Why your online presence is more critical than ever

A trip down memory lane and my telephone history

Like many people, we have become a cell phone only family. I bought my husband his first cell phone back in 1995 for Christmas. It was a bag phone. As a contractor, he was never easy to find when he was on the job and the suppliers would call me. This newfangled device let me let him know when to pick up his lumber and he could call his suppliers directly from the job site.

I bought my own cell when I got stuck running a golf outing and borrowed someone else’s phone to check my messages. Then the oldest got his phone for his 16th birthday and a year later our youngest son got his for his 16th birthday. Four cell phones.

Eliminating phone lines and expenses

When faxes stopped being very important, I dropped the fax line. Then the personal line since my cell was my personal line. And I started having the business land line ring directly into my cell. Then we ported the number that we had for years from Verizon (now Frontier) to Charter. And again it rang directly to my cell phone. Until I decided the $40 per month for the phone was not worth it and ended it.

What the phone books say in 2012

The phone books came out this year. I dropped advertising from Frontier completely but there are free listings. All with the wrong number. Yellow Book still has ads in it from me with the right number but their free listing right below the ad gives the wrong number.

But fortunately you can reach me using Google and get to this site easily. You can go to the contact page  to call me to discuss your career marketing needs. You can also get my number from my profiles on LinkedIn, Facebook, or Google+. And if you e-mail me, my phone number is in my signature too.

I have lots of ways to get the right number but I know that some people never think to Google or they rely on phone company pages like SuperPages or YellowBook Online. You have to jump through hurdles to fix online listings with them. I know, I still have to fix the wrong listings there too. They don’t make it easy.

What does this mean for you?

If you are in a job search, make sure that you put the correct contact information online, in your e-mail signature, and most importantly on your resume. Don’t think that they should be able to find you. With so many people using cell phones, the phone books are not a reliable place to find numbers anymore.

Should a job seeker have their own website or blog site?

Maybe, it lets you have a central point to let people find you. But then you need to make sure that central point reflects the best you. It must be well-written, kept up-to-date, and filled with valuable information that showcases your accomplishments.

I truly believe in owning your own online real estate. The social media profile pages are a great place to start but you don’t own that space. The provider does and if LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, or Google+ would lock down your profile, you are out of luck.

Your online presence becomes more important because people need to be able to find you to contact you and a phone book just doesn’t do it anymore.

Stuck in your job search or just ready to move on or up from your existing position? Julie Walraven, a Wausau, Wisconsin-based professional resume writer who works with a global base of clients can help you find a new career! To find out how, Click here!

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