by Marina Shemesh

Created on: October 24, 2010   Last Updated: January 13, 2012

We have all heard the cautionary tales of being careful about what you post on the Internet. Recruitment officers like nothing better than Googling potential employees to dig up some dirt about why they should not hire you.

If you are looking for work, it is better not to boast that you are one serious party animal on FaceBook. Blog posts and comments should be fine-combed for the smallest grammar and spelling mistakes and you really shouldn’t Twitter a daily tip on how to grow awesome cannabis.

Just one inappropriate photo of you with a can of beer in your hand and you can kiss that dream job goodbye. No wonder the most of us only have a boring, half-baked profile on LinkedIn.

Why not turn that whole “Googling your name thing” upside down and give those recruitment officers much more than they ever bargained for? Go out there and drag some huge cyber-footsteps all over the Net! Start thinking of creating an online presence in the same way you would about handing out business cards. Or sending out the millionth resume. Or networking with strangers.

Just think of it, an online presence can help you get a job while you are sleeping!

This is where you should start:

Create a great LinkedIn profile. Add as much information as you can about all the wonderful jobs you ever had and what an asset you were to your company (don’t brag, be humble but thorough). Make sure that you have a nice friendly looking photo and that you are dressed appropriately. Business men should wear a suit, a diver should wear a wet suit and a clown a clown suit – you get the picture.

Start a blog. It makes sense that you should blog about your profession, or the profession that you hope to be hired in. Let those recruitment people see that you are not a total amateur. Writers for example have blogs about grammar rules, gardeners blog about gardening and teachers often write about teaching. But if you want to blog about something else, why not? It only shows that you are an interesting and intelligent person.

Leave comments. It would be ideal to comment (intelligently) to the blog posts of people who are in the profession that you are looking to find a job in. Also, hanging around the blogs and websites of these professionals can give you insider information about job openings.

Write web content. Writing guest blog posts and online articles is another great way to build your online presence. Bloggers are always looking for fresh content and you will not have to look very far to find a blog that you can write for. Sites such as Helium.com, AssociatedContent, ConstantContent, eHow, and Hubpages all allow you to post articles. You will be able to enlarge that cyber footstep, build a writing portfolio and even make a few dollars.

We have already reached a point where not having an online presence will be a disadvantage. If that recruitment officer Googles your name, you better make sure that she finds something to read. Make sure that it is good enough to get you a job.

Learn more about this author, Marina Shemesh.
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