Fortune

1. How long do you usually spend reading a resume? Do you use resume-scanning software?

We don’t use any resume-scanning software. Those systems usually spend 30-40 seconds on each resume. At Target, we have several rounds of the preliminary screening process before we decide to conduct a phone interview or one-to-one interview. For me, personally, I only spend 10-15 seconds on a resume. To judge whether a resume is qualified, there are two things that I will look at the first sight: A. How long your resume is, and B. How much white space the candidate has on his resume.

DEGREES2DREAMS TIPS: For recent graduates, resumes should be no more than one-page. Therefore, it’s very important that you fully utilize that single piece of paper to present yourself, your qualifications, and your achievements. Also, use verbs to start sentences. For each job application, you need to understand its specifics and then incorporate as many of its keywords and requirements as possible in your “Profile” at the top of your resume. Where possible, include your achievements that relate to their requirements in the descriptions of each job you’ve held.

2. What kind of people will you most likely to hire?

I always tell candidates that it’s not a problem if, for example, you don’t know how to use Target’s inventory database because I can always teach you. If you don’t know how to run the logistics at Target, I will teach you that as well. However, there is one thing that I can’t teach, and that is who you are. We are looking for someone who has the potential to be the team leader in the future.

DEGREES2DREAMS TIPS: If you can establish in advance what a hiring manager like Renee is looking for (in this case leadership), you should tailor your cover letter, resume, and interview answers to those needs she is trying to fill. Resist the urge to talk about skills and achievements that are important to you and focus on what’s important to her and how you meet or, better yet, exceed those requirements.

3. What are the typical questions you ask interviewees?

We like to ask applicants behavioral questions. For example, give us an example of a mentoring experience. We had a candidate answer this question like this: “I remember when I was teaching my sister…” Even though it is a mentor example, I don’t think it meets our expectation. Aren’t you supposed to teach your sister? The answer we would like to hear needs to have a high scope such as coaching your teammates, classmates or friends.

DEGREES2DREAMS TIPS: Renee’s answer points out the need for two things: First, internships so you can collect professional experience and achievements and not have to fall back on irrelevant examples, and, second, pre-written and rehearsed answers to as many potential interview questions as possible. There are several places to go to collect these questions (here is an example of the 25 most common job interview questions).

4. What do you pay attention to when the interviewee is answering questions?

We pay a lot of attention to details: the way you dress, the way you talk and the way you behave. Take me as an example: I know if I am wearing jewelry, I will unconsciously play with it such as my ring or my bracelet. So I will make sure to take them off when I go to an interview. Voice tone is also very important during the interview. If the candidate keeps talking in a flat tone, I will fall asleep soon.

DEGREES2DREAMS TIPS: You know yourself. Think of how you behave when you are under stress, and then act to minimize that behavior if it indicates anything other than confidence. After you’ve reviewed the typical job interview questions and written out your responses, practice saying them so you’re comfortable with your answers. Don’t try to memorize the answers (you never will), but just capture the gist of your answer. Modulate your voice tone, sit up straight (preferably on the edge of your chair, not leaned back — one shows eagerness and energy, the other disconnectedness and disinterest).

5. What kind of questions do you expect the interviewees to ask at the end of the interview?

Ask genius questions. You should show the employers that you did the research on the company. But don’t ask more than two questions because that may leave them with the impression that you are not well prepared. One of the questions I like to hear is: What is your favorite part of the job? That question is work-related but at the same time is more leaning towards personal opinions as well. That helps the hiring manager start to have the emotional bond with you and open themselves up. It also shows your concern for others instead of just asking what the company can do for you.

