5 Tips to Improve Your Online Presence for a Job Change

Last Updated on March 22, 2024

Applying for jobs was stressful enough before the internet. These days, applying for jobs involves a whole lot more than resumes and interviews. If you have a bad online presence (or none), you are missing out on opportunities.

In this blog post, we’ll teach you how to improve your online presence for a job change.

What Is A Professional Online Presence For Job Seekers?

A professional online presence comprises all the information, profiles, content, and interactions associated with your professional identity.

For example, if you have a social media presence, you might have two separate Instagram pages. One is for posting personal pictures (which you should consider setting to private). The other is your professional account where you post about things related to your industry.

However, your online presence is more than just your social media. 

Anything someone could find about you in a Google search makes up your online presence.  

As a career changer, a professional online presence is one that makes you stand out to hiring managers. Anything they find about you online should make them think, “I want this person on my team”.

Is Online Presence Important When Applying For Jobs?

Yes, your online presence is important when applying to jobs and switching career paths. Odds are, an employer has already Googled you by the time you come in for an interview.

According to Harvard Business Review, 70% of employers admit to searching candidate’s names online. A further 54% decided not to hire based on what they find. 

Your Google search results could prevent you from getting a job. 70% of employers admit to searching candidates online. A further 54% of employers say they decide to not hire a candidate based on what they find online.

If you think you can fix this by deleting all of your social media profiles, you’re wrong. 57% of employers are less likely to hire candidates who have no online presence at all.

Not having an online presence could prevent you from getting a job. 57% of employers are less likely to hire candidates who have no online presence at all.

You don’t want potential employers to just not see the bad stuff. You want them to actively see all the positive, unique qualities you have!

Depending on the job you apply for, 55-506 applicants could be vying for the same position according to Stand Out CV. If any of those other candidates have a strong, positive online presence, the hiring manager might choose them instead. And we don’t want that to happen to you.

How To Get An Online Presence If You Don’t Have One

If for some reason you don’t already have an online presence, this may actually be to your advantage.  Creating an online presence from scratch means you have full control of your online narrative. This will help you stand out to potential employers.

Before you start, read these tips to increase your online presence:

• Create professional social media accounts on Instagram, Twitter, and especially LinkedIn. Don’t post personal content to these pages, keep it professional here.
• Create a username with your name that looks professional.
• Fill out your profiles with professional information about yourself. This could include work history, education, skills, and achievements you have earned. Include information that makes you hireable. 
• Take high-quality professional headshots to use as your profile pictures.
• Consider creating your own professional website. Here you can create content such as blog posts, or use the website as your portfolio.
• Blogging is a great way to help you stand out online. Write about industry-relevant subjects and showcase your expertise.
• Learn about search engine optimization (SEO) marketing strategies. This helps boost your content in search results and connect to your target audience.
• Don’t post anything about yourself that is untrue or overexaggerated. Think about your online presence like writing a resume or CV. An employer would quickly figure out if you lied about something on your resume, so don’t do it online either.

Career coach Allison Task’s LinkedIn profile is a great example of presenting yourself professionally online. It highlights her unique skills, achievements, personality, and how she engages with the industry.

What Do Employers Look For in an Online Presence? 

Essentially, employers Google you to find information that you might not otherwise tell them. This can include:

• Whether or not you lied on your resume or in an interview
• How your present yourself and how other people perceive you
• Whether or not you could be a reputational risk to their company
• How you could fit in to their company culture
• Information about your interests, hobbies, and personality
• How you communicate with others
• Examples of your past work, further employment history, and achievements

Checking your online presence gives employers a fuller picture of who you are. Your “online” self to reflect and support the “real-life” self you present to the hiring team. (And you want both of those things to be positive).

Employers search for you online because they want to know how and why you would be a good fit for their company. Your online presence should tell them that you are the missing puzzle piece they need.

6 Benefits Of A Positive Online Presence For Job Seekers

Increased visibility to recruiters

Recruiters use social media platforms like LinkedIn to recruit or “head-hunt” candidates. With a strong online presence, jobs just might find you before you find them. 

