The Benefits Of Having A LinkedIn Profile And Personal Website

From “How to Get Your Social-Media Ready for Hiring Managers” by the ZipRecruiter Editorial Staff

When you apply for a job, it’s expected that hiring managers will review your resume or online job profile. But 90% of them also look you up on social media. That’s a number to which you should pay attention.

You may be asking yourself, “Sure, but are they really paying attention? Does it really matter? How can social media stop me from getting a job?” Well, almost 4 out of 5 hiring managers have rejected candidates because of something they came across on social media sites!

We’ve covered how to use social media to network for a job, but if the thought of a recruiter going through your accounts makes you shudder, we have a plan to make sure those long-forgotten spring break photos don’t come back to haunt you.

Take an Inventory of Your Digital Identity

Google Yourself – Find out what recruiters are seeing in your search results.

Google isn’t a social network, but it is the place where 43% of HR professionals will look for you. Knowing what results pop up (including your social media profiles) will guide you on what steps to take. Before searching, switch to private browsing mode so your past searches don’t influence your results. (Switch to Incognito mode in Google Chrome, select New Private Window in Apple Safari and Firefox, or select InPrivate when using Microsoft Edge.)

Search your name and review the results. Then look at what Google pulls up under images, videos, and news, to get a full sense of what a recruiter may potentially see. The more you know, the more you can prepare for questions that may come up. Stay on top of new information by creating a Google Alert, which will message you each time Google indexes something with your name.

Create a Personal Website to improve your search results and highlight the information you want hiring managers to see.

One of the best ways to improve your search results, and your chances of getting noticed by recruiters, is to create a personal website. 80% of employers think that having a website presence is important. A website can help you spread the message you want to share with employers and drive them to the places (social media profiles, articles, projects, etc.) you want them to see. Once you have one, include the link in your resume and job site profiles.

While LinkedIn is considered the professional social network, it is not the site that HR professionals use most when researching candidates. That honor goes to Facebook, where 74% of recruiters look up their potential hires. LinkedIn (56%), Instagram (49%), and Twitter (45%) follow. TikTok is currently around 12% but will likely increase as its audience continues to grow.

About LinkedIn
Despite these numbers, LinkedIn is the one social media (professional networking) site you must update and make public. First, be sure that it is up to date, has an appropriate profile photo, and lists the same details as your resume. Next, use the additional sections, like the headline and ‘about’ area, to highlight your personality and give more details about your accomplishments, passions, and goals. Then, share relevant posts—and comment on others—to show you are engaged with your industry.

From Arnie Sherr, PRW, the Founder and CEO of The Resume Store

Everything, as stated above by ZipRecruiter, is great advice. That said, The Resume Store is more than Resumes and Cover Letters. We are LinkedIn Profiles and Personal Website Builders.

In today’s professional environment, web exposure can hurt or help your professional career efforts. Therefore, making all of your social media private, except for LinkedIn, is imperative. However, most of our customers either have an incomplete LinkedIn profile or haven’t considered having one built. A few, having the technical skills, have created strong LI Profiles themselves. Kudos to them for doing so.

However, only 9 or 10 of our customers over the past 28 years have Personal Websites. The value of having a Personal Website is immeasurable. Since most do not have a Personal Website, having a recruiter come across yours is extremely impressive. It may be the “Deal Maker.”

Our elite team has the skillset and experience to create impressive LinkedIn Profiles and Personal Websites.