What should your online presence say about you?

Not so long ago, most people didn’t have to worry about their online presence or personal brand. Unless you were a celebrity, politician, or prominent CEO or entrepreneur in a public-facing company, doing well in your career involved doing good work and making in-person connections. Applying for a job meant mailing (or physically dropping) off your résumé and cover letter. Social media changed all that. As we’ve discovered in this week’s episode of Secrets of the Most Productive People podcast, marketing strategist and Duke University professor Dorie Clark recounted a story of when a client almost didn’t hire someone because they couldn’t find any information about the candidate online. At minimum, employers expect an updated LinkedIn profile. The more content you can create (such as a blog post), the better. Here are three things you should consider when you’re auditing your online presence: 1. Keep everything as up-to-date as possible. This includes LinkedIn, Twitter, and your personal website if you have one. You never know when people might need your expertise, or when your dream company wants to hire someone with your skills and qualifications. 2. Make yourself accessible. You want to have some way for people to contact you, whether it’s by email, Twitter direct messages, or messages on your personal website. There’s no point showcasing the value that you can bring, only for people to struggle to get in touch with you. 3. Stay true to yourself. It’s easy in the social media age to feel like you need to present a certain image, but in a world of curated filters, anything that doesn’t come across as genuine is going to be obvious. Just be strategic about what you share. And new this season, we’re answering your questions: What’s the career question that Google can’t help you out with? In the next few episodes we’ll be tackling how to answer the most common interview questions, how to negotiate your starting salary, and more. Leave a voice mail with your question at ‪(201) 371-3278, and your question might be featured on an upcoming episode.