Topic 3- Reflective Summary
This weeks topic was really interesting as it had me thinking of my own authenticity online, in terms of a professional profile. Nicole made a very good point when she commented on my post. She questioned whether or not I agreed that our true personalities become overshadowed online by steering towards a ‘professional’ lifestyle. I didn’t completely agree since in retrospective professionalism comes with growing older, particularly when one has aims of being employed after their degree. I do then believe that being professional can be part of someone’s personality, along with being funny or confident. People know when to act a certain way in certain situations; so if this means following news broadcasts on Twitter to instantaneously receive information on recent news which may help in internship applications, then so be it!
Nonetheless, upon reading a colleagues post (Cherrie), I was able to reflect upon the actual impacts of developing your own online professional profile. “Branding”, the key word of this topic (in my opinion). Though in my post I mainly spoke about the do’s and don’ts of maintaining and developing an authentic professional online profile, it was insightful to read Cherrie‘s post since she essentially explained why. I for instance didn’t have a LinkedIn account before starting this blog, however part of doing so has practically developed my person brand online. Furthermore, learning in Hayley‘s post that 52% of employers now use Twitter to view potential candidates, makes it all the more important for everyone to manage and monitor their “brand”. I feel as though this captures the real essence of authenticity. Being realistic enough to know that employers are potentially watching you and taking this in mind to present yourself suitably. Though I do understand that Twitter is less professional and serious that LinkedIn, social media is evolving and very much converging also, which employers are making use of. To conclude, I feel as though this has been the most challenging yet insightful topic so far making me eager to start the next topic! Thanks for reading.
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