Believe it or not, the internet may just be more important than your resume
By: Joey Hanf
You've got great experience. You triple checked your resume to make sure it's perfect. Your cover letter is clean and convincing. But when they search your name in google, are you proud of what comes up?
Everyday in the tennis industry we see tennis professionals who think they are doing everything right, but missing the key component of a strong online presence. This article will walk you through some of the absolute must-have items as well as ideas that will make you stand out from your competitors.
After you've done the following, you'll be all set to apply for that dream job. To view current openings at Cliff Drysdale Tennis, please visit: www.cdtjobs.com
It's been around since 2002, and it's never been more important for almost every profession. LinkedIn is essentially your online resume. Every applicant should have an updated, active profile that not only highlights your experience and passion, but also gives hiring managers and a view on your expertise and interests. Some Key Tips for the Tennis Industry on LinkedIn:
-Make sure your profile photo is professional. If you are an active teaching pro, a collared teaching polo works great. Make sure it is zoomed in and just features you from the waist up.
(optional) If you are looking for an office, pro-shop or management position, consider more professional clothing.
-Include all relevant job history. Include the companies, clubs or locations you've worked and see if that business has a LinkedIn page. Make sure to include descriptions of what you were responsible for, and what you accomplished in the position.
(recommended) If you held multiple position at the same business, make sure it include all relevant titles and the descriptions of each job should show growth and career improvement
-In the about section, write persuasively about your passions, knowledge and career. Keep it brief, anything from 100-300 words is great.
Facebook, Twitter and Instagram
Each of these three social media platforms are important in their own way. First and foremost, if you have previously had a profile that you haven't touched in over a year, you need to go back and clean up your image. For example, if you're coming out of high-school or college as a young person, take a close audit at what's posted on your page. One common mistake we see though is that people will delete everything on their page, and it looks to the public like they haven't posted in a long time. That's not going to be a good look.
A few key tips for making your profiles look professional:
-No inappropriate, suggestive or otherwise troublesome content
-Up to date bio, even if simple
-Make sure your location is set to your current living location, not where you used to live or went to school
-Profile pictures should be of you and as high quality as possible. More casual photos are totally fine, but make sure they feature your face
-(recommended) creating content in the fields for which you are applying. In our case, tennis content could be yourself coaching, posting about pro tournaments etc
Audit Your Search Engine History
One of the first things a hiring manager will do after reading your resume is google your name to see what comes up. Making sure to the best of your ability that your online profile is accurate and easily searchable is important. For example, if you said you played college tennis in your application, make sure it's possible to find proof of that on your university's website or a match record sheet.
Some other tips:
-If you aren't featured much online, consider creating your own free website through sites like Wix or Wordpress. You can include links to your social media platforms and include your resume as well as write blog posts about your interests.
-If you find your name or likeness on websites you don't want to be on, try contacting the site owners to edit or remove that info
-Try signing out from your social and digital accounts and then viewing them as a public person. This will allow you to see what the rest of the world sees.
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