Strategies For Effective Online Networking

COMPOSE SECTIONS ON YOUR ONLINE PROFILES LIKE AN EXPERT
Social media sites give us the opportunity to showcase our skills, qualifications, and experience. Normally we use these social media sites to talk with others, as well as to create and share media content. And when used effectively we can meet new people, network and find out about new opportunities that we wouldn’t otherwise have known about

Our online profiles play an integral part in our social media activity. We use these profiles to showcase the skills and qualities we have to our readers. We should think of an online profile as a tool we have at our disposal, one that we can use to tell our readers more about who we are while at the same time showcasing our experience and talent

Online profiles will consist of different sections and can be comprised in several different ways depending on the social media platform in question. Each one of these sections can give us an opportunity to reveal a part of our character and emphasize our skills and experiences in slightly different ways. Here we will look at some of the main types of profile sections we might encounter on social media platforms and how best to utilise them

THE PERSONAL DETAILS SECTION
Name, age, city, sex, marital status, etc…
Informational sections like this are pretty straightforward. They contain factual information that we input in a linear way into these sections. In terms of hints and strategies, the main thing here is simply to input your details accurately and with no spelling mistakes. You can also want to try personalise these details as you input them. For instance, if a place where you’ve lived has a popular nickname, why not list it in brackets beside the actual city. For example, Las Vegas (Sin City), Seattle (Emerald City), New York City (The Big Apple), etc.
You can also do this with other information too. When entering basic details such as names for example: Dax Jones (the Bookkeeper), Albert E. Hawking, (the fantastic Administrator), Tallis Adama, (the career Pilot), etc.
Or even when listing things like age, or how many years you’ve spent doing something or working somewhere. The Golden years (60 years), my Prime years (25 years), etc…



THE BIO SECTION
Some social media sites will give you the option to create a bio as part of your profile for that site. Bio’s give you an additional opportunity to showcase accomplishments and build an online image. A bio you create on a social media site can be likened to an ‘about me’ page found on an individual’s own personal webpage. It’s where you get to tell your audience a story about your background, interests, experience and accomplishments, as well as give out your current employment status and contact information – and it’s considered a great way for you to build an identity online. Another way to think of a bio is that it’s similar to creating a personal statement on a C.V.

HERE ARE several things that will help you to create a great bio:

• It is recommended that you use the first person when writing about yourself for a bio
  
  
• In much the same way you may have different C.V’s in preparation for different job types you might apply for, you may want to consider writing out two or three different versions of your personal bio. In this way, these can be tailored to the type of site you are creating a profile on. For example, LiveJournal is a completely different type of platform and has completely different types of people on it than say Instagram. It is important we are able to present the information on our bio’s in different ways when we need to
  (Keep in mind that you may have to edit or make amendments to your online bio due to limitations on how many words you can input on certain sites)

Start off by introducing yourself. In many instances just one or two sentences will suffice, but this is very important for setting the rest of the tone for the bio. Do this simply and effectively by mentioning who you are, where you are from or where you were brought up, and also mentioning a main interest or hobby if space allows for it

The main body of your biography should consist of your personal background, meaning your skills and qualities, and your current work and personal related activities. Mention any memberships, alumni associations or other relevant affiliations here. The tone you use should be factual and light-hearted. A good way to keep the tone light is by offering the reader positive or constructive insight, and or opinion; into the things you’ve done regarding your background, personal qualities, accomplishments, and work or personal related activities in a light-hearted and anecdotal way

There are 2 different ways you can end the bio (use both of them if you feel its appropriate)
It is always important to add contact information at the end of your bio. In doing so you set a nice, casual business tone which is what we want to do. On top of this, it is a practical way for you to include contact information which reminds employers and recruiters that you are available to contact. The contact method can be anything of your choosing, such as an email address, or a link to another social media account

Depending on what interests and experiences you have included, it may be appropriate to add a ‘Call-to-action’ at the end of your bio as well. This is important because it gives your bio a much more purposeful tone, and makes you come across as very knowledgeable and professional in the eyes of the employers and recruiters that read it. For more information about what a ‘Call-to-action’ is, see WRITING AND MANAGING AN EFFECTIVE ONLINE BLOG on page 7

• Always remember to add widgets, follow symbols, hashtags, Call-to-action buttons and any other buttons the site will allow. These simply encourage people to get involved with your profile and contact you, and improves the overall appearance of the bio
  
  
• Don’t be afraid to use personal bio’s as a tool to market yourself and enhance your online ‘brand’. A bio is one of the best places to include a URL or link – for example, if you mention in your bio that you worked on a business project, started a blog or wrote an article, include a link or URL for it in your bio. (note, while it is good practice to do this don’t include too many, 3 or 4 will be enough)
  
  
• Once you’ve finished, read your bio out aloud to yourself. It’s a good way to get a feel for how it sounds and will give you a good idea of how it will sound to others too
  
  
• The use of online spelling tools can help ensure that your bio’s are well written, are error free and are well optimised for search engines (search engine optimization)

THE SUMMARY SECTION
Summary Sections are a great way to highlight and draw emphasis to any additional skills and qualifications you have. They give you the opportunity to present a professional overview of your career background or to showcase a present line of employment on your profile

