Apparently, being forced to look at other people's shinier blogs wasn't humbling enough, so now I've been forced to see all the more Google friendly Matthew Davidson's in the world. Amidst the published author, respected university professor, professional ice hockey player and aspiring artist, I can't even find my Facebook page.
Which, on reflection, is probably best, as I've never really considered my 'personal brand' whilst posting photos on Facebook. Do prospective employers enjoy seeing a surprising number of pictures of me climbing trees? I'm thinking...maybe? It shows agility, if nothing else.
Truthfully, I didn't expect to find anything at this point anyway. Creating a personal brand is among the main reasons I started The 23 things in the first place, as I knew I was pretty much invisible online. My Facebook page is set to private, and is only used for personal communications, and I've never created a twitter or LinkedIn account (hello Things 4 and 6).
So I'm on my way to establishing an online presence, now I just need to decide what that presence should be. If the entire point is employability, then perhaps including 'unprofessional' in my blog title wasn't the smartest move. For the record, I chose the name because I am still working towards my professional qualification, and I liked how it sounded.
I suppose I should probably put more thought into the whole thing, and I tried, but it ended up making me feel disingenuous. I understand that creating an image for prospective employers is no doubt very useful, but I do want that image to reflect who I actually am, rather than what I think people might want to see. If everyone does that, all of our 'online brands' will start to look remarkably similar. Sell yourself, certainly, it's a competitive market, but don't use false advertising. I don't tend to put on a front during interviews, I find it easier to act like myself, occasionally make some jokes if it seems appropriate (or at least not too inappropriate) and this usually works well for me, and I'm hoping the same will prove true online. I will present myself as a professional, certainly, but also as a person.
So yes, I may join some Facebook groups that will help keep me updated on the various goings on in the information sector, but I'll also still post random abuse on my friends walls. And I'll certainly create a Twitter to see if it's as useful a tool as I've been told, but I'll probably also subscribe to God_Damn_Batman, because I'm geeky enough to finds his tweets pretty funny. As for LinkedIn... we'll see if I make it as far as Thing 6 before I worry too much about that one. Chances are I'll end up making it look much like everyone else's and I'll be forced to add 'hypocrite' to my blog name.
At the end of the day, if someone is looking for a staff member who knows his stuff, is good at his job, and has a genuine interest in the field, then I'm sure I'll be fine, because, truth be told, I am good at this, and i love working in a library. Whereas if they're looking for someone whose entire social network revolves around their work and nothing else.... well, I doubt I'd have wanted the job anyway.
Unless the money was fantastic
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