About.me – Build Your Online Image & Personal Brand
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The marketing of products and services is all about building brand identification. So, too, is personal marketing, whether you’re looking for a job or otherwise advancing your professional career. Gone are the days when you could rely on just your resume and some good old-fashioned references to get you where you wanted to go. Today, building your personal brand requires creativity, attention to detail and extensive use of networking that includes availing yourself of what the world of social media has to offer. Social networking sites (SNS) are one of the best marketing tools available to individuals marketing themselves. Cost-effective, they make possible your ability to communicate with and/or to virtually anyone, anyplace and anytime. In today’s hyper-competitive job market, resumes are submitted by the dozens (if not hundreds) for many jobs, either via snail mail or an online application process and the latter adds an additional filter through the use by most companies of Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS). By now, most of us have traveled the well-worn paths of LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Pinterest, Reddit and the like. There are, however, some exciting recent additions to the world of social networking sites (SNS), none more amenable to building your personal brand than about.me. about.me is an incredibly simple way to create a vibrant presence on the web, one which offers you the ability to provide a public profile, market your abilities, and offer a central point of contact, all while assisting in your job search by allowing you to create an online personality which truly reflects who you are and what value you can offer to any organization.

about.me offers many features that include:
  • The opportunity to claim your name for a short, simple url such as http://about.me/michelle.dumas or, in the alternative, to use a custom domain by upgrading
  • An interface that provides a simple yet highly effective way for people to contact you
  • A public bio that is truly public, available without the reader having to sign up or sign in
  • The ability to group your links, thereby presenting an orderly, organized clearinghouse for the information you want to share
  • Exclusive mobile features for iPhone
You can use about.me as your personal website, a homepage where people can go to find where you are on other Internet platforms. You can link to your Twitter feed, your LinkedIn profile, your Facebook page, WordPress or other blog, even your YouTube channel. about.me is all about you, your competencies, interests, skills; in short, about.me allows you to tell the world who you are. By now, the potential benefits to your career should be obvious. Don’t, however, underestimate how about.me can assist a job search. Whenever you look for a job, you should be integrate any edge that distinguishes you from the mainstream. about.me is a tool that helps you to do exactly that by, among other things, allowing you to offer prospective employers an interactive online experience when reviewing your job candidacy: Gives life to your application and resume without the need to fit all the reasons someone should hire you within a defined word or page limit Enables human resources professionals, recruiters, and others involved in the hiring decision the opportunity to assess not only who you are but also evaluate your creativity, attention to detail, and even work product such as writing samples (e.g., blogs or articles) Personalizes your resume/application by putting a face to a name and by presenting the narrative you want them to read.