Get yourself an online brand

Getting that personal brand is a must for journalism students in today's ultra competitive world.

Mindy McAdams gives a 10 pointer score card to see whether you have passed the test over on her blog

1. People in your field should know who you are.

2. Someone who Googles your first and last name should be able to find out who you are.

3. Your online self-representation should demonstrate that you are a serious, ethical journalist.

4. Samples of your best work should be linked to your home page or online (HTML) resume.

5. Your real work experience should be easy to find and easy to scan quickly. People will want to check this for verification, so dates should be clear, not obfuscated.

6. Make sure your online pages can be read easily on various cell phones, including the iPhone.

7. If you supply a link to a PDF of your resume, make sure the pertinent job or freelance-experience information is also available via simple HTML (not exclusively in the PDF). Word Docs are not good for online resumes. A Google Doc would be better.

8. People who might want to hire you need to be able to find your contact info EASILY. Don’t make them hunt all over for it. If you supply an e-mail address, make sure you check mail at that address just about daily, if not more often.

9. You need to be around, to be visible, to be seen — people should see your name in comments, retweets, etc.

10. People online should point to you from time to time, as I have pointed to Joe, Dave, Ryan, Greg, and Lauren in this post. This confers authority on you. Brands rest in part on authority, in part on name recognition.