Whether one of your New Year’s resolutions is to get a new job or learn a new skill–or even pick up a new hobby–now’s the time to get yourself in gear. One of the best things you can do if you are a creative starting a new job search or continuing an ongoing job search is revising your online brand.
On LinkedIn
- Remember all those people you got back in touch with over the holidays? Invite them to join your LinkedIn network. Be sure to personalize the invitations, including a reminder of where you met or your recent conversation.
- Add 2012 accomplishments to your Profile. Your description of yourself may not be as perfect now as it was last year, so go ahead and tweak it for right here, right now.
- Give some endorsements. The people already in your network are talented professionals that you trust or they wouldn’t be there. The new Endorsements feature in LinkedIn lets you give them some support without having to write a recommendation note.
On Social Media
- If you have a Business Page on Facebook, take a look at the postings and descriptions. Make sure they are current and reflect your brand as it is today.
- Evaluate how frequently you are posting. If you are neglecting your Page a bit, put a reminder in your calendar to post once or twice a week. If you are posting a lot, makes sure all of your content is high quality and relevant.
Your Online Portfolio
- If you are a busy freelancer, your online portfolio is working for you. Don’t neglect to add new projects from the past year. You might tell a better story in a meeting with a potential client about something recent, that you are still excited about, than a project from a couple of years back. Put some new material in your portfolio to prime your interviewer with good questions that make for great storytelling opportunities.
At Artisan, we hope that 2013 is a banner year for you in all of your professional and personal endeavors!
Wendy Stackhouse, for Artisan Creative