LinkedIn & Online Presence
The Internet is a wonderful way to increase your professional presence, curate your personal and professional brand, and engage with employers and professionals in your field. There are plenty of places online for employers to find you(and they will look), so we encourage you to take advantage of the places that you control online to best highlight who you are and what you have to offer.
We’ve highlighted three areas below where it might be a good idea to focus your efforts online. To learn more about how to identify and curate your personal brand, check out our pre-recorded personal branding workshop or attend a live session offered each semester.
LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional network. You can create a free professional profile (see LinkedIn Profile Checklist) and make connections with your peers, alumni, faculty, and other professionals based on your interests. You can also join professional groups, search and apply for job and internship opportunities, find and network with alumni, and much more. If you are just getting started, you may want to keep the following things in mind when building your profile:
Once you’ve built your profile, check out these other ways to engage with the LinkedIn community:
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Social MediaSocial media is an ever-present part of most of our daily lives. While it has many personal uses, social media can also be a good platform for professional use. We’ve laid out some tips and ideas on how to best utilize social media professionally below: Privacy & PitfallsSocial media platforms have varying privacy settings and visibility to the public. Sometimes we own multiple pages or accounts. Be aware that unless you are certain your social media page is set to “private,” you always want to assume that an employer or future employer has access to it. Privacy settings can often change, so keep a regular eye on what is public and what is private or only visible to connections. In addition, it is best to avoid negative, polarizing, or discriminatory content. Keep this in mind when you are maintaining your social media content and channels. Professional UsesYou can share your professional brand on social media and even connect with employers. LinkedIn is a great professional networking tool where you can follow companies or organizations of interest and even engage with hiring managers or recruiters. Other platforms, such as Instagram or Twitter, can be places where you build personal brand recognition, share things you are interested in, and connect with other professionals. Depending on your field or industry, utilizing social media professionally may be something you want to cultivate, or it may not. To learn more about your industry of interest, reach out to one of our industry advisors. Some examples of ways to utilize social media professionally are:
As you can see, social media can be a great way to increase your visibility, engage with others in your community, and build skills that might be useful to employers. If you use social media in a smart way, it can enhance your professional brand. |
Websites/PortfoliosPersonal websites are steadily gaining in popularity. Employers will likely search their candidates online to gauge digital presence. A personal website can be a great way to have your own presence on the Internet, with content developed by you. It can also be a way for employers to find your resume, past work, and how to connect with you. There are plenty of websites that offer free accounts to build your own website or portfolio, including:
The Office of Career Development & Professional Engagement also hosts regular workshops with Wix where you can learn more about the platform and get a free year of Wix premium with a W&M code. Check out events in TribeCareers to find the next session. You may want to keep a few things in mind when creating your personal website:
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