Social media has become a tool for employers and recruiters to look up potential candidates. Even when you may not be looking for a job, others are looking at your digital footprints online. Find out 5 things you should be doing to improve your digital profile.

1. 5 tips to manage
your digital profile
and get your dream job

2. Companies and recruiters use the web and
social media as part of their search and often
also their selection process, so it’s crucial to
carve out a personal brand that projects your
capabilities and potential, not just your skills
and experience.
Here are five tips to use your
digital profile to improve your
chances of landing your dream job.

3. 1. Find your story
To stand out from the crowd, you need to create
a personal brand and a personal story that
others will remember.
What’s your story?
Did you start at the bottom and work your
way through the ranks? Did you go back to
university and take a new career path? Do you
bring an unusual combination of skills?
Summarise your story into a single sentence that
demonstrates what you have to offer. Write this on
your LinkedIn profile.

4. A personal brand is the total
experience of someone having
a relationship with who you are and
what you present as an individual.
Glenn Llopis - entrepreneur and contributor, Forbes

5. 2. Have a voice
Organisations are looking for leaders at all levels to help
their teams adapt in a fast-moving world.
Even if you’re not a senior manager, show that you’re
an expert by making a valuable contribution to thought
leadership in your profession or sector.
Take part in conversations in LinkedIn groups.
Share interesting content and articles. Tweet
on topics of interest. Follow influencers on
LinkedIn and contribute thoughtful comments.
Join industry or professional associations and
take part in events – both online and offline.

6. I have witnessed risk and compliance professionals
gain more credibility by affiliation with professional
organisations such as GARP (Global Association of
Risk Professionals).
Proactively sharing news and information on LinkedIn
and other social media on a broad range of relevant
risk topics and common themes affecting a wider
range of industry and sectors also helps.
Pardeep Thind - Manager Risk & Compliance, Hudson

7. 3. Think before you post
While it’s important to have a voice and be
seen on relevant issues, think carefully.
Would you say it out loud in the workplace?
If not, you’re better off not posting it at all.
Even if you use privacy settings, your comments
can still end up in a public forum and they could
live forever.

8. Following a three-stage interview
process for a permanent position within
an Australian cosmetic brand, unfortunately
I couldn’t progress with the candidate
following the client doing a spot search
on social media.
This client felt the candidate’s social
media posts were not well aligned to the
company’s values.
Ellyse Fletcher - Associate Director, Hudson

9. 4. Share your passion
Your passion and interests can also speak
volumes about your character. This also helps
employers get a broader perspective of who
you are as a person.
Do you volunteer or advocate for a cause?
Perhaps you have an interest that shows off
your creativity or strategic skills?
Often the insights and lessons you learn from your
passions make compelling content that you could write
as opinion pieces and share (ensuring you receive
permission from your current organisation if required).

10. Think outside your work hours for learning opportunities.
Perhaps you learned more about building teams
from coaching your son’s soccer team?
The trials and tribulations of wrangling a bunch
of eight-year-olds could make an entertaining read,
as well as have pertinent insights into human nature that
translate into how you manage staff, for example, the
importance of communicating a clear objective to the team.

11. Passionate about aviation,
education and technology.
Firm believer in the importance
of diversity in the community and
workplace. Supporter of Liverpool FC.
Alan Joyce,
CEO and Managing Director, Qantas,
includes this in his LinkedIn profile:

12. 5. Ask for and give
recommendations
Don’t be afraid to ask for recommendations
from employers, colleagues and clients for your
LinkedIn profile. If you’re truly good at what you
do, they should be happy to praise you.
Return the favour or initiate the recommendation.
On platforms like LinkedIn, when you recommend
someone, you boost your visibility, too, as your name
is on their profile.

13. Recommendations from respected line
managers within the market add weight
to applications and the individual’s brand.
Avoid recommendations from mates and
friends as this will count against you.
James Holland - Project Services specialist, Hudson

14. Be visible.
Embrace online as a way to be seen,
to influence, to network and to position
yourself as a high performer that
companies would love to hire.

15. For more tips and career advice, visit
au.hudson.com/job-seekers/career-advice