By: Eunice Chon
Photo by Andrew Neel on Unsplash
With the reemergence of cancel culture, the need to maintain proper netiquette and practice digital citizenship is greater than ever. Every single activity you perform on the Internet can leave a trace, which means that you need to stay aware of your digital footprint and maintain it as much as possible. One major reason why tracking your digital footprint is imperative is that over a third of college admissions officers and most job recruiters search applicants on Google and review their social media pages. While this new era of technology can seem daunting, an easy way to take advantage of your online presence is personal branding.
Personal branding is marketing yourself and your career. You can use personal branding to build an online reputation and build valuable professional connections. Personal branding is not a one-time project that you can complete and forget about later. It’s a long-term process that is maintained constantly. Through personal branding, you answer the following questions. What should people remember you by? What skills do you offer your community or your workplace? How do you help other people?
While personal branding can be done on personal websites or social media pages, the most popular site for personal branding is LinkedIn. LinkedIn provides a professional yet approachable platform for students and professionals. The LinkedIn summary, which is written in the first person, provides a personable introduction to who you are and what background you come from. The rest of the page features your experience, skills, awards, and community service. Here is the link to my LinkedIn page for reference: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eunicechon/.
While many professionals use LinkedIn as an online resume, the potential for your personal brand is far greater than just listing your qualifications. For one, constantly updating your LinkedIn page is a definite way of taking full advantage of your online presence. You professionalize your digital footprint, and your personal brand, when well-maintained, can benefit you in your professional career. The main benefit of building your personal brand on LinkedIn is the connections you build. It matters not how many connections you make but which connections you make. Through personal branding, you can enhance your online presence to a sophisticated level, make connections, and hopefully gain new opportunities.