When the weather gets warmer, the flowers begin to bloom, and the soft breezes blow, many of us open our windows and roll up our sleeves (or call a housecleaning service to roll up their sleeves) to clean away a year’s worth of dust and debris from our homes. Starting a fresh new season and year with a fresh clean home.
This is the perfect time of year to spring clean your social media profiles. It’s been a year or more since you’ve updated, and you’ve accomplished goals and made other changes. There’s no better time to polish your personal branding by freshening up your public information. Here’s a quick list of 5 updates you should make every spring!
- New headshot. Choose a new photo of yourself or update the photo you currently use. Some simple cropping to make your face fill most of the photo can make a big difference even when you don’t have a new picture. If you are getting new shots taken, make sure the background is simple and face forward. Before you upload, make sure you label the file with your name and no spaces. This allow search engines to find your photo when someone searches for you.
Update your experience and skills. Add what you’ve accomplished or changed over the last year to your information. Have your goals changed, too? Make sure you update and refresh all the ways you’ve grown. Degrees? Certifications? Honours? Add them!- Make it match. While you’re updating your social media, be sure you’re updating your resume, too. Ensure the titles, dates, and descriptions of your jobs match from platform to platform. Skills lists and experience should also match. You never know when someone will reach out with a great opportunity, so you want to give a full, cohesive picture of what you have accomplished.
- Revise summaries and bios. Now that you’ve collected and refreshed all the information about you and your career, make sure your introductions are as highly polished as your skills lists! Update, reframe, and restate!
- Who’s who? Take a look at contacts lists and make sure your current colleagues and newer contacts are able to see your social media. When you do this, take some time to think about which of these people you can help. Can you offer an introduction to a great executive recruiter? Do you know of an open position at your last organization that would be a perfect fit for a connection you’ve made? Reach out to them. Part of networking is adding value for others, so they’ll be willing to reach out to you someday!