3 Ways to Sell Your Skills in the Digital World
By
Gregor Perotto
Everything is going digital. And why not? Digital offers a better, faster, more convenient way of doing things—whether it’s personal or professional. Grabbing a cab? Check. Signing a document electronically? Check. Networking online? Check.
So why should your résumé be any different? Well yes, there’s LinkedIn. It’s a fantastic example of life done digitally. It’s great for making and cultivating relationships for your career growth. After all, it’s all about who you know, right?
Well yes, and no. I’m fortunate; every career opportunity I’ve ever pursued came to me because I knew the right people. But let’s be clear. Those people were willing to facilitate an introduction, recommend me, or hire me based on my results, and how I get results. So do yourself (and your contacts) a favor and let your results sell Y-O-U—whether it’s for a career opportunity, a speaking engagement, or a board position.
Here are three ways to sell your skills and highlight your results in the digital world—and give your contacts more reasons to introduce, recommend and hire you:
Use your digital voice.
on Twitter, LinkedIn, and blogs (like this one) to demonstrate thought leadership. Share your experiences, results, and most importantly your insights so others can learn from you. Make sure you’re authentic, genuine and share in areas that are natural extensions of your expertise and results.
Back to your résumé. Has it gone digital?
A digital résumé is not your same old résumé put on nice ‘digital’ paper and sent out via email rather than printed copies. Digital résumés—or infographics—give you so much more freedom and creative flexibility to tell your story. Mine takes the highlights of my traditional résumé—like my experience, the size of teams and budgets I’ve managed, and the results I’ve delivered—and it uses graphics to make them both visually appealing and uniquely me.
Get others to tell your story and share results for you.
Request LinkedIn recommendations from people you’ve worked for, partnered with, and led. Help them write your recommendation by providing highlights of past successes, notable strengths and results. And return the favor. But remember, your name is ‘on the back’ of every individual you recommend—so again, make sure it’s authentic and genuine. Take a look at mine: www.linkedin.com/in/gregperotto.
I’d love to hear how you are creating an edge for yourself in the digital world. Share your thoughts in the comments.
Gregor Perotto is Senior Director of Corporate Marketing at DocuSign.
