T3: Online Professional Profile Development
By the end of my degree, there will be 300,000 other students graduating along with me from University of Southampton as well as many other universities across the UK. How many of those who complete their degree do you think get thier dream job almost immidiately? Get a job afterwards?
Is there a correlation between having created an online professional profile beforehand, which may have helped a few students to make useful connections during their years of study?
Believe it or not, not many of us think about greater opportunities that are out there for us. There are so many ways of engaging with businesses in order to seek chances where we are able to express our interest in; work experience, internships and job-shadowing etc.
In order for you to build yourself an online professional network, you have to know of your own interests, skills and have some form of experience (though not necessary but definitely useful) so potential employers are able to see and know a little bit about your background.
LinkdIn is a very useful website where individuals can “connect, find, be found and empower their career” (LinkdIn, 2015) and that’s exactly what it does. That simple. Building a profile for professional and business purposes is just as creating a Facebook account. And doesn’t cost anything.
Likewise though, believe it or not, blogging is another way of boosting your chance at employment. It shows the creativity and passionate side about you which initiates dedication.
The most important fact about being able to go online and express your interests, experiences and hobbies that could get you employed is that you come across outstanding and different to other candidates.
We live in a century where few searches and clicks could tell you pretty much anything about an individual. So why not use that to your advantage? Give the employer who’s looking at your Facebook profile, blog or LinkdIn account everything there is to know about you that could give you higher chance of being employed.
Get yourself noticed.
The downside of this though, activities that could also give you less chance of employability may contain in some of your social media accounts. It’s always important to get noticed for the right reasons. The reasons that you choose for those who look at you to see. Perhaps avoid using offensive language, quotes, photos, activities and having a good balance of yourself reflected on your profile will make you stand out from the crowd.
References
- Hunt,T. (2013). 5 BEST APPS TO BUILD YOUR ONLINE PROFESSIONAL PROFILE Your online image is paramount to success. Available: http://www.socialmediaexplorer.com/social-media-marketing/5-best-apps-to-build-your-online-professional-profile/. Last accessed 03/03/15.
- N/A. (2014/15). General Student Numbers. Available: https://www.hesa.ac.uk/stats. Last accessed 05/03/15.
- N/A. (2015). What is LinkedIn . Available: https://www.linkedin.com/static?key=what_is_linkedin. Last accessed 06/03/15.
- Admin, The Employable. (2014). How blogging can help you get a job.Available: http://www.theemployable.com/index.php/2014/10/28/blogging-can-help-get-job/. Last accessed 06/03/15.
- N/A. (2010). LinkedIn. 6 STEPS TO CREATING A PROFESSIONAL PROFILE. 1 (1).
