Having a professional-looking photo shows you are authentic and serious about your job hunt. It gives you online credibility which is an important currency in today’s job market. However, online profile photos are often an overlooked and damaging aspect of people’s job hunting campaign. Which is strange, as it’s such a quick and easy thing to get right. And it will go a long way towards making people know, like, trust, follow and HIRE you!  All you need is a digital camera and a computer.

A great way to show that you are in the know with regards to personal branding it to use the same profile photo across all of your social media platforms. Consistency is key and it will also make it easier for recruiters and HR to recognize you.

A Few Guidelines:

1. Use the best quality photo possible (non-blurry, simple background, good lighting – you can google all of that!).
2. Take the photo specifically with your job hunt in mind. Don’t recycle old photos.
3. Get a friend or a professional photographer to take it for you (none of that photo in the bathroom mirror please! Or use the camera on your laptop if you really have to – but make sure you get the right angle). Remember that you might need to take a lot of photos to get it right!
4. Use a close-up of your face, neck and maybe even a bit of your shoulders (and make sure you crop it correctly when uploading onto Twitter).
5. If you show your shoulders, make sure they are covered (am I the only one who wonders if people are naked if their shoulders are?).
6. Make sure there is only you in the photo (no pets, friends or fancy cocktails!).
7. Wear the kind of outfit, make up and hair you would for an interview or that is consistent with the kind of work personality you want to represent (a photo for an investment banking / legal profile will probably show less of a a personal fashion style than someone applying for a fashion PR job).
8. Smile and look approachable (it’s surprising how easily people look unapproachable or downright scary when they don’t!).
9. Have a look at Twitter’s photo uploading guidelines and make sure you comply.
10. Remember: How would you like your future dream employer to see you? That’s the guiding principle!

If You Only Do One Thing This Week: Put a date in your calendar to get your photo taken and enlist a friend or photographer to help. Plan your outfit, hair and make up. If you are taking your photo with the help of a friend, spend some time googling tips for taking the best photo for online use. Get the photos done and once you have a photo you are happy with make sure you use it consistently across all social platforms. Smile!

If you decide to make your chronological age a limit for something, that’s your choice and your judgement. I think your chronological age is completely irrelevant to what you can achieve in both your life and career. It makes sense that the older we get, the more we should challenge ourselves. Many respected authors, artists, politicians and business people only got famous and/or started their career at a later stage in life. However, we live in a society that tends to focus on the young, famous and beautiful (and interestingly most of those are in careers and industries where they probably won’t be around in 5 years time – not a good role model for career choice in my mind).

Research from Kingston University Business School identified that older entrepreneurs are more likely to be successful in business than their younger counterparts. Starting your own business also means that you don’t have to rely solely on others to give you a job.This could be your best bet when it comes to career change at a later stage in life. Portfolio and multiple income stream set-ups are good options too in this sense.

Even if you are not interested in becoming an entrepreneur or portfolio worker, but want continue down the employee trail now could be a good time to change careers. Why? Because the older we get the better our level of self-knowledge and awareness of our strengths and weaknesses tend to become. By really reviewing your career so far and looking at where you truly excelled and enjoyed yourself,  you will be able to identify a career that truly fits you based on what you’ve learned form experience. You are also be able to nail down the areas of interests that keep grabbing your attention. This is a major advantage over a 22 year old graduate choosing their first career!

If You Only Do One Thing This Week: Remember that it’s never too late if you start now! Instead of focusing on your belief that you are too old, focus on what your years of life and work experience have taught you about what skills and abilities come naturally to you and what subjects truly interests you. Recall the instances where you enjoyed yourself and excelled. From that point of empowerment you are ready to choose a new career and take on the world!

What is your profession/industry/key areas of expertise?

What is unique about you and what you have to offer?

What are you looking for? (you might want to leave this one out if you are currently employed – recruiters will find you anyway!)

By the way, the above 3 bullet points is also the very definition of your personal brand (natch!). Start by thinking about what kind of key words a recruiter or HR would use to identify/find someone like you. What are they keywords for your industry? A good place to start your profile is by stating your profession/job title. People need to know what you do. However, since there are probably quite a few of your kind online, it’s important that you also mention what’s unique about you and what you offer. Maybe you are bi-lingual. Maybe you have international experience. Heck, maybe you recently saved your company some money (always a good one!). Or maybe you have a highly sough-after (relevant) qualification. Include that. Then you might also briefly state what you are looking for.

