UCL CAREERS SERVICE

LinkedIn

LinkedIn is a professional networking site, with over 100 million users. It is free to join and relatively easy to set up a profile. Unlike Facebook, it is a business orientated site, where companies and individuals build connections and network. You do not have to already be in employment to join LinkedIn.  There is a dedicated area relating to students which gives information on how to set up an account and use LinkedIn effectively.  Take a look at these online tutorials LinkedIn Student

You can use LinkedIn to:

1. Market yourself. Put together a professional online ‘CV’ that demonstrates your skills and motivations. Ask past employers or tutors to endorse your work through recommendations. Employers look for potential candidates on LinkedIn and some recruiters search out candidates on the site so it is a good way of marketing your skills and experience.

2. Find vacancies and get recruited. Employers are increasingly advertising jobs on LinkedIn so use it to find vacancies. There is an easy to use job search tool whereby you can get job alerts sent to you. Add as many of your skills as possible to your profile to ensure that you come up when recruiters search for candidates.

3. Build up your network. Start by connecting with friends, family, other students on your course and people you have worked with or interned with in the past. Join your school and university alumni groups as this will contact you to hundreds more people. You can also invite people to join LinkedIn and connect with them. For more information on how to network, click on this page Using a Network

4. Use your network. Find out information about jobs, sectors and organisations by asking relevant people in your network. Use the connections you have to open up new connections, which may in turn lead to opportunities. Use LinkedIn networks to information interview, pose questions on group discussion pages and look at other people’s profiles to get a sense of how their careers have developed in particular industries.

5. Engage with companies. Find organisations you are interested in and follow them, thereby getting up to date information on what the organisation is doing, its profile and whether it is hiring at the moment. Ask organisation contacts about culture of the organisation, what it's like to work there and how they got their job.

6. Join groups. Join groups that are in the field you are interested in and link up to like-minded people, post questions and demonstrate to employers that you have an active interest in the field.  A good way to get started is to join the UCL Alumni LinkedIn group.  There is also a dedicated GradClub LinkedIn group where you can share ideas, find out information and learn more on how LinkedIn can help you.

To view an example of a student LinkedIn profile, click here

Take a look at this handy checklist when setting up your profile.

Twitter

Companies and organisations use Twitter to provide information about what they are doing as well as posting job vacancies. You don’t have to tweet yourself but doing so can demonstrate to employers that you are engaged and interested in the industry. Follow companies, people, organisations of interest and brands to get industry insight and keep up to date. Tweet questions and ask for information or advice, which can contribute to your online networking activities. Use # (hashtags) for a quick way of searching for particular roles. For example, search for #internship to bring up each tweet that has been tagged with that term.

Ensure that your tweets are positive and informed so as to give potential employers a good impression. Follow job sites to get the latest vacancies and follow your University careers service to keep up to date with career events and news.

Here are some tips to get you started:-

- Follow companies you would like to work for to get insights into the company.  You may even decide to follow the CEO's twitter account or other employees of the company.

- Use Twitter to show that you are looking for a job.  Get the word out and engage with people in the industry. 

- Use a professional photo on your Twitter profile.

- Create a 140-character CV, a concise summary of your skills, and a link for recruiters to find out more.

- Keep being humourous and informal to a point.  This won't generally put employers off, in fact it may show them the real you.  However, make sure your Tweets are clean and free from spelling mistakes.

- Don't be offended if companies don't respond to your posts.  Many people just dip in and out of Twitter.

To get started go to https://twitter.com

Facebook

Whilst Facebook is not a business website, you may wish to use it for the following:

1. Follow organisations that use Facebook for marketing, recruitment and updating information on their activities.

2. There may be people in your Facebook network that work for organisations that you are interested in. You could send them an email through Facebook asking them quick, informal questions to get a bit more information.

3. Your University careers service may have a Facebook site where they will post information on current jobs, information on careers events and careers related articles and links.

To sign up to Facebook go to www.facebook.com

Blogs

Large organisations often have blogs written by their graduate trainees or interns which give insight into the company. Be aware that these are likely to have been vetted by the company themselves so may not present the most balanced information.

Unofficial blogs can give more insight but keep an open mind when reading them. You may wish to show future employers your writing skills, your interest in a subject area and your engagement with an industry through writing your own blog. This is especially useful for careers which require you to demonstrate strong writing skills e.g. journalism.

Take a look at the UCL Careers Service Blog for updates and information from the UCL Careers Service.

YouTube

YouTube is the second largest search engine and, as such, is a good way to find out more information about companies and what it is like to work for them. 

Larger companies often post information and advice on interviewing and assessment centres.

You can also use YouTube to get more information from careers professionals on different aspects of job hunting and find 'how to' videos on setting up profiles, writing CV's etc.

Search these by going to www.youtube.com

Tips for using Social Media

• Present the right image.  Employers are increasingly doing internet searches on potential candidates and this may be the first impression they have of you.  Check what comes up if you type your name into a search engine and ensure that it is an image that you want to present.
• Keep personal and public separate. Check your privacy settings on your personal sites to ensure that employers can’t access embarrassing photos or anything that doesn’t present you in a good light.
• Check what you are putting ‘out there’. Check your posts or tweets for spelling and grammar mistakes. Be positive and don’t write anything that may put off potential employers now or in the future.
• Be up to date. Check that your online presence is up to date with any new activities or skills that may be of interest to potential employers.
• Be active. Attract interest from others and improve your online brand by being active on social media sites. Comment on group discussions, participate in group forums, and update your profiles and interests regularly.
• Be professional. Think about how to introduce yourself to a new contact. Take time to explain who you are and what result you would like from the connection. People are less likely to respond to information requests if they don’t know who you are or if you don’t target your email to them specifically.
• Be positive. Don’t complain about your situation or make off-putting remarks. Try to come across as personable, genuine and willing to engage so that people are more likely to become part of your network. Be mindful that once you have put something out in to cyber space it becomes accessible to everyone, employers included.
• Be willing to work on your online presence. Building a successful online presence and generating far reaching networks takes time. Be persistent and think about using more than one kind of social media.