How To Create a Digital Identity

By Tory Johnson

You hear the horror stories about the pitfalls of the Internet when it comes to your job, but there’s also a flip side. If you’re an employee or entrepreneur looking for a job, a promotion, new clients or better business opportunities, there are several smart ways to create and enhance your digital identity. Take a few minutes to use technology to your advantage in the workplace.

Set up electronic profiles. On LinkedIn.com, which has more than five million users in the US, create a free professional profile where you control the content. Your profile will be indexed on the search engines like Google, Yahoo, and others. When someone searches for your name, this profile will appear in the results, which is an ideal way to showcase your skills and expertise. Recruiters are now using professional networking sites like LinkedIn to look for new talent. And because it’s known as a professional networking tool – unlike online job boards – you don’t have to worry that your boss will assume you’re job searching if or when your profile is found.

By selecting “full view,” you enable more information to be shown from your profile even when a web user is not logged in to LinkedIn. The more content you allow to be shown, the more likely your profile will show up higher in the search results on sites like Google or Yahoo for your name.

Subscribe to Google alerts. Since being an expert in your chosen industry is important for anyone who wants to advance, it takes only a minute or two to set up Google alerts. On the Google site (google.com/alerts), indicate the desired key words – perhaps specific companies you’re interested in working for or an industry or particular trend you want to keep up on – and Google will send you links to news articles and relevant items as they’re posted throughout the Internet. It’s a fast, free, and a fabulous way to stay up to the minute on news as it happens related to your field.

Create a blog. Your resume is the document that states what you claim to know, and a blog is an in-depth forum showcasing or proving it. Yet, to many people blogging sounds intimidating because we think it requires extensive technical expertise or a commitment to typing away all day, every day. Neither is true. Blogging is a fresh way to get noticed—and to put the knowledge gained through those Google alerts to good use.

Technology companies have been scouring blogs to find new talent for a while, but now recruiters in other industries – retail, hospitality, sales, marketing, advertising and so much more – are checking out blogs to find talented people who are passionate about their skills and knowledge.

Among the popular sites to set up your own blog include Blogger.com, Vox.com, Wordpress.com and LiveJournal.com. (Check each site before settling on one so you’re comfortable with the format and requirements.) Follow the easy-to-use instructions on how to create a blog on the topic of your professional expertise and then decide on your content. You can offer your opinion and expertise on current hot button issues in your field or you could go the opposite route and use the blog to dissect obscure aspects of your field. Link to articles and other blogs of interest, and then ask those bloggers and writers to link back to your stuff too.

Just like company websites have an “about us” section, create an “about me” section, including details on your education, work experience and skills and interests. Pay particular attention to your writing skills. Even if your thoughts are great but the spelling and grammar leave a lot to be desired, you're not delivering the right impression.

Post expert opinions. Get your name and your knowledge out there by posting reviews to books on Amazon.com or other similar sites related to your expertise. You can also post comments on industry blogs and message boards that showcase your knowledge. All of this content becomes accessible by other people who are interested in the same topics. And they’re becoming a primary source for recruiters

Johnson is the Workplace Contributor on Good Morning America and the CEO of Women For Hire. Womenforhire.com