Job seekers are advised to stay up on the latest workplace technology. You might just have to do an interview on Skype.Hemera Technologies/Getty Images
How to create a strong digital brand as a professional, according to Jaigris Hodson, Ryerson University's digital literacy program:
Be involved
Sign up for accounts on the platforms that best fit the audience you are trying to attract. For example, if you're a programmer, create a portfolio on github.com. If you're a designer, you could use behance.net. If you're an academic, try academia.edu. There are many options out there; find the one that suits your needs.
Engage
Continually build your network and make sure you respond to people who view or comment on your posts.
Post often
Don't let your online presence get stale; you will have a robust and strong online personal brand if you have regular, consistent and current content.
Be handy with tools
Companies are recruiting using LinkedIn, they're interviewing using Skype, and they're collaborating using Google Drive or Dropbox. If you don't know how to use these tools, and you get an invitation to an online interview or brainstorming session, you might end up looking less than stellar. There are many tutorials available online for these professional tools and others. Take the tutorials, or a digital skills class and learn how to use these tools so that you look like an ace when you're called upon to use them.
Join groups and contribute to them
LinkedIn encourages you to join groups and get to know others in a professional online setting. Make sure, though, that you're not just broadcasting using these tools. You must also take care to be part of other conversations.
Curate
Actively search for content that reflects your interest area, then repost it to spaces such as Twitter and LinkedIn. This will show others that you can filter online information and be a part of a conversation in a particular subject area.
Manage your image
This goes for everything from your choice of e-mail account name (I'm looking at you, monkeypants69) to the pictures that you are tagged in on Facebook. Don't post anything to the Internet that you wouldn't want to see on the front page of The Globe and Mail.