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Cartoon by Hugh

Thanks to Mike VanDerVort I found this fantastic article this morning in AdAge talentworks, “How to Google-Rank Your Way to a Recruiter’s Heart.”

I’m always telling job seekers that your goal is to be found, and this article clearly defines why as well as some excellent advice on just how you can set yourself up for success.

During an average week, a recruiter reviews countless resumes, responds to hundreds of e-mails, conducts phone screens, video interviews and in-person interviews — all to find one perfect candidate match. The sheer volume of work has been exacerbated by high unemployment and a down economy. As a result, many recruiters are casting a smaller net, relying on sources like social media, employee referrals and Boolean search to attract a smaller, more qualified set of candidates.

For job seekers, this means a change in job-search approach. Rather than the “find a job” mentality, job seekers must focus on being found. Recruiters are holding the proverbial glass slipper — looking for the perfect match to open positions. Are social media and web tools the digital fairy godmother that introduces you? Here are ways to make it easier for a recruiter to discover you:

1. Expand your glass slipper’s footprint. Posting your resume on mega-job boards and searching for open positions on these boards is only a point of entry for job searches today. It’s a foundation — but it isn’t a very strategic or holistic approach. To broaden your digital footprint, start with this checklist: Do you appear on LinkedIn? Twitter? Facebook? Delicious? YouTube or Vimeo? Flickr? Do you have a blog, using sites such as TypePad, WordPress, Blogger?

For an even wider presence, create your own website and register a personal URL for yourself; sites such as GoDaddy.com make it very easy and inexpensive to do. There are also services that offer HTML resume solutions like ResumeBuilder.com and VisualCV. By posting your resume as its own web page, recruiters have a better chance of finding it through a Boolean search.

Once your digital footprint is established, include your information on your e-mail signature to increase connections with those in your network. Cross-post your digital-footprint links on multiple sites. Is your Twitter feed posted on your LinkedIn profile? Is your LinkedIn profile posted on your blog? And so on. Most people still have personal preferences of the social media site they visit the most. The wider your reach, the more likely it is that the right people will find you.

2. Define your magic keywords. A recruiter isn’t going to find you by your name. They search based on skills, experience, your work history. Take the time to think it through: If someone conducts a search on Google, Bing or a social-media site to find you, what keywords will they use? Which key descriptors specify your unique skills and where you’re located?

Start out with 10 words. Include items such as your title, region, area of expertise and your industry. Once you define these words, make sure they appear on all of your digital profiles. Conduct your own keyword audit to check the reach of your digital footprint. Do all of these words appear in the profiles that describe you to a potential employer? If so, that will make it easier to find you.

3. Customize your handle. If your name is common, think about how you might make it more unique. Can you include your middle initial? Maybe initial your first name or perhaps use your full middle name? If you’ve taken on a married name, does it make sense to use your maiden name as well — and hyphenate? As an example, if we search for “Traci Armstrong,” we find 9,740 results on Google. But, at the risk of snickers, if we initial the first name and use her married last name “T. Ann Cakebread,” the results are far more selective: four!

Be cautious, however, on what name you create for yourself: Don’t choose something that makes it difficult for people to identify you. And, whatever identity you choose, be consistent so you appear the same everywhere you post.

Another great tool at your disposal is the vanity URL. Many sites offer this feature; both Facebook and LinkedIn allow you to customize your profile in this way, adding your name to your link. You can claim yours on Facebook or, on LinkedIn, click edit on the Public Profile featured in your profile settings. There is an option at the top of this page that allows you to edit your URL.

Job seekers should also take advantage of signing up for a free Google Profile. This allows you better control of how people see you when you appear in Google — and increases the likelihood you will appear if someone searches you by name by expanding your footprint in yet another direction.

To read the rest of the article click here.

Tagged as: Cartoon by Hugh, Do you want this job or not, Facebook, I need a job, LinkedIn, Online etiquette, Recruiters, Social Media, Stephanie A. Lloyd, Twitter

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