What makes online presence a decisive factor in the life of millennials?

Online technology has become so inherent to daily life that people no longer feel the need to process its impact and implications in shaping the course of our existence and everyday interactions.

Having a number of social media profiles no longer does the trick nowadays.

The ever-evolving, increasingly competitive dynamics of today’s professional environment have established a pressing need for millennials to build a sustainable online brand that would increase their visibility and eventually enhance their hireability.

In a nutshell, online presence is the sum of your personal and business-oriented personas and the interactions that have taken part within the cyber-universe. And while many people are fully aware of the importance of having a strong online presence, others still choose to underestimate its impact.

We’re not talking about the few who have made a conscious choice to stay away from mainstream social media platforms here but rather about people who are actively present on social media without nevertheless utilizing their online presence to its full potential.

So why is it important to start building your online image today?

Gaining awareness.

A strong online presence allows you to be recognized by a large number of people that you most likely would not have been able to reach otherwise. And these behind-the-screen connections could very well translate into real life interactions that could help you improve your professional/academic outlook, find new opportunities within your field or even grow your business.

It takes time.

Online profiles and blogs can be set up in a matter of seconds but it takes quite some time to establish a significant network of connections and find your own voice. The earlier you start investing time and effort into your cyber persona, the better your chances are of becoming an online influencer within your area of interest/expertise.

People will look you up.

Employers will eventually look up a potential employee’s name on LinkedIn after receiving an application. But that’s not all who’s looking. New personal acquaintances, colleagues or even neighbors could be ‘stalking’ your online profile at any point in time and you surely would not want them to get a flawed impression of you. Make it count!

A whole new level of expectations.

One last observation to keep in mind is that tech-savvy millennials have come to rely increasingly on online data to ‘judge’ or form initial impressions about the people they meet. One needs to cater to this evolving set of cyber expectations by taking down any inappropriate social media posts and constantly updating social media profiles and/or personal websites.

Cover credit: Wpengine.netdna-cdn.com

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CHRISTINA FAKHRY, CAREER & LIFESTYLE, CAREER

Christina Fakhry