I’ve read varying estimates for how many jobs those in Generation Y can expect to have in their lifetime – somewhere between 10 to 30 I think.  For those just starting out in careers, this means a year or two in each position and then on to the next one.  With the expectation that the next big career opportunity is out there somewhere, the visibility that social media has given young people has revolutionized how they can be found by that next great opportunity.

Linked-In has recently beefed up it’s search capabilities so HR recruiters and staffing companies can more easily drill down on specific criteria to find “passive candidates” – those who are currently employed.  So how important is it for those of us in the workforce to put ourselves where an opportunity can find us? I would say it’s very important to put yourself in the middle of where people are looking, and equally important to make it easy to be found using simple branding techniques.

I had an opportunity recently to work with college interns who were in Washington, DC, for a 6 week summer program organized by the Orphan Foundation of America.  These particular students and recent graduates are from various parts of the country and have aged out of the foster care system.  I was asked to come and speak to them about building a professional online presence using both Linked-In and Facebook.

One particular student that I worked with extensively has a very common name: Sarah Lucas.  So how to separate out this Sarah Lucas from all the others who come up in a Google search or on Linked-In?  How about a simple domain name that can be used to point to her Linked-In profile: www.SobreSarah.com If you don’t speak Spanish, it may not be immediately apparent that it’s “About Sarah.”  For as long as she wants to pay the $10 annual fee for the domain name, she can use this throughout her career to point people wherever she wants them to land.  This type of branding is portable.

Another young person I am working with is my daughter Allison.  She’s right at the beginning of her professional career, she has decades of networking events ahead of her.  My advice?  Get a business card with your own domain name, your own custom email address, and your cell phone number on it.  All are portable, can be forwarded to any number of destinations, and never have to be changed.  Voila – www.Allison2Ls.com and Allison@Allison2Ls.com.  This strategy offers portability and flexibility, and Linked-In provides a place to continually add to and update your professional experience, connections, recommendations and professional affiliations.

Lest we neglect the needs of the Boomer generation, there is a lesson here for that group as well.  When Dave Stevens arrived at Long & Foster Companies as the President of Affiliated Businesses 3 years ago, I was just beginning to understand the power of Google search, online reputation and the necessity of managing what appeared on the web.  A search for “Dave Stevens” brought up a number of people that weren’t him.  I suggested that he needed to “re-brand” himself as David H. Stevens and start using it consistently in everything that carried his name.  In support of that, www.DavidHStevens.com was acquired and pointed to his Linked-In profile.  When he recently moved from his position as President of Long & Foster Companies to the FHA Commissioner at HUD, he simply updated the information on his Linked-In profile.  A Google search for “David H Stevens” brings up exactly the right person, and his domain name will allow him to take his personal brand and point it wherever he wants it to land at any point in the future.

Social media platforms like Linked-In allow us a greater visibility, but with millions of people on the same platforms, differentiating ourselves from those dozens of others with the same name becomes a challenge. Good companies have good branding – and individuals need to employ those same techniques to make certain we are easily found by that next big career opportunity!