Myspace versus Workspace

Okay, I know the Myspace reference is a little outdated, but it was easier to rhyme than Facebook.

As an emerging professional it is important to clean up your trail on the internet. College was fun, the parties were great, the pictures are hilarious. You don't necessarily have to get rid of all of that, just make sure it's pretty well covered. Your potential employers will search for you on the internet. Chances are they did the same things in college that you did, but they didn't have the internet to deal with. Tighten up the security settings on your online profiles. Create new - more professional online profiles with Twitter, or Foursquare. You might even consider creating a new facebook account - as I did. You can keep the old one, but change your settings so that you aren't searchable and nobody can see your information except for your own friends. Then create a new account, that is professional. Add your professional contacts as friends on the new account, and keep your old (Private) account for your friends.

Another tip is to run some searches on yourself. Google your name, search through several pages of hits - don't assume that your name won't come up if your not in the first three hits. Try looking yourself up on yasni.com. It's one that many employers use. If you find results that you don't want your employers to see - deal with it then and there.

Brand Name

Having a personal brand is one of the best things that you can do to help your job search. The best part of this one is that you already have one! You just need to fine tune it and polish it up a bit to get it ready for the professional world. Your personal brand is who you are. When translating "who you are" into a professional job search there are a few easy things that you can do. When drafting your professional documents (resume, cover letters, thank you notes, etc) pick one signature font and size. It should be easy to read but it should be something that you like and that you think says a lot about you. Have one type of resume paper that all of your professional correspondance gets printed on. Mine happens to be a blue tinted linen paper that is a little bit heavier than most. It is a bit more expensive than regular printer paper but it definitely makes you look more put together. You might go so far as to include a color. Again, mine is blue. I have blue resume paper, I typically have blue in my outfits for meetings and interviews, I have a blue padfolio and use a blue pen. Admittedly blue is the most popular logo color in America, but it is one more thing that makes you as a candidate and employee more recognizable.

You already have a personal brand. Now you just need to highlight the professional parts of it.