Ben Cotton gave a presentation to the Digital Skills Academy focusing on standing out when searching for a job.

1. STANDING OUT IN THE CLOUD
By Ben Cotton
@bencotton
socialwebthing.com

2. #DSATALK

3. WHAT I’LL DISCUSS TODAY

4. THE CHALLENGE
“Students graduating this
year went to secondary
school in Celtic Tiger
Ireland, but have spent
their college years in a
land of recession,
bailouts, emigration and
low employment.”
Irish Times, 2013

5. GUESS WHAT?

6. IT BEGINS WITH A GOOGLE SEARCH

7. WHERE DO PEOPLE GO FOR INFO?
Source: Edelman Trust Barometer, 2013

8. “The creation of an asset that
pertains to a particular person or
individual; this includes but is not
limited to the body, clothing,
appearance and knowledge
contained within, leading to an
indelible impression that is
uniquely distinguishable.”
Tom Peters, Personal Brand author, 1997
ISN’T THIS PERSONAL BRANDING?

9. • Personal brand is pre-Google
• 1997 vs. 2013
• Doesn’t include digital
• Doesn’t mention experience
• Doesn’t consider how people
now find and share information
RETHINKING PERSONAL BRAND

10. THIS CALLS FOR A NEW APPROACH

11. PERSONAL
SEO
VIEW
NETWORKWORK
INTRODUCING…

12. • Global audience
• Showcase skills and experience
• Highlight creative talent
• Develop your reputation
• Easily updated and looks professional
• Demonstrate understanding of SEO
• Network with industry colleagues
Rank highly and be found easily
WHY SHOULD YOU CARE?

13. “Inevitably employers are using
Google as a personal reputation
engine and scrutinising these types
of sites to review an individual’s
career history and work ahead of
hiring an individual.”
Stephen Waddington, European digital
and social media director for Ketchum
and President-Elect of the CIPR
I. WHY PERSONAL SEO MATTERS

14. “The first thing that I do when recruiting
someone is check them out online. It’s a
matter of few minutes to go back and
read hundreds of their previous tweets
and find out far more about the real
them than any CV, reference or interview
could ever reveal.”
II. WHY PERSONAL SEO MATTERS
Stuart Bruce, International online PR, digital corporate communications, digital
public affairs, social media trainer and consultant

15. “The project has opened doors and
allowed me to make connections
with people I never expected to
meet. Individuals who I describe as
PR and social media royalty, brand
leaders of huge multinational
organisations, key industry leaders –
all lending me their support.”
III. WHY PERSONAL SEO MATTERS
Graeme Anthony, GM & Co-Architect at Manc Frank and the guy whose CVIV
went a bit viral

16. WHEN DID YOU LAST GOOGLE YOURSELF?

17. • Have own domain
• Publish work on e-portfolio
• Blog
• Comment online
• Guest post
• Has a strong network
• Is well networked with industry figures
• Uses social media well
• Have monitoring in place
• Use privacy settings
PERSONAL SEO CHECKLIST

18. • Play it safe vs. take a risk
• Dull vs. creative
• Private vs. extremely public
• Limited reach vs. global
• Lots of control vs. no control
• Personal privacy
• Client confidentiality
• What happens if things go wrong?
You’ll have to weight these up for yourself
A FEW THINGS TO CONSIDER

19. THE RISE OF THE DIGITAL GENERALIST

20. DO TWO PIECES OF A4 DO YOU JUSTICE?

21. Q&A TIME

22. THANK YOU
CONTACT DETAILS
contact@ben-cotton.com
@bencotton
socialwebthing.com
linkedin.com/bencotton
slideshare.net/bencotton