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| (Photo credit: Aray Chen) |
Now that you have got your Google+ account set up you need
to make sure that your profile page is set up properly and is searchable. What does that mean? It means that when people search for certain
terms they will be more likely to find you.
Google Profiles are especially search engine friendly so this is a great
place to sell yourself.
First, let’s talk about keywords a bit. Keywords are words and terms in a body of
text that help search engines determine what a page is about. They look for words and phrases that are used
in the first paragraph and are used more often than others in a body of
text. So, for example, if you are
looking for a job as a medical assistant in Winnipeg you might use terms like “Winnipeg
medical assistant” or “medical assistant in Winnipeg” or “medical assistant in
Manitoba”. Think about how you would use
these terms as you talk about yourself.
Second, you need to think about what you really want to say
about yourself. Think of it as that
first question you often get in an interview: “Tell me about yourself”.
It is important that you do not ramble on and fill the page
with information that is completely irrelevant to anything an employer would
want to know. You can include some
personal information about your hobbies to give it a more personal appeal but
the bulk of the information should be concise and professional.
Use a concrete experience to demonstrate your skills and
strengths. This goes along with the old
piece of advice given to writers of all genres - show, don’t tell. Instead of saying that you are an organized
person with great office skills, pick an experience that you have had that
shows them that. You might talk about a
project that you completed involving organizing the filing system and creating
a computer back up of the system using Word and scanning tools. This is just an example - your experience
should be personal to you and it might take some time to come up with something
that is adequate.
If you are using any other social media for professional
means you can include links to them on your profile. You can also include links to articles you’ve
published, a blog, or any other web presence that you wish to draw attention
to.
Your tagline is what people will see when they hover over
your picture. You should make this a
concise sentence or two that sums up your professional goals. Think of this as being similar to the
elevator speech you might use when you introduce yourself to someone at a
professional networking event.
Finally, don’t forget to include a picture. Yes, your picture matters. You don’t have to be a model but you should
show potential clients that you have a friendly face. They should be able to envision you working
in their company so make sure you are dressed nicely. Not party pics or pictures of your dog or
kids.
If this is the first of the Google+ posts that you are
reading you should take a minute to read these, too:
- How to Set up Your Google+ Account for Professional Networking
- Why is Google+ a Great Social Network for Promoting Yourself
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