Sometimes the last thing you feel like doing is networking face-to-face. But if you want to attract a great job offer, it’s essential you engage. The good news is you can do a large chunk of your networking virtually, simply by building your online presence. Here are some tips to help you on your way.

The case for building your online presence

First up, let’s make it clear that when we refer to curating your ‘online presence’, we’re not referring to your personal presence (e.g. watching viral videos on YouTube and sharing them on your Facebook). We’re speaking about your professional digital footprint and the ways it can help you secure your longed-for dream job.
Some top ways your online presence can help:

• You will interact with tech professionals worldwide, learning about best practices along the way and perhaps even helping others by offering up your insights.
• By sharing content – and creating your own – you’ll build strong relationships with people in this network who trust you. And your next job offer could very well be forthcoming, either directly from this avenue or through a referral.
• You can instantly prove to recruiters you know your stuff. It’s right there in your blog, vlog or portfolio.
• Hiring Managers and Recruiters can easily spot you (and there’s oh-so-many of them actively looking).

Now that we’ve convinced you how important your professional online presence is, let’s get to four tips about how best to curate it.

1. Use social media – Twitter, Youtube and LinkedIn

Ok, there are some pitfalls to using social media but those mostly have to do with people who aren’t careful about what they say, and who they say it to. The aim here is to keep your profiles professional, outlining what you’re all about and your areas of expertise.
While it’s great to speak about personal interests, try to keep them tech-related. It’s best to leave the really personal stuff to your private socials (and they’re all set to private, right?).
We recommend using the following:

• Twitter: It’s the most popular social media platform for programmers, probably because it’s word-limited and quick to use. You can easily get started by sharing something you find helpful, perhaps a useful video tutorial or a link to a great open source site.
• Vlogging via YouTube: This is also highly favoured. There’s a plethora of topics you can vlog about from how-to tutorials, to learning to code a new language, to thoughts about emerging trends, to perhaps taking advantage of the latest craze: unboxing your new tech!
• LinkedIn: Aside from regularly updating your profile with new skills, use the platform to follow and connect with other influencers in your space. Plenty of recruiters search for candidates on LinkedIn, so the more active you are, the more likely you’ll appear in searches.

2. Create a professional website with a portfolio and blog

You’ve got skills, you need to show them off. And the best way is visually on your own website. In your portfolio section, list all your major and not-so-major achievements. They should accurately reflect your interests, passions and talents. Bonus points if you can demonstrate how your coding projects have solved big problems and delivered value.
A blog is another essential part of your website. There are a host of things you can write about. Document your learnings in a particular language along with your struggles. This will invite advice from others which will invite further discussion, creating activity. Or write about something that really fuels your desire to code. Perhaps a top 10 list of your most-used coding resources.
No matter what you choose to write about, blog regularly (aim for at least weekly) and don’t forget to share it on your socials.

3. Git on GitHub

This is a great platform to showcase your code, help others with theirs or get assistance with yours.
Recruiters love GitHub as it gives them an instant and tangible illustration of your coding talents and whether they’ve got something you might be just the right fit for.

4. Contribute to Reddit

First and foremost, Reddit is one of the best programming resources around. If you’re knee deep in code that’s just not cutting it, Reddit is your friend. There are a multitude of subreddits you can hit up to solve just about any pressing coding issue.  
But Reddit is also a great place to contribute to as in time, it will exponentially expand your online presence. There’s so much going on in the space so it’s relatively easy for you to find your people and put in your two cents worth (or more). Just keep things professional.
There you have it. Some tips to help you up your online presence. It will take time and a fair amount of concerted effort but the rewards will come. Hopefully they’re in the form of an invitation to interview for a great job (or two, or three). If they do, our 9 top tips to interview with confidence might help.

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