Professional – relating to a job that requires special education, training, or skill.
What is a professional digital profile? Is it like a resume? Yes and no.
Tombrakos(2012) believes that digital profiles are becoming the first non-physical contact point that potential employers have with you and slowly decreasing the usefulness of resumes. She explains that they should be a reflection of us; in terms of past achievements and plans for the future. I, too, believe that our digital profile is akin to our personal brand; an extension of us.
One would then ask, “Is one’s image on social networking sites part of his professional digital profile?”
Why not?
Prof Benson Hentrix shared his opinion about the blurring lines between personal and professional uses of social media in recent times. Furthermore, he also mentioned that it is important for us to take into consideration our purpose and target audience when shaping our profiles on social media. This video accurately describes the power of digital profiles and how the type of content that we share that would affect employability.
I talked about the importance of consistency in our online identity across all our social media platforms in my previous post. Today’s topic is about developing a professional online profile which is also authentic. So how can our online profile truly be authentic if we seek to omit the other parts that make us complete?
Now, how do you create an appropriate digital profile? ❓
I managed to get a couple of Singapore’s very own social media influencers to share their views on the topic.
Lim Guan Wei believes that his social media profiles (blog and Instagram) play a huge part in his professional digital profile as it showcases his personality and it also allows him to expand his professional network through collaborations with people from various industries.
Aloysius Ng believes that a professional digital profile would include having great social media achievements, such as writing a blog/ or having an Instagram account with a substantial amount of followers. He feels that social media is taking the marketing world by storm and that employers will be looking for individuals who are proficient in social media management in order to keep up in the current digital age.
Nellie Lim believes that a professional digital profile should add value to you as an individual and that it is important to ensure that you are consistent in the content that you put up on your social media platforms. She feels that the importance of a digital presence is subjective to the job that you are trying to attract and that it makes you more accessible to everyone globally. She also mentioned that having a strong online presence is subjective and that is not a must for every profession. However, it is would still be a bonus if you are able to streamline all your profiles together in order to give your potential employers an overview of you as a person.
If you noticed, all of them built their professional digital profiles by using various platforms to further showcase their talents and skills. These platforms may be associated with “personal” profiles but in the marketing industry, these are the things that attract the employers in their search for talents. This is how you should develop your professional digital profile, by playing to your strengths and researching the various platforms which your future employers will be looking out for.
Till next time! 😉
References
Lim Guan Wei is a full-time student at Nanyang Technological University who runs a lifestyle blog and he is also a member of The Influencer Network.
Aloysius Ng studies full-time at Republic Polytechnic and is a social influencer at The Sample Store.
Nellie Lim works as a Digital Media Account Manager at Dentsu Möbius and is one of Singapore’s prominent fashion influencers. Check out her Instagram here and her fashion blog here.
Merriam-webster.com, (2014). Professional – Definition and More from the Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/professional [Accessed 3 Dec. 2014].
Rosales. (2013). #GeniusLive: Blurring The Lines Between Personal And Professional Social Media Use. [ONLINE] Available at: http://agbeat.com/social-media/blurry-lines-professional-personal-social-media-use/. [Accessed 03 December 14].
Tombrakos, J. (2012). 7 Reasons You Need A Vibrant Digital Profile. [online] Forbes. Available at: http://www.forbes.com/sites/85broads/2012/11/30/7-reasons-you-need-a-vibrant-digital-profile/ [Accessed 3 Dec. 2014].
Life as I see it. 
Hi Evan,
Back here again, this time definitely not because of your free pizza! That aside, I thought it was good that you started quoting Tombrakos on how digital profile should be a reflection of us, in terms of past achievements and our future plans. I believe that these are the key things that our future employers would be keen to know before they even employ us. On a side note, I thought the guy in red cardigan dressed like you. Yes, I agree with you that instead of posting silly things on the Internet, which does not contribute to our online professional profile, why not make that platform a place for us to showcase our talents and skills. Do you think that showing a perfect image of ourselves online the way to go or being real, allowing others to see our flaws and weaknesses? Hope to hear from you soon!
Regards,
Rachel
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Hey Rachel!
I am glad that you liked the idea that I got from Tombrakos! Pretty insightful huh? 😉 Haha! I guess Guan Wei and I do share similar taste in apparels. Yes! I strongly believe in using our existing online platforms to showcase our interests and talents. However, I might disagree to a certain extent about the posting of “silly things”. In my opinion, I feel that the component would actually showcase your personality, which might be an added bonus to you if used in the right sense.
Lastly, I would say that it is best to achieve a balance between showcasing a “perfect” image and allowing others to see the real us. Allow me to explain further. A perfect image (I assume you meant professional image) might showcase a side of you that is void of personality, whereas showing a complete overview of our flaws and weaknesses may simply show that we are not striving to improve. Instead, like I mentioned earlier, I would aim to achieve a balance. Maybe try to showcase our strengths and weaknesses and show what we are currently doing in order to counter those weaknesses? This will portray you as an individual that is motivated and strives towards self-improvement.