Start by giving your summary a strong catchy title, e.g. ‘career scientist loves fitness’

Follow this up with a strong opening statement about who you are, and make sure to sell yourself in this opening first sentence or two. Make the statement loud and aggressive if you can

From there we move on to the main body of our summary
Here we will simply list our academic qualifications, certifications, and other skills or experiences we have that are relevant to our broader job search. The more we can list on our summary the better. Employers and recruiters will search for various things when reading, so the more diverse your summary is the better it will look

How a business site orientated summary might look

AWARD WINNING CUSTOMER SERVICE ADVISOR CAN HANDLE ANY CHALLENGE

I work for a company that only hires the best in the business, and I am proud to count myself among them. I have been working in their customer service department now for over 4 years. It’s great because I get to talk with different people all the time, and no two days are ever the same. I work in a very open and supportive team environment. It’s fast paced and hectic, and I love it. I diagnose problems, problem-solve solutions, reassure my customers, and provide help and expert advice to them everyday. I get the chance to transform our business through a dynamic level of service that enables us to maintain and grow our customer base which is fantastic!

My job has been a satisfying and professionally rewarding experience as it has allowed me to constantly use and enhance my customer based skills. I am a naturally people orientated person and my skills with language, computers and software applications empowers me to help people from all different types of backgrounds, and to deliver an excellent customer experience for them every time

For more information about how my skills and experience can be of benefit to you and your business, please view my resume here. I also run a blog that discusses and provides advice on consumer related issues. Check it out at www-blog—com

How a social media orientated summary might look

AWARD WINNING CUSTOMER SERVICE ADVISOR CAN HANDLE ANY CHALLENGE

I’ve had some wonderful luck with the jobs I’ve landed over my career, and I’ve enjoyed every last one of them. Being a people orientated person, I like to talk with new and interesting people as often as I can. I am a take charge kind of person, one who knows how to get the most out of people, while at the same time being able to listen and reassure them when it’s needed too!

Not only have I had many happy experiences in my work life, but I’ve developed many useful skills and qualities along the way, many of which have come as a direct result of the work I do. My work is something that I take very seriously, it plays an integral part in my everyday life. Because of this, I’ve always believed it is important to maintain an effective work/ life balance, and as such, I’ve always tried to keep myself fit and active. In my spare time I enjoy reading, writing, exercising, and going out with friends, and I feel I’ve always been fortunate that my outside interests complement the skills and qualities needed in the job roles I perform

If you’d like to know more about me, or are interested in what I can bring to your business, please view my resume here. I also run a blog where I discuss ideas and share my knowledge on consumer related issues. Check it out at www—blog—com

THE EXPERIENCE SECTION
Experience sections are usually found on more job orientated sites. They tend to be quite straightforward and are concerned with your work experience and current employment status

In this section we will enter things like our employment history, and any volunteer positions we have held. Education, awards, notable projects you’ve worked on, or any other notable achievements you feel it’s relevant to include in your work history will be listed here

Experience sections on job and social media sites are usually quite easy to complete because most of the time simply copying and pasting the work history section of your C.V into this section is usually sufficient. As the information required in the experience section is closely aligned with the information contained on your C.V, in terms of hints and strategies here, the only departure would be that you could elaborate further on individual things listed here, (such as mentioning any notable work projects you’ve completed, or any relevant personal accomplishments or accolades gained in the workplace). If you decide not to copy and paste your work history information from your resume or C.V into this section that is fine, however make sure the information you input matches what is on your C.V or resume because it is a recruiter’s job to cross reference the information you provide on your application’s against information they might come across on things like this

OTHER IMPORTANT SETTINGS FOR ONLINE SECTIONS

• Use a professional sounding email address
  
  
• Remember to use a professional headshot photo for all main profile pictures on job and media sites
  
  
• Make a point of listing any affiliations and organisations that you are a part of. Whether these are educational, business, recreational, alumni affiliations, if it’s relevant – make sure its mentioned somewhere on your profile
  
  
• (If using LinkedIn) Turn off activity broadcasts. This way your current employer doesn’t know that you’re looking for work and can’t tell when you’re updating your profile
  
  
• (If using LinkedIn) Check your activity feed. Remember you can change who has access to view this
  
  
• (If using LinkedIn) Remember to both give and request recommendations

Receiving recommendations looks very good to the employers and recruiters who use these sites to headhunt for new talent

A recommendation on a social media site can sometimes be regarded in a very similar way to how a reference is on an actual job application. It means that someone else is validating the skills and experience you are outlining on your C.V or resume

One of the best ways to receive recommendations is to give them yourself. Not only does giving recommendations help you get recommendations back in return, but it also serves the very useful purpose of boosting your own reputation and image online, and by simply giving a recommendation not only do you come across as knowledgeable and engaged on that site, but you are also seen to be involved with your peers and with that industry from the perspective of the people viewing your profile

• Use lower case as it looks more presentable – ONLY for social media profiles (not for employment questionnaires)
  
  
• Re-read and make sure there are no spelling mistakes
  
  
• Try to be as detailed as possible, BUT only if you are sure the details you are including will reflect favourably on you
  
  
• Omit, or be vague, but definitely don’t add, information or details if you think it could reflect negatively were a stranger to read it