Did you know that employers create an impression of you within 1/10th of a second of looking at your online profile? Creating an online profile is essential in the digital age, but what does yours say about you? Do you have one?
You may have gone your whole life without having an online professional profile. It’s not uncommon for professionals to avoid creating an online profile for their business or personal job search because it seems like an intimidating task. However, a professional online profile is your best bet at promoting your business and yourself in a way that’s easily accessible and appealing to clients.
Google Yourself
The first step to creating an online profile is to take a long, hard look at your online presence. Begin by Googling your name and some common keywords related to your industry.
It’s sometimes scary what information you can find about yourself online. Sometimes you’ll find information you don’t want available to the general public. For example, this profile of Christopher Sarofim has some great information about what he does professionally.
However, as you scroll further down, you’ll find personal information that you may not want out there. It’s important to know this information is available to potential employers or clients. You can request that it gets removed or prepare yourself to answer questions that might come up because of it.
Make a Good First Impression
The first impression a potential client sees of you and your business is your professional online profile. As such, it’s important to make an excellent first impression.
One of the most important things you can do to make a good first impression is to have a professional-looking profile. A professional profile will have a few key characteristics.
Well Designed
First, it will be well-designed. The design should be minimalistic and clean, but it should also be professional.
Easy to Navigate
It should also be concise and easy to navigate. Keep it to one page if possible, and make it easy for visitors to find the information they’re looking for. Make sure to list all pertinent information, such as address, phone number, and website.
You can even offer more information if it’s relevant.
Up to Date
Once you have a professional online profile, make sure that you update it regularly. Monitor your online presence in general.
That way, if something is out of date, you’ll know. The sooner you know that something is out of date, the better.
Online Profile Details
There are a number of things to include in a professional profile. With so much information, it can be challenging to know what to write and what not to.
Qualifications
Your professional online profile should mention your qualifications. List any education or experience that makes you particularly qualified to handle your industry.
Contact Information
A professional profile shouldn’t contain personal contact information, such as phone numbers or addresses. Include contact information for your business or organization, if possible. If that’s not possible, you can include your email address.
Social Media Links
It’s also a good idea to include your social media profiles. Some social media sites might have a privacy setting that keeps your profile from being public. If that’s the case, you might want to think about using a different social media site to create your profile.
Areas of Specialization
If you specialize in a certain area of your field, you can include those specifics. If you don’t specialize in anything, you may want to include what you deal with on a broad scale.
Availability
You can also provide contact information for an assistant or receptionist. You can even include information about a virtual assistant that you might use.
Profile Picture
You may want to include a picture of yourself in the professional profile. It’s a good idea to use a professional profile picture. You can use a headshot, or you can use other types of pictures, such as ones of your company’s products.
If you do decide to include a picture of yourself, be sure that it isn’t offensive. Your professional site is meant to portray you in a professional light, so try to avoid any pictures that could be misconstrued.
References
You may want to include references as part of your professional online profile. If you don’t want to include references, you can include a link to other references online, such as your website, LinkedIn or Twitter. As you can see, there are a lot of things to include in a professional online profile.
Portfolio
You might also want to include a portfolio on your profile page. You can use this portfolio to show off some of your best work.
Case Studies
You may also want to include some case studies on your profile. If you aren’t sure what constitutes a case study, consider a case study to be a time when you used your skill to solve a problem.
For example, if you’re a writer, you might include a case study that describes the time that a client hired you to write content for their blog.
How to Write a Compelling Profile
When you write your profile, it’s important to keep in mind your audience. The only way to do that is to think about who will be reading your profile.
You may want to ask yourself:
- Who would want to hire or work with me?
- Who might be interested in my products or services?
- What kind of things would they want to know?
When you ask these questions, you should be able to get ideas of what to put in your profile. However, there are a few other things you should consider as well.
Make it Relevant
The most important thing to remember when writing your profile is to make it relevant to your audience. That means that you should mention things that are relevant to your audience. That doesn’t mean that you should only mention things that are related to them, but it means that you should mention things they would find relevant.
Review Your Content
The quality of your content is also very important, particularly in a professional profile. The content should be well-written and easy to understand. It should be interesting and it should be engaging.
Include Your Personality
When you create your profile, one of the most important things to include is your personality. Remember that clients should get to know you and your business before making a decision about hiring you. While you want to give potential clients a little bit about what you do, you want to spend more time giving them a sense of who you are.
The best way to give clients a sense of who you are is to talk about yourself and your personality. This can be in the form of a story or a description.
You can make it humorous or serious, but it is important that clients get to know you on a more personal level. Gen Z and Millenials value authenticity, and including your personality can help you show authenticity.
Create Blog Content or Use Video
Blogging content is a perfect way to show your personality. Video is also a great way to show your personality. Which do you think would be better for your audience?
Videos can be entertaining and unique. They can show your personality in a much more unique way than writing a blog post. However, if you don’t want to use video, don’t let that deter you from creating your own blog post.
Of course, there are many other ways to show your own personality in a professional profile. You can include videos, pictures, and other things to show your own personality.
Be Creative
While it is important that your profile be professional, it is also important that you create something that shows your creativity. A profile that looks and sounds like everyone else’s will not help you stand out from the crowd.
You want to be unique and engaging, and being creative is a good way to do that. For example, if you’re a photographer, you could create videos using past photoshoots. Alternatively, you can have your clients help you tell your story in photos.
Make Your Profile Personal
One of the greatest hindrances to Gen Z and Millenials’ willingness to spend money online is the lack of authenticity in online products. Whenever they come across a professional profile or a website that is not very personal, they feel like it is a scam.
One of the best ways to make your profile more personal is by including a blog or a video. The more you can show yourself to be unique, the better your chances of connecting with potential clients.
Start Creating an Online Profile
Creating an online profile can feel intimidating. However, it’s simpler than you would think and can help you stand out from your competition.
Were these online profile tips helpful? Stay online with us and read more articles for tips on how to boost your professional life.
