Employability and the Digital ‘You’

Tahira Majothicareers consultantwww.careers.salford.ac.uk0161 295 5088

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• Understand the importance of developing digital skills for employability

• Understand the benefits of cultivating a professional digital presence

• Social Media platforms for engagement• Do’s and Don’ts – LinkedIn etiquette • Useful links

Outline

Why do you need digital skills?

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A recent CBI report estimated that 90% of UK jobs require some level of IT competency.

“Students… must take the development of their wider competencies as seriously as they take their studies.”

Richard Lambert, Director-general, Confederation of British Industry (CBI).

http://cardiff.ac.uk/careers/students/employability/digital-literacy/

• Digital literacy is required in 77% of all employment

• Digital literacy is expected to be required in 90% of all

employment by 2015

• Employability for graduates increasingly requires a

broad range of digital literacy skills

• Employers expect graduates to be able to communicate

using digital media

The Chartered Institute for IT http://www.bcs.org/category/17854

You already use digital skills and social media to a greater or lesser extent…So

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So consider:

“What if [in this digital age] you’re only anonymous for 15 minutes?”

What does Google know about you?

Share

Engage

Learn

Source: Sue Beckingham: http://www.slideshare.net/suebeckingham/why-you-need-a-professional-online-presence-and-how-to-do-it-rscon5

What are the Benefits?

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Digital Skills and Employability Interconnect Demonstrates your

reflective academic learning and knowledge

Showcases relevant work experience

Highlights key skills & achievements

Enables connections & collaborations

Social Media Table

• Professional online platform• Connect with likeminded individuals within your industry• Join groups of interest and engage proactively

LinkedIn

• Free platforms e.g. Wordpress or Blogger• Showcase knowledge, interests, experience etc.• Share and encourage meaningful engagement/connections• Reciprocate by sharing or commenting on other people’s work

Blogs, own website

• Mixture of video, presentation, collaboration, news stream platforms.

• Follow Employer Q&As, job/event accounts, ‘tweet-ups’ or hashtags or use as creative outlet/content curation tools.

Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, Scoop.it, Prezi,

Google docs, Vimeo, YouTube, Drop-box,

slideshare

Expand your ‘professional’ network

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Gain ‘social media’ capital

Social Media is also changing ‘traditional’ recruitment practices

• Your professional online address book• Your online CV• Your link to opportunities• Your tool for careers research• Your chance to ‘manage’ your digital identity

Benefits of using LinkedIn

• Do use a professional photo and industry specific keywords in your profile

• Do link to other relevant social media• Don’t use the default message when inviting someone

to connect • Do treat endorsements with caution.

Recommendations are more substantial • Do manage your email settings so you aren’t besieged

with email from your groups• Do share with others

LinkedIn: Do’s and Don’ts

Fiona Christie: http://prezi.com/3gwumaexbdmg/how-to-make-effective-use-of-linkedin/

Be media savvy, accentuate the positive to eliminate the negative

Use social media to research industries, key staff, for example, via LinkedIn, to demonstrate your employer research

Learn, engage and share i.e. showcase your social “media” capital

How to network ‘online’ effectively

Summary points to consider…

• What do I want my professional profile to say about me?

• When should I start to build up my professional profile?

• Where would I like to work, what social media platforms does the company use?

• Who should I connect with?• How can I get more help with this?

Reppler – helps you to manage your online profile across social networks• TweetDelete – helps you to delete older tweets from your time line• Manage your Identity – Helpful tutorials from the Internet Society• 4 tips to manage your online reputation – Forbes magazine• How to download your Twitter Archive - the real test is to read some of the old

tweets without cringing • How easy is it to delete yourself from the web? – Guardian article• Don’t just say it. Display it on your LinkedIn Profile. from LinkedIn, a way to create a

professional portfolio including visual content.• Mashable – How Graph search affects your privacy• Disconnect.me lets you control your data online• Google Inactive Account Manage r – allows you to decide what should happen to

your emails, photos i.e. digital life when you die.• DuckDuckGo – internet search engine that says it will protect your privacy and not

record user information.

Useful links

Useful Links:•Twitter: @UoSCareers, @salfordpgrs, •Facebook: UoSCareershttp://www.careers.salford.ac.uk/page/interactive

•Guardian: Using social media to find workhttp://careers.guardian.co.uk/social-media-job-seeking

•Do your own PR in a digital world http://careersatsalford.wordpress.com/2010/11/19/pr-in-a-digital-world/•Get an online presence now•http://careersatsalford.wordpress.com/2011/02/17/get-an-online-presence-now/

•Social Media and Job Hunting•http://www.careerplayer.com/tips-and-advice/general-advice/social-media-and-job-hunting.aspx

•How to use LinkedIn: Video guides for students•http://learn.linkedin.com/students/step-1/•9 Ways students can use social media http://mashable.com/2012/02/10/students-job-search-social-media/•9 Steps to get most out of LinkedIn•https://onlineastevens.wordpress.com/2011/05/05/9-easy-steps-to-getting-the-most-out-of-linkedin/