7 Rules for Getting Hired in the Digital Age

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When you’re searching for a job in today’s digital age, it is important to leverage the right tools and tips to find the role that best meets your needs. While you can go the traditional route of searching on free career sites, it may not deliver the types of roles you need to advance your career.

That’s because there are new rules for getting hired in the digital age, and it’s time to pay attention. Here’s what you need to know:

1. Be Your Own Brand

Personal branding is key to selling yourself as a professional, and it can help draw recruiters to you.

You can easily showcase your personal brand by building a website that demonstrates your work, including publications, projects at previous jobs, and other notable accomplishments. Consider your website your digital public resume, and make sure it stands out. For SEO purposes, use industry keywords commonly associated with the roles you want. You could even turn your website into an additional stream of income by offering freelancing or consulting services through it.

2. Leverage LinkedIn

With more than 3 million jobs posted each month and more than 20,000 US companies using the site to recruit, LinkedIn is a key source of new job opportunities. This professional networking platform makes communicating with recruiters and finding job openings easy. If you’re not taking advantage of it yet, it’s time to catch up to the rest of the talent market.

3. Try Job-Hunting Apps

Look beyond traditional job sources by using job-hunting apps, which offer more robust services than the average job board.

For instance, the Tinder-like Shapr  helps match professionals with mutual interests. It’s a great way to expand your network, which is often the fastest way to a new job. Good&Co is another interesting app. Through various assessments, the app learns about your personality and culture preferences, and then matches you with employers that align.

4. Streamline Your Social Media Presence

Reputation goes a long way when you’re hunting for a job. Given that 70 percent of employers consider social media profiles when screening job applicants, it’s important you build a powerful, professional online presence.

Comb through your social media profiles and remove questionable content and images that may send the wrong message to recruiters. Do a search of your name to see what comes up on Google. If it’s positive information, that’s great! If not, you may need the help of a reputation management company to make your online presence more desirable. Set up a Google Alert for your name so you can keep track of any new search engine results about you. Create optimized content for your website on a regular basis — this will help your site rank higher in searches than other sources of information about you.

5. Make a Video

If content is king, video content is emperor. Create an “About Me” video to post to your professional website. This is a great way to stand out from other candidates, and it also helps hiring managers get a better idea of who you are as a person.

6. Network

Networking is crucial to finding a job, so take every chance you get. Attend webinars and conferences online, join industry-specific networking groups, and follow prospective employers on platforms like Glassdoor and LinkedIn.

Of course, you don’t want to limit yourself to the digital world. Attend industry-specific conferences in your field to meet new people and potentially find new jobs. Consider also using apps like Meetup to find professional networking events in your area.

7. Be a Thought Leader

If you establish yourself as a thought leader in your field, you won’t have to go out and find jobs. Recruiters and employers will start coming to you.

Start a blog or publish articles on LinkedIn. These articles should showcase your expertise in and passion for your field of work. If writing long blog posts isn’t your forte, consider using sites like Instagram and Twitter to share smaller bits of content. Use hashtags to make sure your thought leadership content reaches a wider audience.

Rahul Varshneya is the cofounder of Arkenea and ResumeSeed.

By Rahul Varshneya