Something to bear in mind when using these different media platforms is that it might be a good idea to keep your image varied in each one. You can adapt them to better suit their particular function and also to help create a diversified online presence of yourself. For now let’s stick with LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter.
If you don’t have a LinkedIn profile yet, get one. Make sure your profile is tailored, professional and accurate. Comic profile images are forbidden. Also, don’t have your headline as ‘Looking for Graduate Jobs in Marketing’ if you really want to go into Bio-mechanics. It has been known to happen. Start building up your contact base immediately and try to add previous employers into your network. Don’t add people you don’t know. Perhaps sit down and build up a list of go-to people, the kind of people you want to have within your network who might be able to help you professionally or personally somewhere down the line. It could end up being sooner than you think. Think about getting recommendations on your profile, it will give it that extra edge.
People often think of Facebook as a strictly social site, it doesn’t need to be. If used correctly, it could also be another useful job searching avenue, especially as like most students, you probably already have hundreds of friends in your contact list, most of whom you don’t speak to but that’s beside the point. Clean up your profile, this means don’t have anything on there that someone could use as a reason to not hire you. Then consider posting a job focused status, it’s possible one of your friends might be able to help you out, even if it’s just by giving you some good advice. Also think about following your favourite companies to make sure you’re in the know.
Speaking of following, let’s move on to Twitter. Twitter could be the place where you let your creativity run free. Have an interesting but respectable Avatar, have links to your CV, blog or other interesting tidbits you may have. If you have no interesting tidbits, it might seem like you’re not a very interesting person, so you may want to change that. Follow your favourite companies and try and build up a rapport with them before you dive in and bombard them with application documents. Take note though, spamming is not cool. Alternatively or additionally, be original, insightful and develop your very own following. Imagine having 8,000 people following you simply because you always post interesting tweets, then when you mention that you’ve got a book coming out, it’s no surprise that quite a few of those 8,000 people got mighty curious right? That’s a true story.
Above all, be patient. These things take time.
Charles, GRB Journalist
2 comments:
What to do when people ignore your request for a recommendation? Some help please?
Have you left a recommendation for them first?
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