DEGREES2DREAMS TIPS: You should go into a job interview with questions you want to ask prepared in advance. At the end of almost every job interview, the hiring manager will say, “Well, that’s all for me; do you have any questions?” That’s when you should hit them with one or two questions and then a closing statement. Renee’s suggested question is a good one, as well as “What does it take to succeed here?” or “What would you look for this new employee to achieve in the first year?” The closing statement should start out something like this: “I don’t have another question, but I’d like to tell you a story about one of my achievements that I think illustrates why I’d be the perfect candidate for this position…..” and then succinctly tell her about a great example of something you did that is relevant to their needs. You could close by saying, “I think that demonstrates how I could make your life easier, help X company exceed its goals, and contribute to a positive, profitable future here” (or something like that). That will be the final impression they have of you, and because it’s a story, it will be memorable.

(Creative Commons photo at top of post by bpsusf)

1. One sure-fire way of getting people to read your blog is to have well designed posts. Here’s an article on Individual Blog Post Design to get you started.
2. Interviews are hard enough without bringing food into the mix. Here are 6 Tips For Handling Lunch or Dinner Interviews when your venue is decided for you.
3. ATS-friendly resumes might sound tedious to prepare but without the added stress of layout design, it’s actually quite straightforward! Find out How To Give the ATS a 1, 2 Punch and put your fears to rest.
4. Resumes may not all list the same professional experiences but they share many pitfalls. Check out 7 Ways Your Resume Is Just As Boring As Everyone Else’s to avoid getting stuck in that rut.
5. Think you know everything about Facebook? Maybe n0t. Here are 8 Reasons Your Page Isn’t Being Liked on Facebook.

1. Some say that your cover letter is more important than even your resume. Here’s Your Guide to Writing an Eye-Catching Cover Letter just in case that’s true.
2. My job as a new service editor for Degrees2Dreams means that I read a lot of blog posts. And the ones I don’t read? They’re bypassed because they’re exhausting to look at. Readability is the #1 key to getting noticed so Check Your Blog’s Readability Right Away!
3. We all know the job search is tedious and sometimes you get called in for an interview for a job that isn’t the best fit for you. There are a couple of reasons Why You Should Go To That Interview Even If You Don’t Want To. Read to find out!
4. Inadvertently annoying your recruiter is the equivalent of hara-kiri in the professional world. So we pay attention when Hiring Experts Reveal Resume Pet Peeves!
5. Pinterest is not only a truck load of fun, you can also use it to do some leisurely personal branding. Here are 3 Way To Use Pinterest as a Visual Resume.

At the risk of sounding corny, resumes are like snowflakes: no two are alike. And maybe that sentence shows a serious lapse in originality, but you have to admit that it’s true. Everyone’s professional journey is unique, though there may be shared pitfalls, successes, horrible bosses and clients from hell.

Having your resume reflect your individuality is important regardless of your intended career, though the approach may vary. As a graphic designer, my resume is an opportunity for me to illustrate my design skills and ability to transform ideas or information into visuals. Similarly, incorporating QR Codes can do wonders for a social media manager and web designers would do well to take a leaf out of Philippe Dubost’s book. His online resume displayed his skills as a web designer so well, it went viral and resulted in 150 job offers. While visual resumes are great ways to show off your personality, but they are not always appropriate for everyone. (Accountants, for example). Careerealism covers a few more universal methods in Does Your Resume Miss Out on the Latest Trends?. A little creativity goes a long way. Unless we’re talking about your ATS-friendly resume, in which case, please ignore everything you just read.

A Me Site gives you far more creative control in how you are presented (and perceived) than a page full of 11-point-Times-New-Roman type jammed into a single-spaced mass of gray type.

Think about it, if you were sifting through resumes and they all looked exactly the same, how would you remember any of the applicants? With the Me Site, potential employers can see your face and a creatively designed page all about you. There are colors and font styles and links to grab their attention — far more dynamic than any classic black-and-white resume.

Also unlike the standard resume, a Me Site can be changed at any time, seen after you’ve sent out the link in a cover letter or resume. Not so your resume! As soon as you send out a copy of your resume, it’s static. You can’t add new accomplishments, you can’t reword a profile, you can’t update a reference.