Use short sentences. Be descriptive and informative. And don’t forget to sound like a human with a personality!

Bear in mind that the tone on Twitter is more casual than on LinkedIn, so feel free to maybe allude to a hobby or passion (as long as its ‘PC’) to add a little personality to your bio. I mention in mine that I am a green tea drinker and it’s interesting how people often mention that to me as a point of common interest. However, don’t despair too much about sounding highly original. After all you are using your Twitter account for your job hunt and not for a popularity contest as to who has the most wacky personality or interest! Here are some examples of what profiles could look like:

Accountant who actually like my profession! Partial to multinational employers and Man U. Past the spreadsheet jockey stage and loving the senior advisory side

Former crime journalist turned Cupcake Maker in own kitchen. Would love to apprentice with an established bakery and share my secret recipes. Visit my blog!

Project Finance Director with a background in oil & gas engineering and a global sense of humor looking for my next gig. South East Asia would be nice!

HR Manager with 15 yrs+ experience looking to practice my fluent French outside of the UK. Former employers include Shell, Citi and Barclays. Keen golfer

Bilingual (Eng/French) Secretary great at handling difficult investment banking personalities. Currently studying for PRINCE2. Loves good food

You will also note that you have the option of adding a link to your profile. This is good news, as that’s where you can add the link to your online CV or your LinkedIn profile (which has your CV uploaded, right?;)). Remember: The more specific information you give recruiters and HR about yourself, the more of a chance there is that those keywords will be picked up in a search and lead to your profile.

If You Only Do One Thing This Week: Write Your Twitter Bio! And don’t get too hung up about it being too original or perfect. What matters is that you use relevant keywords and can easily be found. You might also want to experiment with a couple of bios to see what gets the best response (but keep your professional identity consistent!). If you struggle to decide what key words to include, then just look at job ads you have recently applied for (or search job boards) to see what key words they consistently use. Again, spend some time looking at bios around Twitter for inspiration and then write your own unique one!

Your Twitter Username (@): Definition: “Also known as a Twitter handle. Must be unique and contain fewer than 15 characters. Is used to identify you on Twitter for replies and mentions” (Twitter). This is the most important name to get right, as it is how you will be known and referred to and what most people will see. Keep it professional and make sure it’s a name a recruiter or company would not have a problem conversing with in public! Some ideas for what name to choose:

1. Your Name: @DeniseSmith. If it’s already taken, you can add a middle initial (@DeniseLSmith, @BobMSmith) or use the tips below. Some people suggest using numbers or an underscore_. However some research indicates that doing this will result in less followers and responses (it’s a pain to type underscore on your mobile for a reply and numbers look a bit password-like), so use it as a last resort.  Using your own name (ideally first+last) is the most common recommendation by career professionals.
2. Your Name + Professional qualification: (@BobSmithMBA, @LouiseIFA). This is a good one if your profession places a big emphasis on qualifications (or your name is Paul Smith and you want to stand out from the crowd!).
3. Your Name + / or Your Profession/What You Do In Your Industry/ or (for career changers) What You Would Like To Do: @PRdenise, DeniseSEO, DeniseCooks, CoachDenise, @BobLovesRetail, @FrenchWines, @StylingYou.

Make sure your User name is not too long, as it will count as part of the 140-character limit that Twitter imposes (which can be an issue when people want to tweet or retweet you).

Your Twitter Name: Definition: “A name that can be different from your username and is used to locate you on Twitter. Must be 20-characters or fewer” (Twitter).

If you were not able to write your name out in full in your user name, this is the place to do it and it increases your chances of being found.  Most people will use their full name here and you can have a space between your first and last name: Rikke Hansen.

If You Only Do One Thing This Week: It’s important that you are comfortable with the names that you choose and that they serve your job search/career and make you easy to be found by recruiters. So spend some time playing around with the above ideas before deciding. You might also want to check out what the key influencers and ‘normal’ people do in your industry to get some additional ideas. As a rule of thumb make sure you use your full name at least once.

1. As a Relationship-Building Forum and
2. As a ‘the moment it becomes available’ Job Board

What so great about Twitter is that you are able to follow and communicate with any users you choose to (from the corner shop down the road to Richard Branson), as there is no hierarchy or off-limit groups. The worst thing that can happen is that people don’t reply or don’t follow you back which is not really that scary! This set-up makes it an ideal place to build new relationships, as well as strengthen and/or reignite existing ones. To avoid sounding like a desperate job hunter, it’s important that you really focus on the relationship-building aspects of Twitter as much as possible.

