Your Online Presence

Posted on March 26, 2007  Comments (4)

Web anonymity can sink your job search:

In today’s job market, turning up missing on the Web may not be a fatal flaw, and it’s probably better than having a search result in a photo of you in a hula skirt. But over time, the lack of a Web presence – particularly for IT professionals – may well turn from a neutral to a negative, says Tim Bray, director of Web technologies at Sun Microsystems Inc. “Particularly because we’re a core technology provider, if someone came looking for a senior-level job and had left no mark on the Internet, I’d see that as a big negative,” he says.

And it’s not just about technology, Bray says. “Most companies would rather have somebody who has demonstrated the propensity to contribute, and one [sign] of that is going out and getting involved, joining in the discussion.”

I think that is exactly right. For certain jobs the need for an online presence is not as critical, however, knowledge workers can really help out their prospects with a good online presence. Creating such a presence can be a big job or it can be a fairly simple site with a few articles with your ideas on topics that interest you. Creating your own blog can also be an effective strategy. Guest blog posts on another blog can also be useful. Having one home page that can serve as the long term address is a very good idea (and getting a web site with your name is a good idea, if possible, even if you don’t use it right away, for example: johnhunter.com). Then you can link to various efforts (guest posts on blogs, articles at various sites, podcast…).

Related: Blogging is Good for You – Your Online Identity – Curious Cat Career Connections – Curious Cat Management Improvement Articles

4 Responses to “Your Online Presence”

  1. PowerBlogging » Archive » A list of posts, replying “Why do I blog?”
    March 30th, 2007 @ 11:26 pm

    I have searched at google to get the answer of the question “Why do I blog” [...]

  2. CuriousCat: Seth Godin on Marketing and the Internet
    September 4th, 2007 @ 9:13 am

    He says: “Far and away it is having a blog. It’s tempting, if you’re a salesperson to go to LinkedIn…” I think he is exactly right…

  3. Curious Cat: #2 Engineering Blog
    July 12th, 2008 @ 12:51 pm

    A few months ago I posted on our #1 Engineering Blog status. Now we are ranked second in 3 different measures…

  4. Supplemental Income: Consulting by the Minute at Curious Cat Investing and Economics Blog
    November 23rd, 2011 @ 9:08 pm

    [...] by the minute model is a great way to create a secondary income stream for those that have a positive online reputation. You can adjust your pay to meet demand. If you have a free week and want to make some extra income [...]

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