On your Me Site, potential employers will be able to see the most up-to-date version of you and everything you’ve done

Another reason to create a Me Site? It makes you findable! In a classic hiring situation, the job hunter submits resumes and cover letters to the companies he or she is interested in. But with a Me Site, it’s possible for potential employers to find you! They can check out your site and, if your skills and accomplishments match their needs, they can reach out to YOU! How’s that for turning the tables?!

In addition to making you discoverable, a Me Site contributes to controlling your online image and making sure your “digital footprint” is a positive one.

Let’s face it — this is the age of social media and potential employers are definitely going to look you up on the Internet. Rather than just finding your personal Facebook profile or Twitter page, potential employers will find this page that shows off your best professional self.

Almost half of all employers check out applicants’ social media profiles the minute they get the application, long before they ever contact you. And almost 70% of all companies have rejected applicants based on what they find on social media; fortunately, 68% of all companies have hired someone based on what they find on social media. So it can work both ways!

Really, when you get down to it, having a Me Site is one of the best things you can do for your job search. You’ll stand out for great reasons — so go on, get to it!

Tip:

Here are links to various sites where you can build your Me Site:

About.me

Flavors.me

Snackwebsites.com

Zerply.com

BrandYourself.com

Follr.com

Visualize.me

WordPress

“John Wilpers and Degree2Dreams are the masters of resumes. This will immediately put you ahead of most of the competition.” - Sam Clarke, Executive Assistant to Casting Director, “America’s Next Top Model”

To get a job these days means you need to stand out from the crowd. What better way than a multimedia resume that, among other things, enables you and

your best reference to actually “talk” to a potential employer?!

A multimedia resume is different from ordinary resumes. It is different from any “cool templates” you’ve seen or your friends have used.

Sam Clarke
Exec. Asst. to Casting Director
“America’s Next Top Model”
“John is all about a sense of entrepreneurship and making yourself as marketable as possible. It’s a tough job market out there but I haven’t noticed and I’ll always be grateful to John for helping me get to where I am.”

Multimedia resumes created with Degrees2Dreams showcase you in dramatic and unique ways! They include links to your work and professional websites and blogs, a photo of you working in your field, real quotes from references, and two QR codes — one to a video introduction of you demonstrating your energy and industry knowledge, the other to a video from your best reference waxing poetic about what  great candidate you are.

Degrees2Dream’s multimedia resumes stand out in any stack of applicants, and they are fun to make!

In addition to the fun stuff, you’ll get Degrees2Dream’s excellent editing, positioning, and optimizing language to tout your best accomplishments.

Here’s an example of an actual multimedia resume created with Degrees2Dreams.

Want your own multimedia resume? Sign up now for one of our workshops or one-on-one training to create your own.

Build a Multimedia Resume in Just Three Hours
(Limited to 16 participants)

Share an evening with me and a small group of other job seekers as I show you the key elements that can make the difference between having your resume disappear in a black hole or rise to the top. AND I’ll not only teach you how to create a multimedia resume, we’ll actually DO it! You’ll walk in with a “normal” resume and walk out with a multi-media resume, complete with at least one QR code. We’ll throw in an E-book with additional training, links, and guidance.

Price: $145
All classes located in Downtown Boston.
Many dates & times available.

“John helped make my resume informative and innovative (you don’t know how many people have commented on the QR code!).” Celia Nissen, Content Strategist, SapientNitro

The Exclusive One-to-One Package

Receive three hours of personalized one-on-one guidance from me for your specific online job search, AND walk out with a multimedia resume, complete with QR code. E-book with additional training, links, and guidance included. Over $300 value!

Price: $195
Private scheduling available for the Greater Boston Area.
Please call: 617-688-0137 or email john@degrees2dreams.com for more info.

“I’ve been working at what is basically a dream job, thanks in no small part to the resume we created together.” - Chris Snow, staff writer, Reviewed.com

The UNLIMITED Exclusive One-to-One Package

In addition to receiving three hours of personalized one-on-one guidance from me on your specific online job search, AND walking out with a multimedia resume complete with QR code, you’ll receive:

UNLIMITED coaching after the class AND 30 minutes with our video production team to create your custom introductory video about YOU! You will also receive our e-book with additional training, links, and guidance also included.

