'LIKE' YOUR PROFESSIONAL
Managing your social media
STATUS
STORY BY JAMES DAVIDSON
and online presence can build
a positive personal brand
A PERSONAL BRAND IS
THE 'X' FACTOR THAT
DIFFERENTIATES A
PERSON FROM OTHER JOB
CANDIDATES.
It begins with being selfaware of one's achievements,
knowledge, skills and outlook
or goals. Presentation is key
and with the current techsavvy generation, it's about
the interactions and presence
job candidates have in person
as well as online.
It's important for students
to accurately portray them-
selves online as they would
in-person, as one of the
defining characteristics of the
millennial age group (those
born between 1980 and 2000)
is their affinity with the digital
world. According to the Millenials at work - Reshaping the
workplace report by PwC, 41
per cent of millennials prefer
to communicate electronically
at work rather than face-toface.
By far the best way to
manage an online reputation
is to actively post positive,
professional content and
regularly visit the sites where
you are active. If you have a
good reputation, people will
give you the benefit of the
doubt and realize something
is amiss if they receive a spam
message from you or see
something distasteful related
to your name. As with so
many things in life and on the
Internet, good common sense
is the first line of defense.
GETTING SERIOUSLY SOCIAL
Having a profile you
wouldn't be ashamed to
show your parents on all of
the major social networks —
LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter
and Google profiles — is the
first step in managing your
online reputation. All of these
sites generally climb up the
Google rankings and will
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