I hope I answered your question completely! 🙂
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Hello Evan!
I always picture “professional” as one being formal, presentable, neat and tidied hair, probably wearing a black suit with tie and a pair of polished shoes. As a result, I feel that our “personal” profiles in Facebook or Instagram can never be our professional profile. However, after reading your post, I start to doubt my judgement!
I especially agree with one of the bloggers, Aloysius Ng. Social media which even includes Facebook, Instagram where we develop our “personal” profile is taking the marketing world by storm. As future marketers, employers would definitely evaluate our social media management skill. Therefore, like what you’ve mentioned, our image on social networking sites can be part of our professional profile!
Overall, great post! I am pretty amazed at how much effort were put in for this post – Interviewing the bloggers and finding out their perspective. Thumbs up! Looking forward to more interesting posts from you ⭐
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Hey Zoie!
I am pleased to hear that I had a part in changing your perception of a “professional” profile. Yes! I am in agreement with his point that the use of social media had definitely changed how the marketing industry works and that it can even be used to portray one’s social media managing capabilities. However, do take note that I also mentioned about context playing a huge part in developing a professional digital profile! For example, if you are applying for an accounting position, your online presence should be more focused on developing an impressive LinkedIn profile instead of PinInterest and Instagram. This is just an example, I am pretty sure that there are many others out there!
Once again, thanks for taking time to read my post!
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Hi Evan!
I thought your approach towards this topic was interesting and unique! It was really cool that you actually even take the initiative to talk to these bloggers and get their feedback! Kudos to that man!
Based on the blogs I have read and my very own blog, I guess many of us have a perspective that a professional online profile is often “professional”. Therefore the personal image and personality of ours should not be overly focused when showcasing our professional image. There is a lot of selling on “skills and achievements” instead of personality.
However after you have shared about the various bloggers, i realize that this is not the case and that “selling” your brand does not always have to be that typical formal way. It really depends on what you are trying to sell! If personality is what makes up your job, yes then sell those personality!
But then again,other than bloggers ; do you think that there are other kind of professions whereby the personality should be more of the focus when selling out a professional image?
Great new perspective you have given me! THANK YOU!
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Hey Kelly!
Thank you! Actually, it was just an idea at first and I decided to just go ahead with it! I was really lucky that they were willing to spare me a couple of minutes of their time to have this discussion with me.
Yes, I did notice that many of our classmates have sort of a fixed idea on what a professional digital profile should/ should not be. I am also really glad that you understood the underlying message that I was trying to put across. Context is what you need to determine first in order to decide on which platforms you should use in order to achieve your goals.
There are many other professions where personality plays a key part in! For example, an event’s facilitator or professional event planner. Would you want to hire a facilitator that does not have a bubbly personality? Sure, he/she would need to have the relevant skills but I would think that personality plays a big part in his/her job. In terms of an event’s planner, one can showcase their skills through various digital platforms and also appeal to their target audience with their personality!
I hope I answered your question!
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Evan
“What is a professional digital profile? Is it like a resume? Yes AND no”
What a strong statement! I like how you proposed that a digital profile plays multiple roles besides being a CV. It should also be our reflection for the people in the digital environment to understand, connect and communicate with us through virtual interaction. Talk about the material we share online, I totally agree with you that it would affect our employability as the content posted in our profile indirectly convey our concern and personality to the employer. Thus, I think its is important to handle the blurring lines between personal and professional online identity and possess a consistent online appearance.
On the other hand, you have mentioned that it is important to be authentic in developing our professional online profile. Based on the social media influencers you mentioned, how do you identify their profile authenticity? Why are you convinced?
Thanks!
Daphne
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Hey there Daphne! (Boy, this is one really long reply!)
That is exactly what I was aiming for! That is, to be able to express the idea that a professional digital profile can be viewed in many ways and should not be confined to simply one form. Yes, I do believe that is important to remain true to yourself and portray the realest version of you whenever possible.
Here is what I did. I chose and reached out to these 3 social media influencers after looking at their online profiles. Upon checking out their profiles on the web, I noticed that all 3 of them are relatively consistent in terms of the image they portrayed among several social media platforms and had experience with working with social media. Then, I had contacted them personally in order to get their perspective on the topic. Besides discussing about the topic, I was able to find out their story.
Allow me to focus on Nellie, she mentioned that she had been interested in the fashion scene from when she was a young kid. Upon graduation, she had worked towards getting a job that would boost her experience in the area of social media management. Somewhere in between all that, she created an Instagram account, blogged about her outfits and started experimenting with various styles. Through that, she managed to gather people with similar interests to follow her accounts. Subsequently, she was noticed by the organisers of Digital Fashion Week, Asia’s highest profile designer showcase, and was invited to be an insider for the 2014 event! Her experiences and accomplishments are how I gauged the authenticity of her online profile.
Nellie is a real-life example of the idea that I was trying to express in my post. The integration of all your digital profiles, using them to build towards your overall professional digital profile and finally utilising it towards your advantage.
I hope I answered your question! I also found an interesting article about measuring authenticity here that you might be interested in.
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