Your Digital Impression Is Your First Impression

We are gradually drifting from the days when our first impression was all about physical appearance, our demeanor, how we talk, things we say, etc. Now it is mostly done in the digital space. When we go for interviews or when networking with people, we always ensure to go prepared because we know full well that we will be judged on certain criteria and the impression we create. With the constantly evolving world, there has been a paradigm shift as regards creating impressions, all thanks to the digital world. When the covid-19 happened it triggered the shift of impression from physical to online. Now socialization is mostly done remotely more often than in person.

Seeing all these changes occurring in the digital space, it is not far-fetched to say that your digital impression is your first impression. It is very important and highly beneficial to have a reputable digital impression because it is often used as a yardstick to how you are perceived, and also to know if you are competent for a certain position or not. It might interest you to know that all of us have a digital impression, yes we do! Once you have a social media profile on any of the social media platforms, either Facebook, Twitter or Linked In, etc that is your digital impression.

If someone searches your name on any of the platforms you are registered on, all your public posts, current, and past work will be visible on your timeline, and all that make up your digital impression. This is the reason why you need to be intentional about the content you put out for public consumption. I have often heard of people who got jobs without being interviewed simply because the recruiter was impressed with their digital impression.

So how can you make your digital impression count? Check out these two insightful tips below;

Solidify Your Online Brand: When I say online brand, I am talking about personal branding. Personal branding is very important. The term “branding” used to be reserved for businesses, but with the advent of social sites, personal branding has become fundamental. A personal brand is the unique combination of skills and experiences that make you who you are.

For example, if you are a writer, you need to constantly showcase your writing skills, projects you have worked on, some of your written articles, etc, that way you are creating a very good digital impression. If eventually, you decide to apply for a writing position, when recruiters visit your page they can get to see some of your works and hopefully get you employed. Your post can show current and future employers, colleagues, the type of person you are, and the work that you do.

Invest More In Digital Life: With almost everything now happening in the digital space, it is a very reasonable thing to invest more in your digital life. You need to form an online presence, showing people that you are engaged with digital acceleration. When you show interest and participate in digital trends, new digital experiences, and the overall digital community, you are building trust. If you take a thoughtful approach to online life, you can create a digital impression that supports your career goals, sets you up for success in new endeavors, and helps you build a network of people that you can learn from and grow alongside.

Final Thoughts

Lately, most recruiters use applicants’ social media profiles as criteria to measure if they are qualified for certain positions. Once an applicant doesn’t have a good digital impression, it automatically limits them to various opportunities and also disqualifies them for several positions they applied for. Imagine being a graphic designer without showing some of your works on your profile.

You will only be doing yourself a disservice if you do not put out those contents of what you do online. The world is evolving, you need to move with the pace of the world to avoid experiencing redundancy, missed opportunities, stagnation, etc. A good digital impression can open doors you never imagined.