Price: $245
Private scheduling available for the Greater Boston Area.
Please call: 617-688-0137 or email john@degrees2dreams.com for more info.

“John taught me valuable job finding skills including networking and writing a killer resume. It was a highlight of my grad school experience despite not technically being part of my program.” - Jennifer Leslie, Ph.D, MIT; Medical Writer, MediTech Media

Add-ons & Extras

Custom Video Work

Work with me and our video production team for 20 minutes to create your custom video introduction about YOU! Link your QR code on your resume to this video to stand out and share your passion from an employer’s first glance at your resume.

Price: $45
Please call: 617-688-0137 or email john@degrees2dreams.com for more info.

Additional Coaching

Package of four additional 15-minute coaching segments during your job search, scheduled at your convenience, to discuss any topic you want.

Price: $65
Please call: 617-688-0137 or email john@degrees2dreams.com for more info.

So you’ve built a perfect student resume. You formatted it just the way you like it, you included all of your job details, and listed your accomplishments.  Now you’re ready to send it off to potential employers, right? Wrong.

You have not included the most important part of your resume: the keywords!

I know you must be thinking, “No, the most important part of my resume is my.” But hear me out and allow me to explain the top three reasons keywords are the critical part of your student resume.

1)     BEAT THE ATS AND YOUR COMPETITON: Like many college students, you probably have no idea what an ATS is or why you must beat it. ATS stands for Applicant Tracking System, which is a software application that manages resume data. Basically, it quickly (and heartlessly) scans your resume looking for keywords the company feels are essential to have on a potential employee’s resume for the specific job they are trying to fill.

In order to beat this “Invisible Resume Executioner,” as our Founder/CEO John Wilpers likes to call it, you MUST have some of these keywords on your resume! Use them in your Profile at the top of your resume and include them in your past job descriptions (only if they apply, of course)!

I know having to beat the ATS may seem a little unfair. You may be the best candidate for the job, but if you don’t have a few simple words or phrases, you may not even be given the opportunity to be selected for an interview. Luckily for you, you now know how to beat the system while many of your competitors do not.

2)     COMPANIES USE KEYWORDS FOR A REASON: Companies don’t just look for keywords to be cruel or to unfairly eliminate candidates who don’t know enough to use them. They are overwhelmed with hundreds of resumes for every job opening and need some quick, organized, bias-free way to cull the unqualified applicants from the pile to make the reviewing of the remaining resumes manageable. They search for candidates with their keywords because they are the skills sets, the performance objectives, the attitudes, the accomplishments they want in an employee. Therefore, if you have them, you most likely will continue on in the hiring process!

3)     YOU WILL USE THESE KEYWORDS AGAIN: Finding keywords is simple. Just go to the job description and company mission statement and make a list of the words Company X uses a lot or that seem important to them. If you can’t seem to find any, copy and paste them into Wordle and whatever words are the biggest in the collage are the ones they use the most! Look for BOTH the company’s cultural values and desired employee characteristics and skill sets. Integrate them in your resume and cover letter wherever they apply (and are true!).

But even after you have included them in your student resume and cover letter, you still have an opportunity to use them again!

After Company X is impressed by your resume, they will start contacting your references! So after you have applied for a position, call or email your references and let them know that they may be hearing from Company X. Ask them if they would feel comfortable using some of the company’s keywords when they talk to the hiring manager about you! This will further emphasize how you are the perfect fit for the job!

That is it. Three reasons why keywords are actually the most important part of your student resume!

Now, go build your own irresistible and indelible student resume!

Need hands-on help to build a Multimedia Resume? Find all of our courses here in Boston!

What have YOU done with your resume that has worked for you? What tricks can you share with us that we can pass along to other students to help them find that dream job? Tell us, and we will make a list of the best ideas. We might even call you for an interview and feature you here on Degrees2Dreams. Or, would you like to write your own story about your experiences? Send a story pitch to our Founder/CEO at john@degrees2dreams.com! We would love to have your contribution.

