Searching for a job is very competitive, and you can’t keep relying on cover letters and resumes to get your foot in the door. It’s time to start thinking about how you can tell your professional story in a unique and accessible way that hooks and captures your audience. No matter what industry you’re in, it is important that you can share your professional story with the world and create your own personal brand that is easily understood.
Here are three steps you can take to build your professional story online:
Choosing how and where you present your story online is important, you can build a custom website to highlight your past work, or even create a social media account dedicated to presenting your story in a visually appealing way. While building a whole website may sound overwhelming, there are plenty of tools and programs that make it easy! For example, websites like Free Website Builder | Create a Free Website | Wix.com allow you to create a website for free, and they have over 500 customizable templates to choose from.
Creating a website gives you the ability to tell your full story, you can upload your sample work or photography, allowing future employers to have a look at what you’re capable of. You are also able to tell your story on an about me page, giving you a space to tell others of the journey you have on to get to where you are today. If building a website seems like a bit much, create a social media account. With so many different platforms to choose from it is important to understand how you want to tell your story. For example, if you would like to showcase your photography, using Instagram will allow you to create your story in a visual way that broadcasts your talents.
Now that you have chosen how and where you will display your story, it’s time to tell the world how you got to where you are today. If you landed on creating a website, this would fit perfectly in the About Me tab. Or if you decided to create a social media profile, these would be perfect topics to cover throughout your content.
Structuring your story in this way can help get you started:
Now that you have developed your professional story online, it’s time to share it with the world! Whether you created a website or a social media profile, it is important to share these links when you are applying to jobs. This can easily be done by including the link information under your contact information on your resume. If you choose to create a social media account, reach out to your friends and family and ask them to follow you to help build your audience with people who want to see you succeed. This in turn will help your social media account get discovered by new people interested in your work. To help push more people organically to your website, share your content links on websites like Pinterest to generate traffic.
Now that you have developed your online professional story employers will have a much greater sense of who you are and what you are capable of. Your story will put a human behind that resume, and when employers receive hundreds of resumes a day, this could be the golden ticket to landing a new job!
You’ve now learned how to tell your professional story online, not it’s time to talk to employers about this. With Wavely you can chat directly with employers, making it so much easier to stand out.
Natalie Nicosia is a digital marketing expert, who loves to create and connect people through artistic content. She is passionate about building online communities where like-minded individuals can come together to feel accepted and connected.