Make a Great First Impression Before They Even Meet You

Let Us Help You Go Beyond the Resume

Finding a job now is just not what it used to be.  In times long gone by, you could just show up to the place you wanted a job and drop off your resume.  Doing that now is guaranteed to not get you an interview.  Although, it might get you escorted back out to your car.  The point is, it used to be that you had a chance to make a first impression before anyone even looked at your resume.  And it's human nature to overlook a few things when we like someone.  So if your resume wasn't that strong, but you made a great first impression you might get an interview, anyway.  You can still have that advantage today.  You just have to know how to work it.

Rather than meeting someone in person first, hiring managers find potential candidates online.  The most common (by far!) place they do this is LinkedIn but they'll also search for you online.  You've probably gone to a lot of effort to make sure your resume looks great.  If you haven't had it professionally written, I highly recommend it at least once.  It's a great investment.  But no one is looking at your resume first.  They're looking at your LinkedIn profile and whatever shows up in Google.  You need to go to at least as much effort on your profile, and general online presence as you did on your resume.  And just cutting and pasting your resume into the form isn't enough.

Related: LinkedIn Etiquette - Make a Great Impression

So, what should you do, then?  Here are a few ways to polish up your online presence to make it reflect you as the competent, highly valuable professional you are.

1.  Don't cut and paste your resume into the profile.  Because you have so much more space to talk about your career than on a resume, this just looks lazy.  Resumes are bullet points with achievement highlights.  At least, they should be.  If you're still listing job skills on your resume please get your resume written professionally.  That you have the job skills necessary for the job is assumed, what everyone wants to know is what you achieved with those skills.  A professional can show you exactly what should, and shouldn't be on a modern resume.  It's a great investment in your career.  On your profile, go into more detail about your achievements.  Talk about what you did, why you did it and the final result.  

Related:  What Should, and Shouldn't Be On Your Resume

2.  Set up a personal website (you can find lots hosted for free) and tell the story of who you are and how that influenced where you went in your career.  Talk about what you've achieved so far and what you'd like to do next.  Really show how your unique experiences and accomplishments will contribute to the next company that hires you.  Use images and formatting for a professional and polished look.  You have the ability to add any images or video you think is relevant, as well as links to projects or publications that you want to show off.  This will define your "Personal Brand" and associate your name with a sense of professionalism and the willingness to go the extra mile.  Right now a personal site will set you apart from your competition.   However, this tactic is becoming more common.  Set yourself apart now.

Not unless you sell sombreros

3.  Include a professional picture of yourself on your LinkedIn profile as well as your personal site.  It should be a clear image of your face from about the shoulders up, with you dressed appropriately for your industry.  If you work in finance or are an attorney, a suit works really well.  But a suit would look a bit strange if you're in an industry like film making or design of any kind.  You can wear anything you want in the picture, just make sure it's right for your industry and shows your face clearly.  When a hiring manager runs a search on LinkedIn for job candidates they are much more likely to click on a profile with a picture than one without.  Providing a picture on your personal site helps the reader connect with you as a person.  Once they connect with you, they're much more likely to want to speak with you.

Related: Questions to Ask During Your Interview

Even though you no longer get to make your first impression in person, or with your resume, you can still make it outstanding.  In a really good way.  You just have to be willing to go to the extra effort in order to make yourself stand out.  And when you're competing with hundreds of other applicants for a job or thousands of others that come up in a search for someone with your skills, standing out will make the difference between getting the job and being invisible.