June 21, 2021

Integrating your online presence and in-person networking to find your next job

Authors:

Don’t Expect Your Dream Job to Find You

You shouldn’t expect your next job to find you. But you also never know when your dream job will pop up. What you do know, or should… is that if you can’t be found, you’ll never hear about these opportunities. It’s tempting to rely on the internet alone to connect with employers, but you can’t, you have to get out and meet people too. Even if you aren’t looking for a job, staying in touch with your social connections and engaging in networking is crucial for finding the job you want.

With this in mind, consider the following scenario: You go out to an in-person networking event, and once there you make connections, and tell people your story, experiences, and goals for the future. What do you do the next day? Most of us login to LinkedIn to look at the profiles of the new people we’ve met. If you’re doing this with other people, other people are doing the same thing, and the question, is not only whether your online profile is up-to-date, but if your online profile reflects your in-person presence and vice versa?
We’ll take a further look at these questions below, while also providing tips on how to strengthen your in-person connection opportunities with your online networking.

Build the Foundation for a Strong Online Presence

Don’t wait until you need to look for a job to put the foundation in place for a strong online brand. Update your resume every six months to keep it relevant and current with your accomplishments. The longer you wait to add accomplishments the more likely you’ll miss or forget them. You can always edit things out or re-focus it later. And then…

You must build connections to find your dream job… but you must enhance those efforts with a strong online brand and presence. To do this we suggest the following:

Focus on building your foundation, update your resume… and stay current.

Balance this with building out your online presence… this includes LinkedIn, but can also include platforms such as personal websites, Instagram, or Twitter.

Strike the right tone between professional and conversational.

Clean-up your online presence.

Get out into the world, through associations, meet-ups, and in-person connections.

And when you have questions we’re here to help.

More blogs from James Hornick

See all Careerwell Corner Blog entries....

Our Latest Featured Episode

Our Shows