Creating Your Online Footprint

I have talked a lot about developing your online presence as a job seeker through this blog. Today's job market offers multiple opportunities to be found via a variety of profile sites that now inhabit cyberspace. Job hunters can simply create a profile online and define their own digital footprint. This footprint then leads recruiters to your door as they utilize search engines to find passive and active candidates.

My top picks in this arena are: LinkedIn, ZoomInfo, Jigsaw, and now also Jobster.

Jobster is led by its CEO and chief promoter, Jason Goldberg. To those of us in the recruiting blogosphere he's just "JGo", a CEO who blogs. Anyway, Jason says Jobster is good for career seo.

I couldn't agree more. Jobster is now all about getting found in addition to being a vertical job search site and a place to research potential employers. They have introduced a new way of profiling yourself, that comes with "Superstar tags", keywords which you pick to describe who you are and what you do. Here's Jason's reasoning behind the reinvention of the resume.

"we are using tags to reinvent the resume...What we will provide is an easier way for people to identify what they are great at (blow up the traditional resume) and for them to then be searched for by and matched with employers. "

Jobster's profile section for job seekers, is not like the ordinary resume section found on sites like Monster. Rather, it is an in-depth look at the world you work in. Instead of listing past employers, you define "experiences" through which you can answer a number of interesting questions about them. Questions like;

What profession other than yours would you like to try?
Whats your commute like?
What are the three best things about working at...?

The point of these sometimes quirky questions are intended to give people a chance to know you on a much different level than an online resume can provide. Recruiters looking at your profile can really see if you are a "good fit" for the job.

I applaud Jobster for thinking outside the job search box. Online job hunting has really taken a huge leap forward this year. And sites like Jobster are the reason why.

So what are you waiting for? Start creating your online footprint. If you are good at what you do, recruiters are always waiting to trace those steps to find you.

By the way, here's mine.