Twitter is great for companies in the current economy, as it’s free and a super fast way to get vacancies out there in the shortest amount of time possible (no middle man involved!). Many companies are now using Twitter to post their jobs straight away (often quite a while before they end up on the more traditional job sites). Being an engaged and pro-active Twitter user therefore gives you access to a potential gold mine of opportunities before most other job seekers!

If You Only Do One Thing This Week: Familiarise yourself with Twitter and how it works in general. A good place to start is the FAQ page on Twitter’s own web page, as well as their short intro videos. Do also follow me on Twitter, as I am tweeting loads of of Twitter tips this week!

I would highly recommend that you don’t waste too much time looking at jobs ads until you are as clear as possible as what you are actually looking for in the first place. For example, if you are looking to stay within the same career path then you need to ask yourself what it really is you are trying to achieve by changing jobs. A bigger salary? People management responsibility? A promotion? International exposure? A company, product, service or ethos that you actually have an interest in or can identify with? Etc etc.

If You Only Do One Thing This Week: Start by brainstorming the specific areas you want to change by changing jobs. Then nail that list down to 3-5 non-negotiables that will guide your job hunt and help you waste time and effort (and also make you sound a lot more clued up when you speak to recruiters and your network!). Then stick to it (you might finesse it as you go along, but it will serve as a helpful road map).

I believe in taking a practical approach to most career issues and to identify what you can start doing right now to improve your situation. And in this case it’s really a matter of taking things into your own hands and stop giving your power away. Stop focusing so much on those external factors (it’s exhausting!) and look at what internal factors you actually do have control over and can therefore impact, change and/or eliminate.

If You Only Do One Thing This Week: Ask yourself what it is you truly enjoy about your work. What activities, skills and scenarios make you feel most competent and engaged? Exactly what is it you are doing when you enjoy it so much that you don’t actually need any external motivation or encouragement to keep going? Then focus on doing exactly that whenever possible and ask for more! If you realise that there is very little of it in your current job, then it’s time to start looking for positions (or maybe even new careers or self-employment options) where you would get as much as possible of it. Even if you still end up encountering some of those negative external factors, you will be able to focus your attention on what works for you.  The alternative is too much wasted energy (that could have been used for your own benefit) and a career/job you don’t enjoy.

What if you took a different approach this year?  And actually focused on what you want to stop doing instead? Like taking the time to really identify those career-limiting behaviours, habits and thoughts that keep you stuck in a job you honestly don’t enjoy. And then stop doing them. Those unhelpful habits that stop you from taking serious action when it comes to updating your CV and getting your head around social media job hunting strategies…like going to the pub or slumping out in front of the telly every night (rather than setting aside specific time slots every week to focus on your career).

If you don’t know what’s holding you back and what it is you keep doing to sabotage your career efforts no number of to-do resolutions will ever be truly effective. We are talking serious excavation work here! I would love for you to make this the year you actually commit to your career rather than just put up with it or dally along. And in order to help you, I want to give you a very do-able and effective strategy that you can implement straight away (and still eat what you want…):

If You Do Just One Thing This Week:

Make a “Stop Doing” List where you list 5-10 of your most career-limiting/damaging habits, behaviours and thoughts. Be specific.Then stop doing them/it.

You always have a choice. If you don’t think so, you have already made a choice!

So many people choose to soldier on in a job or career they don’t like because they don’t believe they have a choice. The recession, the local job market, their age, their skills (or lack thereof) etc etc…pick your ‘excuse.’ The world right now can indeed seem like a rather scary place. Especially if you don’t think you have a choice.

That is exactly why there has never been a better time for you to take control of your career and decide exactly what needs changing. And to realize that it might be the consequences of your choice rather than the choice itself that scare you the most. Consequences can to a large extent be planned for and dealt and taking powerful steps to address this can give a feeling of being in control. Whereas putting up with your current situation just leaves you feeling powerless and apathetic.

If You Do Just One Thing This Week: Realize that you always have a choice when it comes to your job and career. Then focus on and plan for how to deal with the consequences of those choices that you really want to make. This will put you in charge, as opposed to just putting up with the situation (If this seems really scary, then choose a less scary area of your life to apply it to first. Once you’ve seen how well this powerful tip works, you will want to apply it to the areas of your life that really matter!).