By Lauren Davis
Degrees2Dreams Customer R&D Researcher/Analyst and Twitter Site Manager

Creative Commons License Photo by takacsi75 (Thanks, Taki!)

A what?

Fully 100% of the 250 student interns who have worked for Degrees2Dreams have never been told by they college career counseling office what an ATS is, how pervasive they are (88% of all mid- and large-size US companies use them), or how to construct a resume to avoid being rejected by a computer before a human lays eyes on your application.

If you are not optimizing your resume for an ATS, you might as well save everyone a lot of time and energy and just throw your letter and resume in the trash right now.

Hiring managers program their ATS to find certain keywords and keyword phrases to help them sort through the hundreds of resumes that flood their offices when they post a job.

In other words, an actual living, breathing, human being doesn’t even see your resume until it’s been given a figurative thumbs-up by a computer. And if you don’t have the right words and right skills listed in the right places, the ATS assumes you have neither the skills nor the attributes they’re looking for.

See? I wasn’t lying about the black hole.

Hiring managers use an ATS to kill the majority of candidates’ chances and deliver just a handful for interviewing.

Ouch.

But don’t worry — we’ll show you how to build a resume to beat the ATS!

Here are nine easy steps to create an ATS-friendly resume (you should always submit two: one labeled “ATS-Friendly Resume” and one labeled “Graphic Resume” that contains QR codes and pictures). These are our tips for your ATS-Friendly Resume:

1. Dissect the job description AND the company’s mission statement.

It seems obvious. But surprisingly most candidates do not do this! The job description provides you with all of the information and keywords you need to verify that you meet (or better yet, exceed) the requirements. Pick out the main keywords (skills and attributes) and insert them into your resume profile and in the descriptions of your work experience to prove relevancy. The company’s About Page will contain keywords and phrases that encapsulate their culture and ethos. If those characteristics apply to you, grab those keywords and use them in your profile and job descriptions as well.

2. Keywords are the key to success, and their placement is critical

Hiring managers set the algorithm of the ATS to return candidates who meet the criteria they have set for the position. The keywords you discovered in Step #1 must be included, where true, in your Profile and in the description of other jobs you’ve held. You can repeat keywords but try to vary them a bit and put them in context of your earlier positions or achievements. You must be especially vigilant to list skills and systems expertise in each job description, not exclusively at the end of the resume. The ATS is looking for accumulated experience with a system or in a role and will add up the years you show experience with those tools or in those roles. So, if you list, for example, FinalCut Pro or Drupal or SalesForce as a skill at the end of your resume but not in each job listing above where you exercised those skills, the computer conclude you have none of those skills. Another trick is to simply stack the information, starting with one line for the company, one for the title and another for the dates. ATS resumes are ugly things, but an ATS has no aesthetic tastes. .

3. Include a Profile.

Have a professional summary at the top of your resume (“Profile) that starts with a the exact name of the position you are seeking, and is followed by a one- or two-sentence summary of your qualifications and achievements using the most important keywords from the job description and the company’s mission statement. Always customize this summary for each job you apply for because each company is seeking different things. This will help the machine easily match you to the requirements and deem you a good candidate. You can create a generic industry resume that you bring with you to networking events and job fairs.

4. When in doubt, spell it out.

The ATS can’t always read and recognize abbreviations so instead of writing “SVP” spell it out and make it clear that you were the senior vice president. Also put Co. or LLC or whatever is accurate behind the name of the company you worked for because an ATS will not know, for example, that Degrees2Dreams is a company and could skip over that entry.

5. Upload, don’t paste.

If given the option, always upload your resume instead of cutting and pasting from it into lots of different fields. By uploading it you will provide the cleanest presentation in most optimal format. And never upload your Graphic Resume. When a company asks you to upload a resume or fill in the fields, it’s a clue that your information is headed straight to an ATS. Send the Graphic Resume later as an attachment to an e-mail to the hiring manager.

