Creating an online profile can help you market your skills to potential employers, build a network of contacts, and stay connected with friends and family. However, it is important to be mindful of what information employers or others may access publicly as anything posted online can have long-term consequences. The document provides tips for using online profiles strategically to showcase your strengths and skills while maintaining appropriate privacy settings.

1. Networking for Work: http://networkingforwork.org.uk

2. The benefits of
an online profile
Why create any sort of online profile for yourself?
- Tell people what YOU want to be known about you.
- To socialise, stay in touch with friends and family.
- To build a useful online network of contacts.
- To become more widely known for what you can do. “He's a
great baker...”

3. Shout about yourself – people can't know about you until you tell them!
Market yourself. The more people who know about your skills and know
that you want to work, the more likely you are to get a job.
[Photo by Claumoho]

4. Show yourself in the best light
Your online profiles are spaces you control – use them to tell people what you
want to be known for.

5. Socialise with as many people as possible, tell people what you are up to and
increase potential for opportunities. Because it's nice to keep in touch, many
heads are often better than one and you never know who might know what!

6. Talk about yourself online in an appropriate
way: you are showing off your web skills and Volunteering Nuneaton and
demonstrating that you can use the internet B31 Voices on Facebook.
well.

7. You can also demonstrate a particular trade/skill you
Newcastle Bookbinders
are focusing on – also shows you can write.

8. You can use a Facebook page or BAKE – Facebook page for two cake
group to demonstrate your skills bakers trading from home.
Birmingham Hula Hoopers group created
amongst your personal networks. by freelance fitness instructor.

9. Things to think about with an online profile
Just as with crossing the road, there are some risks to posting online. It's
how you manage that risk that's important.
[Photo by Massimiliano]

10. Do you want a potential employer to read that?
What you say online is more permanent than what you say down the pub.
[Photo by Garrett Coakley]

11. Check your account settings on personal profiles
Look at your profiles whilst logged out or view them as a 'non-friend' would see
them. Tighten the privacy settings to restrict access if you want to.
[Photo by Ell Brown]

12. Are you being tagged in photos?
Or are friends writing on your Facebook wall or elsewhere online? Untag/delete
content if you can, request others to alter/delete content about you that you're
unhappy with.
[Photo by Davi Ozolin]

13. What's your current online profile?
- Try doing a Google search for yourself. What comes up?
What might a potential employer think of the content?
- Do you have a Facebook profile? Go to your profile and click
'View as...' to see what the public can view about you.
- Use the resources at networkingforwork.org.uk to help you
market yourself effectively online, build useful networks and
protect yourself from employers' inappropriate online
searching for your information.

14. Further support:
http://networkingforwork.org.uk
Email: hello@talkaboutlocal.org
Tel. 0121 288 2910