Improving employability through social media

Improving Employability through Improving Employability through Social MediaSocial Media

Creating a Professional Online IdentityCreating a Professional Online Identity

(presentation for Solent’s Careers and Employability team)(presentation for Solent’s Careers and Employability team)

Inspired by Sue BeckinghamInspired by Sue Beckingham

Why use Social Media?Why use Social Media?

• Social media is an umbrella term for tools that support communication in an online community

• If you ‘Googled’ your name what would come up first?

• What would you want potential employers to see?

• Social media can be used to give you a voice and create a ‘brand’ (@suebecks)

Google yourself:Google yourself:

Create a simple Google+ account:

This will appear at the TOP of any Google search

What would come up if you ‘Googled’ your name?

Get blogging!Get blogging!

• Wordpress/Blogger/Tumblr

• Free platforms

• Use it to write about an area you’re interested in

• People with a similar interest will respond with comments or further questions

Get tweeting!Get tweeting!• Place to share your blog posts,

videos, photos and ‘retweet’ other people’s interesting tweets

• Place to develop your PLN – your Personal Learning Network

• You must decide whether it’s an ‘all-round’ twitter account or just for a specialist interest

• Hash tags can be useful!

• Specific job seekers sites available too!

http://edudemic.com/2010/06/the-ultimate-twitter-guidebook/

Get LinkedIn!Get LinkedIn!

• Business focussed social network

• Up-to-date CV

• Collect references and recommendations

Share your workShare your work

• YouTube/VimeoVideo/Animation/Music



• FlickrPhotos/drawings




• SlidesharePresentations




• SlidesharePresentations

• MyPortfolio (Mahara)Work experience and examples

Create a universal ‘about me’ page:Create a universal ‘about me’ page:

Facebook can be used too…Facebook can be used too…

Use facebook (but ‘lock down’ your profile!)Use facebook (but ‘lock down’ your profile!)

• Some unis will have pages to push out jobs and advertise workshops (can be linked to Twitter too!)


• Some employers will have pages to advertise their own jobs!


• Great start – but what’s happened to it?

• No activity since May 2010!

Considerations:Considerations:

• Identity theft• Personal opinions• Spelling/grammar• Defamation• Colourful language• Content ownership• Takes time to build up

your PLN

Find me:

• Email: [email protected]

• Homepage: http://about.me/samwise

• Twitter: @samwisemoss

Yes I am mad!

Improving employability through social media

Education

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