 6. Upload Word or plain-text documents only

Never send your resume as a PDF because many ATS cannot cleanly convert the content of PDF documents, leaving your information full of unreadable characters.

7. Call your history “Work Experience” or “Professional (X field) Work Experience”

Call it what it is. Never label your work experience anything other than that.

8. There are no page limits for an ATS resume

When a human being is reading your resume, it’s best to keep it to one page. On the other hand, the length of your resume doesn’t matter one iota to an ATS. There is no need to keep it short. And because you are stacking things like company name, place, dates, etc., the resume will automatically be longer. There is something to be said for this approach because a longer resume allows you to include more information and more keywords that can potentially increase your chances of hire.

9. Format over Graphics.

Completely avoid any fancy designs, fonts, charts, tables, graphs, photos or anything other than plain text in order to have your resume be ATS friendly. A computer is reading your resume, so content is more important than appearance.

Even with our helpful tips, beating an ATS is not easy nor assured even if you follow our instructions to the letter (ATS algorithms are notoriously inconsistent and often, when progammed automatically from a job posting, filled with nonsense strings of keywords).

So here is our tip on how to successfully beat the ATS.

Go around it. Network!

It is as simple as that.

Whenever  possible, always try to get your resume into the hands of an actual human being, preferably someone you know within the company who can hand-deliver it to the hiring manager with his or her endorsement. Companies rank candidates referred to them by existing employees MUCH higher than almost anyone who comes through the posting process..

But you can’t know someone in every company where you might want to work, so get started today building your generic industry ATS-Friendly Resume, and you’ll then be ready to tweak it for each job you apply for.

Good luck!

Have any tips for us? How did your build your resume to optimize the ATS? Tell us, and we’ll make a list of the best ideas. We might even call you for an interview and feature you here on Degrees2Dreams. Or, would you like to write your own story about your experiences? Send a story pitch to me at Krista@degrees2dreams.com! We’d love to hear from you.

Blog post by Krista Scozzari, Degrees2Dreams Blogger

Creative Commons license photo by firepile

Many college career centers advise against listing references on your resume. This is totally bizarre. Why pass up an opportunity to have prominent industry professionals listed as endorsing your candidacy? And why force a hiring manager to contact you before moving the hiring process along?

It’s madness.

Make it Easy for Hiring Managers to Check Up on You

Picture this: Hiring managers are at their desk. They’re looking over your resume, and they’re excited about the idea of hiring you.

They want to speak to someone who knows you right then and there! Why should they have to go through the process of reaching you (you could be away from your computer, camping for the weekend, etc.). They have to wait for you to reply to the e-mail and then and only then they can start calling your professors and supervisors?

By that time, they might have lost their interest or found another candidate who listed his or her references and their easily-reached references are making your competitor sound pretty damn good. Perhaps good enough for the hiring manager to ignore you and your missing references!
As a Resident Assistant, some of my freshman dorm students with whom I work closely in the Living Green Learning Center listed me as a reference for campus and summer jobs.

I’ve never once had a company representative call me and say, “X student just emailed me your number for a reference.” It is, consistently, “I’m looking over X student’s resume here, and…” The reference on the resume really does the trick.

Allow Your References to Provide Instant Stamps of Approval

The references on your resume also act as an instant stamp of approval by people who have a reputation in your industry (or at least have standing as someone of authority and responsibility).

Hiring managers are impressed that such luminaries have allowed you to include them as references and that instantly boosts you in their eyes (“I know/have heard of so-and-so, and it’s a good sign that they agreed to be a reference for this candidate,” is the way hiring managers react.)

Pick a Reference Who Knows You Well

However, if your Big Name Reference doesn’t know you well, choose people who know you best over people with impressive titles. A good title is cool but if the employer actually calls and all your reference has to say is that you seem nice and made a couple copies for him/her once or twice, that doesn’t really get you anywhere.

Your employer already knows where you’ve worked, what they don’t know is who you are, what you’re like, and what makes you a unique human being. Someone who’s close to you, be it a former boss or a professor, will have information that no resume can convey (and few impressively-titled boss will know to say). They will also be inherently enthusiastic when talking about you and that will enthuse your potential employer as well.

