When was the last time you updated your profile? While resumes might get updated annually or only when someone is looking for a new job, online work profiles are a little bit different. For professionals seeking gigs online, new jobs are always on the horizon and your professional skills are constantly growing and changing. This means that without regular maintenance, your profile could start to seem a little stale.
Luckily, sprucing up your profile and giving it a professional polish only takes a little bit of work. If you’re ready to dive in and start turning the heads of even more prospective employers, here are eight tips for refreshing your online job profile and making sure it looks hire-ready year-round.
1. Make sure your availability is up-to-date
Start by double checking the basics of your profile. Does it reflect your current availability? Are you changing your hours to reflect seasonality, like adding new work days or time slots during the summer and winter holidays, or to reflect brand new openings? Don’t leave any room for questions about your upcoming schedule.
Similarly, if you know there are specific dates or times you will not be available, specify those in your profile description as well. Having your availability clearly laid out will help attract prospective employers whose needs fit neatly within your schedule, so be sure to update it often.
2. Update your contact info
Make sure your profile lists the most current phone number, email or other points of contact employers will need to reach you. Additionally, if you prefer to be contacted a certain way, specify that so getting in touch with you will be as simple as possible.
3. Refresh your profile photo
Humans are visual creatures, so a high quality photo is a great way to attract attention to your profile. While it’s not required to invest in new headshots every time you update your profile, make sure you use a photo that:
- Shows you clearly.
- Looks friendly and professional.
- Doesn’t include distracting clutter or backgrounds.
4. Highlight your newest skills and certifications
Your profile is your first opportunity to show employers what you bring to the table, so be sure to add new skills, certificates and qualifications as soon as you attain them. If you’re a pet sitter or dog walker, have you recently completed any pet training courses owners might like to know about? If you work in senior care, do you have memory care or first aid training?
Even if you haven’t attained a new certification recently, your skills are constantly evolving as you gain more job experience, so don’t sell yourself short. Making your unique training, skills, degrees and certifications known will help more prospective employers see why you’re the best fit for their needs.
5. Let people know what services you offer
Have you expanded your services since the last time you updated your profile? Does your current profile list everything you’re capable of doing and providing to prospective employers? If you’ve recently passed a defensive driving course and can now drive kids to activities or you’ve added errand-running to your dog walking business, be sure to mention those things.
Here are some other important services and add-ons that might catch the eye of a prospective employer:
- Ability to handle healthy meal prep or grocery shopping.
- Tutoring or teaching services.
- Availability for pick-ups, drop-offs or daily transportation.
- Willingness to do household tasks, like watering plants or emptying trash.
- Pet training or grooming services.
- Cleaning or organizing.
6. Request reviews from past clients
Adding positive reviews to your profile can give you a leg up when it comes to getting noticed and securing new roles. Employers are likely more willing to reach out to someone with demonstrated professional experience, dependability and a history of doing great work.
You can ask for references and reviews from previous employers. Begin with your most recent employer and work backwards until you have two to three solid reviews to add. If you’re just starting out, don’t worry! You can also add comments from other people in your life who can speak to your best qualities, like former teachers or colleagues or managers in other lines of work.
7. Prep for quick responses
Your spruced up profile is sure to attract attention, so make sure you’re ready for it! Draft a simple response that you can send whenever you hear from a prospective employer.
If you’re communicating on a platform like Care, respond to job requests promptly with a quick “Yes” to confirm you’re available or request a call if you need more information. Elsewhere, you might draft a brief message thanking prospective employers for reaching out and letting them know you’re interested in discussing the opportunity.
By that same token, have a polite line ready for turning down a job you’re not interested in. This will save time for you and let the employer quickly move on to continue their search.
8. Don’t forget to proofread
Once your profile is fully refreshed, go over it carefully to check for spelling mistakes, grammatical errors and awkward phrasing. One easy way to do this is to read your profile out loud to yourself. Hearing it read out loud can help you spot areas that might need improvement.
Another trick for self-editing is to save your profile in a separate document, walk away from it for a day and come back with fresh eyes to check for any errors. It’s also a good idea to ask a friend or colleague to read through it, as they can give you truly objective feedback and may spot mistakes or trouble spots you didn’t notice on your own.
Your profile is your opportunity to make a great first impression on prospective employers, so it’s worth taking the time to make it shine!
