TLDR;

We all can agree on the fact that today there is no scarcity of talent in any field. You’ll always have competition no matter what your position is. This is where your “Digital Presence” matters for your career growth. If you have strong portfolio present on Internet, there are strong chances of you getting noticed earlier. Let your work speak instead of your resume. With your powerful online presence you can reach to a wider audience.

Index:

• TLDR;
• What exactly is Digital Presence and why is it important?
• Portfolio is must
• Github is the new resume
• LinkedIn?

What exactly is Digital Presence and why is it important?

Usually, Digital Presence means your presence on the internet. By the term Digital Presence I mean something which can help display your talents or skillsets out on the Internet. Some of the most common ways of digital presence are social media platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, Twitter. Businesses rely to a great extent on such platforms for their business growth. Same goes with your career goals nowadays. It has become crucial to be present online with all your available services listed for better reach.

I firmly believe that today it is equally important to be found first as it is important to master a specific skill. There are thousands of people with the similar skillset, but only those get the limelight who have a portfolio ready. For example, I am a freelance web developer and I must get my website on search first whenever someone searches for a web developer in my area. There can be tons of web developers in my area, but because of my online presence, I have more chances of ending up with the project than my competition.

We can use the analogy of small businesses here. You can see yourself as the service provider where you are the product/brand and you have to advertise yourself for a better impression in this online world.

Portfolio is must

There are many ways in which you can diversify your online presence. Few of them are:

• Portfolio websites
• Blogs
• Social Media accounts
• Online portfolio accounts like Behance, freelancer, Unsplash, etc.

Not everyone needs a website, social media accounts also play a vital role in your digital presence. You can create social media pages wherein you can showcase your projects and the latest research. You can also promote your profiles/pages using paid services for reaching out to a wider audience. Other than social media, there are various platforms wherein you can showcase your skills and build a strong portfolio. Few of the examples are:

• Graphic Designers, UI/UX developers, frontend developers can have their beautiful website displaying there various projects and skillsets. Similarly, they can use platforms like Behance or Awwards for advertising your projects

• Photographers can use platforms like Unsplash, Pexels and Pixabay

• Software Engineers can use personal website, Github, and online coding platforms like Leetcode and Codechef

Of all the above options, I think creating your portfolio website is more intuitive. We can add components on our website as and when we want. We can create simple pages like About Me which tells more about your work and yourself, a Contact Me page for clients/recruiters to get in touch with you, you can add a chatbot for providing basic details about your services, and endless possibilities.

Github is the new resume

In this section, I am emphasizing more on software developers as I’m one myself There is a huge deal for your projects when it comes to recruitment. Recruiters tend to explore your projects to see if they match their requirements. Today, it is not only important to mention your projects and related work in your resume, but also important to mention a corresponding Github link to the project. This looks more appealing for recruiters where they can go and look at your project and understand your way of thinking and programming.

I have personally been contacted by several recruiters saying they found me on Github and my skillsets perfectly match with what they are looking for. So in my opinion, it is certain to say that Github is the new resume and at least for software engineers it is a must-have “Digital Presence”.

LinkedIn?

LinkedIn in the last few years have become a reliable source for recruiters to search for matching profiles. On the other hand, building a strong and updated LinkedIn profile will surely help one landing a job. LinkedIn is for everyone. From Data Scientists and Machine Learning engineers to political leaders. You can share and post your ideas, thinking, views towards a specific topic.

In the coming years, LinkedIn could be a primary source for the recruitment process. They are constantly updating their algorithms for better and faster searching of matching profiles. So, I think creating and often updating your LinkedIn profile will surely help one land his/her dream job.

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