Necessity of online resources for professionals

 In a time where social media has become increasingly prevalent, professionals can now leverage social media to improve their careers. For public relations professionals, it is essential to create an effective online presence to attract prospective employers, as well as to consistently monitor the media to stay current with public relations news.

Importance of online presence to employers

            With the pervasiveness of technology, employers are turning to social media to conduct background searches. Forty-five percent of employers used social networking sites to research candidates, according to a CareerBuilder survey. Previously, it was beneficial if an employer found nothing to an applicant’s name. Nowadays, the same situation is harmful to the applicant because employers will wonder why someone with an established career has no online presence.

Increase online branding presence

            For college students entering the workforce, creating an effective online presence requires the following steps, according to a Mashable.com article:

·         Know who you are online: Google search yourself and eliminate any undesirable results.

·         Boost your personal brand: Write your own brand message that conveys your interests, strengths, and goals.

·         Use social media: Choose a select few social media outlets, such as Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn, and update them frequently with relevant content to your field.

For instance, an aspiring public relations professional hoping to be hired by LivingSocial could use tip three by creating a blog that evaluates Living Social’s public relations strategies.

Monitor traditional and new media

It is vital for a professional to stay current with events and updates specific to his or her field. A public relations professional should use outlets such as newspapers, websites, blogs, and social media to monitor news in the public relations fields.  Several tips for effective media monitoring from E-Releases.com  include:

·         Know your purpose for monitoring. If there is a certain aspect of public relations that interests you, target that area.

·         Identify key phrases to focus on relevant media outlets.

·         Leverage the influencers. If there is an expert that could be invaluable to your career, reach out to him or her.

For more information on what new media sources public relations professionals should follow, look at PRWeb’s list of 25 essentialpublic relations blogs.

For a traditional media outlet, subscribe to PRWeek or access it online.