Make your professional profiles more searchable by using strategic keywords related to your industry. This puts you on the radar of recruiters. Opportunities that align with your career goals will open for you. 

Make a good first impression on hiring managers

Employers will likely Google you well before they call you back for an interview. These days, your “online self” is what they will see first. In person, you could be the best candidate in the world. However, if your online persona doesn’t reflect that, you won’t get the chance to show employers who you are. 

Set the tone for your interview by showcasing your achievements, expertise, and professionalism.

Promote your personal brand

A strong personal brand is one that makes you memorable in the minds of recruiters and employers. A major part of your brand is your online presence. It lets you control the narrative about your professional identity. 

Highlight your strengths and unique qualities you bring to the table. A strong personal brand helps you progress your career and establish you as an industry thought-leader. 

Demonstrate passion for your field to employers

Employers want to hire someone who is enthusiastic about their profession. You can directly show employers just how passionate you are about your industry through your online interactions. Demonstrate your passion by:

• Posting regularly about industry news
• Sharing your thoughts on trending topics
• Adding to relevant discussions  

For those of you looking to land a job in tech, check out this blog post. 

Show potential employers something unique

The job market is competitive, so you need to show employers something unique. Resumes, cover letters and executive biographies are important. However, they don’t give employers the full picture of who you are. 

For example, maybe you listed on your resume that you did volunteer work. When employers search for you online, they could see social media posts about that volunteer work. This will show them your passion, your ability to work as a team, the impact you had, etc. It just feels more meaningful when they see it in context.

This depth of information differentiates you from other candidates. Showcase your authentic, professional self online. That way, employers can understand who you are as a person rather than a list of information. 

Find networking opportunities

Finding a job isn’t about what you know, it’s who you know. That’s why networking online is so important.

An active online presence connects you with people (and opportunities) that you would never otherwise have. You have the opportunity to connect to industry leaders, peers, and even mentors from all over the world. 

As a result, you can get career advice, industry insights, and even new job opportunities. Foster these connections by commenting, sharing, posting, and adding to the online discussion. 

How to Improve Your Online Presence When Preparing for a Career Change

We’ve asked career coach Allison Task to give us her top advice for job seekers looking to prepare for a career change. Use these tips to manage your online presence:

Tip #1 – Google Yourself

Know what’s out there on you. 

Google yourself. Then Google yourself incognito. Then Google yourself incognito from the geography that your employer will be using. Any surprises you need to deal with?

To use Google incognito mode, click the three dots at the top right-hand corner of the screen. Then, cllick “New incognito window”.

Tip #2 – Address Concerning Searches

Did you find anything you need to address in the above search? Don’t freak out if those college pics won’t die—deal with it. Plenty of services out there can help you update your, ahem, professionalism online.

Tip #3 – Network with Companies

Your LinkedIn presence must be on point. 

Go to LinkedIn and find employees from a company you’d like to work for. See how they present themselves on LinkedIn. How might you level up your presence accordingly? Rinse and repeat.

Tip #4 – Engage on LinkedIn

Start using LinkedIn more actively during your job search. 

Comment on people’s posts. Be relevant to the field you want to be in. Find useful content and share it. Be involved in the professional LinkedIn conversation.

Tip #5 – Show Off Your Personality

Be real. If you have a cool YouTube channel about squirrel acrobatics, keep it. Don’t take your personality offline; that might just be the X-factor they’re looking for.

Allison Task is a Career & Life Coach. She works with clients all around the world, and locally in Montclair NJ.

In Closing

Your online presence can have long term effects on your career, for better or worse. Use these tips to manage and promote your online presence to recruiters, hiring managers, and employers. That way, more employers will call you back for interviews.

Are negative search results keeping you from the career you want? The expert team at Reputation911 can help you manage your career reputation. Get in touch for a free consultation.

Don’t forget to check out our reputation management blog to learn how to take control of your online identity. 

About The Author

William DiAntonio

William DiAntonio is the Founder & CEO of Reputation911, a reputation management firm he founded in 2010 that has earned the trust of its clients for over a decade by helping individuals, businesses and brands control their online search results.