Career Advice Talk

Recruiter Visibility – Job Seeker Success

18th March, 2011 - Posted by Robin Ogden -

In today’s job market one of the most important things for you to do is to position yourself so that you can be easily found on the internet by recruiters and employers.  In order to do this you’ve got to be aware of how to build your online visibility.  When a recruiter or employer types your name into Google – what do they find?  Try it yourself.

Here are 5 tips to help you build your online visibility:

LinkedIn – Put this on the top of your list and begin now.  It is critical that you have a strong LinkedIn profile and that it is 100% complete.  Don’t think you can just sign up for a LinkedIn account and have your name there – you must “build” a strong profile and set yourself up to be found by recruiters.  Today over 80% of recruiters and employers are using LinkedIn to identify job candidates and whether you’re currently in the job market or not, you want to be found online.  In today’s marketplace use of this powerful tool is “expected”…it’s really no longer just an option if you’re in a professional career.

Google Profile – another way to be listed on the 1st page of Google is to create a Google public profile.  It’s easy to do.  Just sign up for a gmail account, once you have your account go to the top right hand corner of the page and click on the down arrow under your name – you’ll see the word “profile”, click there and begin.  Simple and yet a very powerful way to show up on page 1 on Google.

Online Photo – Be sure to upload a professional “headshot” photo into your LinkedIn account, as well as your Google profile.  Although photos are still taboo on a resume (at least in the US), they are an expected part of your online profiles.  The tipping point has happened with the online photo and profiles that do not have them are simply not as ‘relatable’ as those that do, in other words you may be quickly passed over without one – a recruiter may wonder…hmm, why didn’t this person post a photo? What are they trying to hide?  You don’t want that to be what the recruiter is focused on.

Join Groups via LinkedIn – Within your LinkedIn account you have the option of becoming a member of various online groups.  You can search these groups via the ‘groups’ link button at the top of your LinkedIn account page.  If you’re unsure of which groups to join take a look at those within your profession or view the groups of others you are connecting with on LinkedIn to see what they are a member of.  Once you’ve joined a group sign up to receive a weekly digest of online conversations within the group and participate in answering and commenting on questions and posts.

Comment on Blogs – an excellent way to increase your online visibility is to participate in comments on popular blogs.  It’s easy – just read the blog post and at the bottom you will have an option of adding a comment.  Be sure that your name is linked to either your website and/or your LinkedIn account so that you will be able to drive traffic to you via the blog comment.  This will also help you become more visible on Google.  It doesn’t take long to make a comment, just a sentence or two will do.  Be sure you always remain professional with your language and use your link.