Having an online profile is becoming more and more common among students, graduates and professionals. Social media and networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Blogger, LinkedIn and MySpace house a lot of such profiles, and with an online profile comes an online footprint. Use blogs, networking sites and other media to your advantage to help you stand out. In other words, brand yourself. That's not to say that you should only use these sites for career or professional purposes, nobody says you can't have fun, just make sure you're not damaging your online image in the process.

A great way to ensure that you are not ruining your online image is to keep profiles separate, and use appropriate sites for their appropriate functions. For example, a site like Facebook is generally used for personal social networking...do those drunk photos from last weekend ring a bell?? Conversely a website such as LinkedIn is used by professionals for professional networking purposes. A micro blogging website such as Twitter has the advantage of allowing users to create two completely separate and distinguishable profiles; one of which can be used for your personal tweets and following your favourite celebs, the other of which can be used for professional purposes, following other professionals and those who are active in your field and interests. A recommended practice would be to use an alias, or alter-ego for personal social networking, and your real name for any professional profiles. This ensures that when your name is branded, your best foot is forward.

Whether it's for personal use or professional use, people create profiles on these sites to help define them, often without being fully aware of the positive and negative consequences. Being aware of how these profiles can impact your image is very important. If you play your cards right, you may even be able to receive a job offer, as was the case for Simon Borys, a second-year law student at Queen's University. Borys was recently contacted by the Ontario Bar Association’s magazine, Briefly Speaking, and was offered the student editor position. The Ontario Bar Association had seen his blog and was apparently very impressed.

Blogging is a great way to showcase skill sets such as research, writing, and critical thought. Blogs can also be used to show your expertise and interest in certain fields. In the example above, Simon Borys had spent time as a Police Officer and began to blog shortly after enrolling in law school. This gave him an opportunity to provide his unique perspective on a specific legal niche, allowing him to brand himself as an expert.

You don't have to rely solely on blogging, although it is a great medium of online branding. Joining online communities, forums and other platforms gives a student, graduate, or professional the opportunity to assert their expertise and interest in a chosen field. Branding yourself online with methods such as these will certainly help you stand out to potential employers, even if they aren't aware of your online profile until you mention it on your resume or during your interview. In a job market that is growing more and more competitive, having an advantage such as this can't be understated.