Topic 3: Reflections

This week we were given the task of providing tips on how to build an online professional profile. The importance of an online professional profile is constantly mentioned at networking events so I therefore based my post on exploring tips that I have frequently heard as a law student. From completing this topic I have a better understanding as to what my professional online profile should look like, which will come in handy when I (eventually) create my LinkedIn page.

Some Reflections…

When reading Azam’s blog, I realized just how important it is to make sure that you allow your own personality to permeate through on your professional profiles. I learned that whilst it is a good idea to remain professional you should also display your own personality in order to stand out as a candidate amongst others.

Liz’s blog helped highlight another aspect which I had not considered before as well. In discussing the instance of her friend using social media to get a job, it shows how recreational social media can still aid professional ventures.

From reading both Liz’s and Sam’s comments I realized that, although we are constantly reminded just how important it is to have an online professional profile, there are little guidelines as to what these should include. As students we are expected to create these profiles, however our only experience with creating online profiles usually evolves around recreational social networking and this can make it difficult when using an online platform for professional purposes.

Additionally, I also enjoyed reading Sam’s post as he took a unique approach to this weeks topic by addressing it from an academic perspective. It was interesting to read the theories explored but it should also be noted that his use of PiktoChart on his blog was a great touch and after seeing how it can be a great tool to summarise key points, this is a feature which I hope to use with future posts.

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REFERENCES

Azam’s Blog, < https://mab4g1412.wordpress.com/2016/03/11/266/> accessed 19th March 2016.

Liz’s Blog, < https://missceospeaks.wordpress.com/2016/03/13/topic-3-building-a-professional-digital-profile/ > accessed 19th March 2016.

Sam’s Blog, < https://sotonsam.wordpress.com/2016/03/12/topic-3-building-a-professional-digital-profile/ > accessed 19th March 2016.

Richard Spillett,’Graduate who held up sign advertising himself at Waterloo Station starts work after he’s handed dream job by passing commuter’ (The Daily Mail,9 September 2014)
< http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2749042/Graduate-held-sign-advertising-Waterloo-Station-starts-work-s-handed-dream-job-passing-commuter.html&gt; accessed 15th March 2016.

Image Credits

Developing an authentic online professional profile

 

As social media has become a widespread feature within modern society, it also plays an increasingly important role within the recruitment process as highlighted by the statistics shown in Figure 1 and 2. This makes it quintessential for jobseekers, in particular graduates to keep up-to-date authentic online professional profiles so that all important job opportunities are not being missed.

Figure 1: Statistics on what recruiters look at on a potential candidate’s social media profile in 2015.

Figure 2: Statistics on how many recruiters chose candidates based on their social media profiles in 2015

The importance of social media profiles is something which, as a final year law student, I have heard being mentioned at multiple career networking events. Given the competitive nature of the legal sector and with many city firms having active profiles on social media, law students tend to use either Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn as well as Aspiring Solicitors, to network with legal recruiters, other law students and legal professionals in order to get that added edge to their legal applications. Therefore, given the importance placed on online profiles within the recruiting process, the top 5 tips on how to create an authentic online digital profile for those wishing to enter the legal sector shall now be discussed;

Figure 3: The online activities of lawyers in 2014.

1) Professional Profile Picture[1]

• This should be head and shoulders shot of yourself wearing corporate attire.

2) Content

• On LinkedIn it is important to include details about your awards as well as details about your work history. On other social networking sites keeping your recreational content separate from your professional content is just as important as it will help you ‘gain credibility in the legal field’[2]

3) Get Involved

• Legal recruiters are interested in the unique elements to individual profiles. Particularly on LinkedIn, it is a good ideas for users to express particular areas of law that interests them as well as detailing any pro bono work that you have undertaken. But also be wary that ‘A legal recruiter may even browse through these groups to see how you have contributed to the discussion’

4) Keep a clean digital footprint[3]

• To prevent old posts coming back to haunt you, search for yourself online, use the Google ‘remove information’ tool if necessary and use tools (such as http://www.tweetdelete.net/  that can help you delete old posts). Adjust privacy settings for social media profiles used recreationally.[4]

5) Maintain Accounts

• It is important with any online professional profile that information you have revealed about yourself is kept up-to-date in order to get the most out of potential networking opportunities that may arise. Keeping your online professional profile up-to-date will also aid the authenticity of your online presence.

If you have any other suggestions, please feel free to comment and share!

Word Count: 422

REFERENCES

[1] William Peacock, ‘5 Social Media tips for Law Students’ (FindLaw, November 2014) <http://blogs.findlaw.com/greedy_associates/2014/11/5-tips-for-law-students-on-social-media.html > accessed 12th March 2016.

[2] All About Law, ‘Is your LinkedIn profile optimised for Law Recruiters’ < http://www.allaboutlaw.co.uk/stage/finding-a-training-contract/is-your-linkedin-profile-optimised-for-law-recruiters > accessed 11th March 2016.

[3] The Careers Group, ‘ 5 career-enhancing social media tips for prudent law students’ < http://gradsintocareers.thecareersgroup.co.uk/industry-insider/law/2015/03/5-career-enhancing-social-media-tips-for-prudent-law-students/ >accessed 12th March 2016.

[4] Eduardo Reyes, ‘How to use: Twitter’ (The Law Society Gazette, August 2015) < http://www.lawgazette.co.uk/analysis/features/how-to-use-twitter/5050362.fullarticle > accessed 11th March 2016.

Thomas Connelly, ‘Offensive tweets of Bedford law grad working for Mayoral hopeful come back to haunt him’ (The Legal Cheek, 7th March 2016 <http://www.legalcheek.com/2016/03/offensive-tweets-of-bedford-law-grad-working-for-sadiq-khan-come-back-to-haunt-him/ > accessed 11th March 2016.

The Guardian, ‘Aide to Sadiq Khan suspended after abusive tweets from 2012 emerge’ <http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/mar/06/sadiq-khan-aide-suspended-historical-offensive-social-media-posts-emerge > accessed 12th March 2016.

Aspiring Solicitors, <https://www.aspiringsolicitors.co.uk/ > accessed 12th March 2016.

Google Search Help, <https://support.google.com/websearch/troubleshooter/3111061?hl=en > accessed 12th March 2016.

TARGETJobs,’How to find a graduate job using Twitter’ <https://targetjobs.co.uk/careers-advice/networking/409424-how-to-find-a-graduate-job-using-twitter > accessed 11th March 2016.

TARGETJobs, ‘Social networking and graduate recruitment: manage your online reputation’, <https://targetjobs.co.uk/careers-advice/networking/273059-social-networking-and-graduate-recruitment-manage-your-online-reputation > accessed 12th March 2016.

Figure 1 and 2 Image Credits

Figure 3 Image Credits