Prep Your References

Some college career counselors say you shouldn’t list references because they will constantly be bothered by reference calls out of the blue. That’s true, but only if you are so incredibly stupid as to NOT call your references when you’re applying for a job to alert them to the possibility that they’ll get a call.

What’s more, you should call your references not only to alert them, but also to prepare them. Nobody likes a cold call. Everyone likes to be prepared. Tell your reference all about the job and what the company is looking for. You could even go so far as to tell your reference which key words or phrases to focus on and apply to your performance for him/her. References usually appreciate having the table set for them rather than having to pull out thoughts on the fly. Everyone wins with advance notice.

Use References on Social Media

Take it two steps further: Ask all your references for a recommendation on LinkedIn. Then take the best 10-20 words about you and excerpt them right under the listing of that reference on your resume. Put it in quotes like a mini-movie review you see on movie ads (e.g., “Sam was one of the hardest working interns I’ve ever had the pleasure of working with…”).

Then ask your best reference to do a video recommendation of you. No more than 30 seconds. He or she can do it right from their laptop camera. Have them post it on YouTube or send it to you. Then create a QR code linking to that video and put it on your resume next to the listing of your references! All of a sudden, your best reference is “real” and talking instantly and directly to the hiring manager. This will blow their socks off. Guaranteed.

So what’s to take away from this blog post? Degrees2Dreams encourages you to enhance your resume with references, LinkedIn recommendation excerpts, and a QR code that links to a video of your best reference. Make your resume a multimedia experience for the hiring manager.

Did you like this story? Would you like to get more like it to help you in your job search?

Can you share any suggestions of your own when it comes references and resumes? Tell us, and we’ll make a list of the best ideas. We might even call you for an interview and feature you here on Degrees2Dreams. Or, would you like to write your own story about your own experiences? Send a story pitch to me at john@degrees2dreams.com! We’d love to have your contribution.

By Emma-Jean Weinstein
Blogger

If they see that you’re qualified for the position, they’re going to want to know what type of person you are behind all that sucking up you did in your cover letter.

They want to make sure you aren’t a party animal, which might make you potentially unreliable on Mondays. They want to see that you can be professional, someone who doesn’t treat their Facebook as a book of grievances.

Most of all, they want to see that you’re well-rounded. That you don’t just have a Facebook, but that you have a Twitter, a LinkedIn, a blog, etc., and that you actually use them on a regular basis in a professional fashion

So, your job status can be a direct result of your social media presence, or lack thereof. Hey, it will probably even be a bit of both.

So, here’s how to make sure your “digital footprint” works for you, not against you.

First, if you want to see yourself how others will see you, do a Google search of yourself. But don’t stop there. Do a Bing search, too. Try Mahalo.com, DuckDuckGo.com and Clusty.com. You may think your online presence is pretty good, but when it comes to the job search, you want to make sure it is squeaky-clean.

Are the first few links good ones? Your LinkedIn profile should be right up there, and perhaps a blog you have or that you write for, maybe a newspaper clipping of an accomplishment? If they are, good start.

Or, are there pictures of you at parties or do insulting comments or posts show up? If so, get rid of them NOW! If they’re your pictures on Facebook or Flickr, for example, take them down or make them private. If you’ve been tagged in pictures you don’t own, write the owner and asked to be untagged.

Your next stop on your digital footprint clean-up journey should be the sites out there that  help you gain control of your digital footprint. Reppler, for instance, will scan your Facebook profile for inappropriate content and gives you a “Reppler Image Score”.

The more you clean up your profile, the better your score will be. Pipl finds mentions of you everywhere, so you can choose which ones will help you professionally, and which ones can hurt you. And perhaps one of the best out there, BrandYourself, helps you make sure the results for a search of your name are good results. You can choose which ones are best, or even about you in general. The more you look into your social media, the cleaner and more professional it will become, so check these out too. SocialMention, BackTweets, Reputation, and MyPermissions.

