Social Networking for Career Development

Social Networking for Career Development

Dr. Johanna Havemann

November 2014

November 2014 Johanna Havemann

Social Networking for Career Development 2

How to use LinkedIn and Xing to advance your professional career.

Core features of both LinkedIn and XingHow to fill-in your personal profile How to grow the number of business contacts

other (free) categories, tools and featuresProjects, Contact establishing tools, Groups, Events, Company Profiles, News Feed

Premium featuresJob recruitment

Privacy and security terms and measures

Facebook, Twitter & Co. and how they can advance your careerSource: yesbo.de



World map of top professional networks: Linkedin, Xing and Viadeo



Source: blogs.alianzo.com (Mar 2014)



Source: tobesocial.de (Aug 2011)

Choose the right profile picture



Source: news.dice.com




Source: news.dice.com

Photo: Getty Images




Source: noisylittlemonkey.com

The DO’s and DON’Ts





DON’T play the numbers game“This is not a popularity contest”

DON’T be afraid to reach out

Source: nypost.com, linkedin.com/pulse (Apr 2014)



DON’T forget Privacy Settings

DON’T worry about stalking

DON’T be afraid to go long




DON’T ask people you don’t know for recommendations

DON’T comment negatively

DON’T over-post status updates




DO personalize Connection Requests

DO take it slow …

Don’t ask for too much too soon

Do build trust and rapport first




DO customize your headline

DO tell your professional story in the Summary

DO ask for guided recommendations

DO join and participate in groups




DO keep it professional at all times

DO stay active once you’ve landed your gig

DO engage with your network daily

DO provide value to your connection






www.kununu.com



recruiting.xing.com





Reputation Management I

• When creating a social media account, change settings to private and understand what that setting entails.

• Be wary of sharing too much about your political or religious beliefs online

• Refrain from joining any groups that would be considered controversial



Reputation Management II

• Disassociate from Facebook friends who post embarrassing comments

• Setup Google Alerts to monitor any new online content with your name

• Keep abreast of new laws regarding user privacy and adjust your online profile accordingly



Reputation Management III

• Don’t post anything negative about your school, professors or past employers

• Be sure that information about employment and education are exactly the same on your resume and social networking profile

• Audit all social media profiles – even old accounts, like one on MySpace



Reputation Management IV

• Don’t try to delete any of your social media networking accounts; colleges and employers may see this as you deliberately obscuring yourself

• Be mindful of online scams and phony friend requests. Never include your phone number, mailing address or home address in your profile.



Reputation Management V

• Avoid spontaneous responses, especially when discussing hot button issues

• Share thoughts without being overly opinionated

• Be sure to restrict pictures and video sharing so that things other people post about you won’t be found in a basic search



Johanna Havemann | PhD

Trained Biologist

Digital Science Communication

African Affairs

