Social media for your student and graduate job search by Marielle Kelly
Social media pervades all our lives. At times it can seem like an invasion. Its ubiquity is evident in most aspects of our lives, from personal to social, from academic to career. Increasingly more and more public and private communication is created and delivered through social media. More fundamentally our identity and 'brand' is created, communicated and indeed critiqued online. While there seems little choice but to join the conversation and drama, we do have a choice about what we say and do online, and the platforms we use to promote our knowledge, skills, views, attitudes and attributes.
When it comes to career, social media has the potential to enable or inhibit students’ progress. Failure to engage in social media runs the risk of missing out on information and opportunities, while failure to engage professionally runs the risk of damaging online reputation and brand. Used well, social media offers third level students real opportunities to stand out from the crowd, to demonstrate their personality and uniqueness as well as their academic achievements. Quite simply social media in the right hands is a career development accelerator.
Marielle Kelly, a career adviser at Trinity College Dublin, clearly understands this and has written a first of a kind book, targeted at students to enable them to take control of and manage their online brand. One of the key achievements of this book is to present what could be rather turgid and tedious content with clarity, practicality and a very clever simplicity. Unlike many how-to guides, the key messages and lessons can be quite quickly and successfully implemented.
So if you want to learn how to professionally present yourself online, secure an internship or graduate job, or to talk to a professional already working in your sector of interest or ideal job, this book is a must for you.
It is divided into two parts with the first five chapters outlining the ways social media can help career development. You will learn how to: manage your online presence; identify and communicate your professional identity on social media; research career options, vacancies and internships; connect effectively with employers and helpful professionals; harness information on social media to create stand out applications and gain an edge at interview
The second half of the book gets hands on with the major social media channels, covering LinkedIn, Twitter, blogging, Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram and video CVs. These chapters are highly applied and practical, and critically give the reader the confidence to implement the learning. The inclusion, for example, of sample profiles and introductory emails augments the book and further removes any mystery from the process of creating and managing oneself online.
This excellent book enables students to begin to bridge that divide between using social media in a very personal, informal way, to using it for professional and career development. Implementing its lessons cannot guarantee career success but will definitely optimise your chances.
