It's been a year since I have started working on my online personal brand, including my blog. I've talked about my New Year's resolutions. I've talked about my job hunting. I've talked about my favorite Grammy moments. Currently, I am a volunteer worker, yet my mission is not complete. Where do I go from here?
My latest rejections were the last straw. Enough is enough. I did not know how I would overcome the disappointment until I talked with professional bloggers at my last #blogchat session last night. Yesterday, I proposed to Mack Collier on Twitter, the moderator of #blogchat, that we discuss how people should leverage their blogs to land jobs and new clients. He went with the idea. What have I learn about my LinkedIn profile from others? Two words: outdated and unremarkable. I am innovative and remarkable with a strong passion for new media. The employers that check out my LinkedIn profile periodically do not know that because I have not clearly showed them that I am.
My blog is not a blog anymore. It is a business and it needs to be treated like a business. Work still needs to be done. I have seen little results. Time to act now. I will revamp my online presence by:
- Changing my LinkedIn summary to make it more professional and tell potential employers what I can do for them, instead of listing my skills like a resume.
- Changing my LinkedIn photo to a picture of me in a business suit. My current picture shows me in my cap and gown. I am no longer a recent college graduate. I have passed that title to the new graduating Class of 2010.
- Leaving out profanity and sexual language out of my blog. (Although I rarely used it.)
- Including a brief description in my "About Me" section of blog that I am looking for work.
- Checking out my local library for more marketing tutorials. Great resource that I have outlooked since my return.
What are you doing to improve or update your online presence? What do you think about personal branding in general?
Do you know what that means? Less time blogging, more time working, networking, and building my skills outside this damn house FINALLY! Am I nervous? Of course. Will I become the best intern I can be? Of course. I will try my best to fit the most appropriate blogging schedule before I start working.
By this week, I will decide whether or not to transfer this blog to the WordPress platform, after consulting with others on Twitter about it last night. I thought about leaving Blogger, but the new template designer caught my eye and dissolved all previous thoughts about joining WordPress. Now I want to expand my community with other bloggers online. Blogger is not giving me that community leverage and commitment I need and its new FTP changes). I love Google, but I need a change.
I have two important questions to ask you:
1. What advice would you give someone who is reentering the workforce/corporate America after being unemployed for several months?
2. Now that I know that importing my blog to WordPress is a good strategic move to expand my personal brand, if I do leave Blogger, will you follow me onto my new platform? Do you think I am making the right decision?
