Employability

There are social networks created specifically for professionals and businesses. Some advantages of creating a professional online account to compliment your resume include:

• A strong professional brand
• Visibility in an online recruitment world
• Some sites provide access to daily feeds with relevant posts
• Many online networks allow you to search and apply for jobs
• You may be able to showcase your work through video, documents and other mediums
• Often employers can look for you rather than you searching for a job

LinkedIn

LinkedIn is a popular professional networking site that allows individuals and companies to establish a network. This enables you to follow or interact with people you work with, or are interested in collaborating with. Your LinkedIn profile is usually the first thing that appears in a Google search.

Successful job applicants that used a LinkedIn profile have some elements in common:

• 89% had a profile picture
• 91% listed 5 or more skills
• 81% had 10 or more endorsements
• 82% participated in LinkedIn groups

  Learning LinkedIn (LinkedIn Learning, 1h30m) explains how to create a LinkedIn account and how to make the most out of your account.

How to make a strong LinkedIn profile

This article, Here's an example of the perfect LinkedIn profile summary, according to Harvard career experts, includes recommendations for a strong profile summary on LinkedIn:

• Possible to skim read in 30 seconds or less
• Professional headline is less than 120 characters and includes your career focus and elements of your work
• The About section includes industry-related keywords
• Lists your skills, strengths and interests
• Professional style of writing, with no spelling mistakes or grammatical errors
• Provides information that offers a deeper insight into your values, traits, career goals and what makes you special
• Includes details about how others would describe you.

See some examples of LinkedIn Profile summaries.

Checklist for your LinkedIn profile

Build your LinkedIn Network

Make connections and build a network relevant to your study or professional interests on LinkedIn.

We recommend following:

• The University of Queensland on LinkedIn — the UQ account will post events and show connections that might interest you
• Companies, organisations or institutions that you might be interested in gaining employment with — these accounts will post jobs and events. It might help you identify key people in your field who work there or who also follow these accounts.
• Groups and hashtags for topics relevant to you — this might also help you identify key people and companies in your field
• Reach out to industry professionals and ask for their advice.

Professional networking (LinkedIn Learning, 29m) explains networking strategies to use that play to your strengths.