the numbers talk in lecture! – and added links (which proves I’m not just doing lip service – anything you say you do you should definitely do; lying never endears you to prospective employers). What can you add here? What could you write that applies to such job-pertaining qualities as teamwork, volunteering, special interests or hobbies? What do you do outside of school that might benefit your future career? Remember, you can put your semester project here if you’d like☺
Go the distance! Depending on how much you want to share, you can direct your reader where to go next from your webpage, and this might help them remember you more by recalling something you "told them." So far, you have introduced yourself professionally and quasi-personally; is there anything you can add? Would you like to direct your reader to another website, or at least thank them for looking at your page? Tailor this to your employer’s “unknown” requests. A link to photos of your travels or maybe your side-projects/hobbies might prove you’re a good photographer, or it could further prove your real passion for, say, restoring motorcycles/painting/gardening, etc. Or perhaps you can send your prospective employer to your LinkedIn profile. This section is sort of up to you, but leave your profile viewer with something interesting! Make them leave thinking, “wow, so-and-so is really perfect for a job as XYZ; they fit all the criteria.”
OTHER EXAMPLES OF GOOGLE PROFILES:
John Cain
Carl Gibson
Clifford Bryan
Jocelyn
LINKS:
Managing Your Online Presence
19 Online Presence Management Tips
You Are Not Anonymous: Your Online Presence
Keeping Track of Your Online Reputation
