Listen up, Executives! Online equals your brand
If you are an Executive or Senior Manger, please tell me you are job searching with more than just a resume and that you are online with a strong personal marketing campaign. If you are not online…why not? How will companies trust you with their brand management, market research, or product positioning? Will fortune 500 companies believe you can lead teams into new market channels when your own brand/ uniqueness is nonexistent online!?
Now, while this post aims to convince you of how important it is for you to control your image online, I am in no way stating that online should be the only job search method. No, you must diversify your job search as my colleague Abby Locke states in her blog. But for now, let's dive into this online marketing/branding more...
The age of personal Web 2.0 marketing has been here for some time and will be here forever!
The Internet has catapulted job search into the social media world. Who you are offline should be echoed online. Do you have a strong Internet presence? If someone *Googles* you would they recognize your personal brand, expertise, or value offer? More importantly, will they envision the results you will produce for their company on a national or global scale?
Every serious leader should be controlling, shaping, promoting, and fortifying their brand and image online. Why? First, influence what others see and think about your leadership; Second, rub virtual elbows with the right crowd and the right crowd is online capitalizing on all networking opportunities; Third, project a pioneering, visionary, and high-tech leadership image. (We are navigating toward the future. Right?)
The pace at which shopping, communicating, and yes, job searching online is thunderous. You cannot ignore it; you should not miss out on it…or your competition will outdistance you in the job search market.
Where do you begin?
Here are some essential job search tools and top social media accounts you must launch right away! (I will elaborate on each of the following in future posts.)
1. An Executive Resume & Cover Letter: Hire a professional resume writer to combine efforts with you in the development of amazing executive dossiers that will highlight the challenges you have faced at each corporation, how you conquered them, and the results you have produced.
2. LinkedIn Account: Is mainly a professional networking site, which will enable you to connect with those in your past or current work history.
3. Visual CV: Create a resume/portfolio that will always be online available for you 24 x7. Need to give someone your resume? Sure, give them your VisualCV account.
4. Twitter: Twitter is a micro blogging site that will help you connect with those whom you follow or are following you. Please read three consecutive post on this topic here.
If you want to go the extra mile and truly customize and control your online image and message, create your own website. David did. Who’s David? See here: http://www.davidkearsley.com/ (I am not the creater of this site. I am just linking to it so you see the control this job seeker, David, took of his own career and online job search).
We will cover more on this topic and discuss other social media sites such as Facebook and creating your Google profile in the next post. As always, if you have any questions, please email me at rvargas@creatingprints.com or call 321.704.7209 or visit www.careersteering.com
Rosa Elizabeth Vargas -- Resume Expert!
Triple-certified Resume Writer: NCRW, ACRW, and MRW
One of only 28 credentialed (MRW) Master Resume Writers world-wide
