Now more than ever, your social media profile is the ticket to your future. Whether you’re trying to promote your research or are applying for jobs, employers and businesses are searching your name. Your posts, your pictures, and your profiles are part of your resume. Regardless of whether you’ve carefully crafted your social media to represent yourself professionally, it’s being taken into consideration along with your education and experience. That doesn’t have to be a bad thing, though.
Leveraging your profile is simple. And importantly, it’s effective. By platforming your experience, publications, and future goals, you’re telling your potential employers and networks who you are and what you have to offer. You are in control of your image, and you can use that power for success.
Resume creation 101
Before you can begin working on your profile, you should learn the basics of building a good resume. Profile templates on social media platforms will keep your content readable and uniform, so no need to worry about choosing the right font. Additionally, the necessary information will be sectioned and ordered for you. What you need to focus on is the writing itself.
Keep your sentences short and factual. Use descriptive, active language and avoid fluff, especially adjectives and adverbs that end in “-ly”. These are considered to be flowery words that do not add to your writing. Avoid being too stylistic, too. Be clear, not poetic. That doesn’t mean you can’t add your personality to your profile—just stick to anecdotes and fun facts over complex adjectives.
Importantly, update your resume constantly. If it adds to your credentials, even if it was a temporary position, it’s worth mentioning. Thankfully, updating your social media profile is instant. This means your digital resume will always be current.
Setting up your social media profile
When it comes to setting up your profile, fill in everything. For example, with SciProfiles, you’re asked to create a short bio, title, and add keywords related to your expertise and research. The more information you have, the more searchable you are. It’s especially important to include a profile picture. Over half of our use base only clicks on posts made by accounts with profile pictures. Not only does a picture add credibility to your posts, but it also tells other users that you’re a real person. We’d like to assume we aren’t talking to bots online, but fake profiles are common and they are everywhere. Choose a photo of yourself that is professional, well lit, and/or of you doing work in the field.
Also be sure to link your publications (if you have any) using your ORCID number, DOIs, and any BiBTex files. Having open access work at the ready ensures that whoever is looking at your page can get the full picture of you. If you have other social media profiles, a website, or a blog, share them, too. It’s about maximizing the visibility of your name, answering a potential connection or employer’s questions proactively, and boosting engagement across all your social media. With a wide variety of links and pages, too, you’ll be able to better express your personality. Since all social media platforms require different levels of professionalism, by tailoring your digital resume to each platform’s needs, you have more ways to show who you are.
Update, update, and update your profile again
Social media has given us all the opportunity to consistently show our progress in real time. Between making posts about our opportunities and current work and adding achievements to our profiles, keeping our network in the know has never been easier. So, take full advantage of the quickness of the internet. The moment you complete a job, internship, research project, etc. tell the world. Make it a permanent spot on your profile. To show that you’re always growing and working is to show future employers that you can adapt to new challenges and are eager to help.
If you feel like opportunities aren’t coming your way, don’t hesitate to skill-up on your own. If you have the time and resources, considering taking courses that will add to your academic skillset. Find volunteer positions within your scientific community—just because something isn’t paid doesn’t mean it isn’t valuable. Obtain certifications for the jobs you’re after (if this is possible to do without belonging to a company or institution, of course). Be proactive by looking for the gaps in your experience and research and doing your best to fill them with the resources available to you. And with every task and certification completed, add it to your profile. Make a post to share your accomplishments. It’s not bragging, it’s highlighting what your assets are.
Above all else, frame your experience and knowledge as a solution to your future employer’s problems. How are you going to benefit their workforce? How will you diversify their corporate culture? You are an addition, and additions should always be improving what they’re being added to.
So long as you stay active and continuously update your social media profiles, the opportunities you’ve been looking for will find you. Put your best foot and profile photo forward, and you’ll see results.