As our lives become more digital, more employers are looking online for potential candidates. The invention of professional networking sites has made this more accessible for businesses and recruiters. However, for those looking to kickstart or project their careers forward, they should look at these online profiles as their personal online brands, and there are a number of ways they can maintain their brands.

Prove You Can Do What You Say: One of the most significant aspects of building your personal brand is proving you can do what you say you can. When writing a CV (resume) it’s easy to get carried away by claiming to be an expert at things you may simply be a novice at. This won’t take long for a potential employer to know you’ve been playing fast and loose with the truth.

However, with your online brand you’re given the opportunity to showcase what you can really do. If you say you’re whiz at Photoshop, an accomplished copywriter or a talented photographer, then demonstrate it by uploading a portfolio of your work and let your work do the talking for you. This could easily put you above the rest of potential candidates who claim to be able to do the same thing but have failed to prove it.

Keep Your Brand Consistent: Speak to branding experts and they’ll tell you about the importance of brand consistency. It’s no different when trying to maintain your personal online brand. The simplest way to do this is to take a look at all of your social media outlets and make sure you’re representing yourself in the best way possible on all platforms.

Recruitment platform Jobvite recently found that 93 percent of hiring managers look at a candidate’s social media profiles before making a decision. A further 55 percent said that they’ve reconsidered a candidate based on what they found.

Going through each of your online profiles to ensure the message you’re conveying is consistent could be significant. Even if you think your profiles are private, there could still be some information visible to a potential employer that you may not wish for them to see.

Show Your True Self: The upside to having an online presence is that it enables you to show who you really are as a person. CV’s can often seem stale, unoriginal and can easily get lost in the crowd. However, by showcasing your interests, hobbies and achievements online you’re giving potential employers a greater sense of the type of person you really are. If you’re an avid football fan, then this could demonstrate you work well with a team. If you love travelling, then it shows you’re open to new experiences.

No matter your interests or the platform you choose to showcase them, it’s important to stay honest and true to who you are. Building your online brand is important, but maintaining it can be even more crucial. In the long term, an employer wants to know you’re a good fit with their organization, as well as capable of doing the job at hand.