How to further your career online

We speak to Carolyn Holgate, MWEB Connect General Manager, about how to use the internet to further your career.

How important is having an internet presence when it comes to furthering your career?
Having an internet presence is becoming absolutely vital, as more employers are now using sites like LinkedIn to see who you are and what skills you have and to research your credentials. A strong online presence will not only aid you in your research for career opportunities, but also facilitate opportunities easily finding you in the future.

For any prospective employee, the best sites to have a strong presence on will be:
LinkedIn – more employers are using LinkedIn to research prospective employees’ credentials.
Google Profiles – allows you to present yourself across all Google products.
MyGenius – allows you to join in on discussions and network with industry peers.
You should have a presence on the more traditional social media sites like Google+, Twitter and SlideShare, among others. If you have a profile on Facebook which is aimed more at friends and family than prospective employers, make sure your privacy settings are correctly enabled.

How does one maintain one’s brand online and create consistency?
Personal branding is essential in business. The market place is crowded and as competitive as ever so you always need to be one step ahead of your competition.

It’s all about establishing an online persona. Within your profile, make sure you have a clear theme and message. Convey your skills clearly and give people the opportunity to get to know more about you and what you have to offer. Position yourself as an expert by sharing interesting articles, interviews, events, videos, etc that are relevant to your field, with the people who follow you.

Consistency is also key. Make sure all your online profiles have the same picture. This way people always know who you are on the various social media sites.

How can the internet be detrimental to your career?
Once something is on the Internet, it is public property – everyone can see it. So be extremely careful what you share on social media sites.

That photo your friend took of you at a nightclub, which you thought was harmless, could be a complete deal-breaker for a prospective employer looking at your profile. Make sure your privacy settings on social media sites are very high, so that you have the opportunity to accept or decline being tagged in other people’s photos.

Also don’t bad-mouth your current employer, colleagues or clients on social media platforms, as this is very unprofessional and could put your current position in jeopardy.

What behaviours should you avoid online?
The fun lover: Think about what you share online – the party photos, the rants and the oversharing. The internet is an amazing space, but can cause a lot of harm to your reputation. Be sure what you put out on the web. If it’s online, it is there forever for everyone to see.

The serial sharer: Do not flood social media with everything from your latest recipe to breaking business news. Be consistent when sharing stories online so that people know what to expect. And consider your audience – make sure what you’re sharing is relevant. Otherwise it’s confusing to your followers and might make them less likely to look at future stories you might post.

Everyone’s friend: If you want to connect to a person you know on LinkedIn and Facebook who might not know or remember you, don’t just send them an invite or request to join your network. This is like walking around in a shopping mall, passing out your business card to every person. Write a message to the person, telling them who you are, how you know them and why you want to connect.