After you’re satisfied that you have a digital footprint your grandmother would bless, monitor your social media VERY carefully regularly. Think twice before you trash talk your boss on Twitter, and don’t let your friends tag pictures of you passed out drunk for their Facebook album. I

Now that your digital footprint is clean, let’s take the next step and make sure it’s also strong. Go back to your Google search. Does your search come up with old high school sports achievements or things so ancient that even you barely remember them?

Or what if you don’t show up in a Google search at all? What if you have NO digital footprint?!

If that’s the case, your problem isn’t cleaning up your online reputation; it’s actually getting one!

Trust me, you don’t want to be the person with a Facebook site, a few tweets on your Twitter, and half of a LinkedIn profile competing with someone who has a professional blog, a full list of Twitter followers, a complete LinkedIn profile WITH recommendations, a Pinterest account and lots of folllowers, and much more.

Get involved in everything and anything you can find on the Internet. It’s a long list, and you may think it’s too much, but the real work is called for in the beginning, when you sign up and create your profiles. After that, it takes only a few minutes of your day to do an update or two.

So, if you don’t have them already, set up accounts on Twitter, LinkedIn, Foursquare, Pinterest, Google+, StumbleUpon, YouTube, Flickr, and Tumblr, to name a few. Also, check out social media that specializes in your interests (i.e. if you are into books, take a look at Goodreads and LibraryThing). You don’t have to be involved in EVERYTHING, but the more visible you are online, the better your chances are of getting noticed.

But if you really, really want to make a splash, create a blog.

Blogger is a great blogging platform for beginners to get out there and build a professional online reputation. WordPress is the gold standard, but not as easy as Blogger or Tumblr, but, on the other hand, much more powerful.

After choosing your blogging platform, choose a topic you are passionate and knowledgeable about AND, this is important, will force you to interview key players in your field. That last part, the interviews with influential people, is the most important criteria for choosing your blog topic. Otherwise, it’s just a vanity project — fun, but largely irrelevant to potential employers. Yes, they can see you can write or shoot photos or videos, but they really want to know what do you know about their industry and how well do you execute the skills they require.

Plus, if you’re interviewing the key players in your field, you’re building a professional network of folks to whom you can return when it’s time to start job searching and ask them what they hear about openings in your field. In this way, you’ll be plugging into the “hidden jobs network” where 90% of open jobs are filled (yes, only about 10% of all open jobs make it to Monster or Indeed or Craigslist!).

Once you get started on your blog, try to write regularly, and advertise it across the rest of your social media. If you do this, you’ll be sure to get noticed by the people who can make a difference in your life.

Once you get started, you’ll be showing employers your passion and knowledge of the field as well as writing, technological and analytical skills. But don’t just take my word for it; check out what author and Global Spokesperson for LinkedIn, Lindsey Pollak, has to say about the power of a blog in a job search.

So, to recap: Step number one in your job search checklist is to make sure your digital footprint is not only clean, but also ompelling.. And step number two is to be everywhere and launch a blog about a topic within your field and interview key players for your blog posts.

You were told over and over that the way to be successful in life was to get a college education and your dream job would be yours. Now that you’ve graduated, that dream job you were promised turns out to be a lot harder to get. Nobody is going to hand it to you. You have to go out and take it by taking the initiative and proving yourself.

Social media is your friend in this campaign. Use it.

About Me

Hi, I’m Catherine Weagle, and I am the E-Newsletter Manager of Degrees2Dreams. I graduated from Salem State University in 2011 with a bachelor’s degree in Journalism. As a former copy editor of my alma mater’s newspaper, I hope to get into publishing to use my knowledge of grammar and spread my love of editing. I am from the North Shore coastal town of Ipswich, Massachusetts where I love to go out on my boat in the summer. I also enjoy writing and painting, and am an avid reader, a music enthusiast, and dog-lover. You can find me at about.me/catherine.weagle and @catherineweagle, or email me at catherineweagle@rocketmail.com.