How to make yourself Googleable
With proper profiles, LinkedIn could be better for job-seeking students than resumes.
Natasha Venditti, the president of Guelph-Humber’s Advertising and Marketing Association, learned this first hand.
Venditti recently applied to a job, but the employer lost her resume. Luckily, the hiring manager remembered her name and offered her the position through LinkedIn.
“The fact they remembered my name, and I made such a good impression, is great. But when they were still interested in me after they saw my LinkedIn profile was even better,” said the business society’s president.
But Venditti isn’t the only one interested in the online networking website. Students all around campus have been asking for another chance to crack down on perfecting their professional online presence.
“I think people are realizing how important it is to make yourself Googleable,” said Venditti, who describes herself as an active marketing enthusiast on her online profile.
“Because LinkedIn has your name repeated several times on the page it ends up being the website that shows up first when employers search your name,” she explained.
Venditti and GHAMA organized the last two LinkedIn seminars. The tutorials showed people how to sign up and use the social media site. A photography student was brought in to take headshots for those optimizing their profile.
“Having that added touch of a professional looking picture shows you care,” said Venditti who hosted the event.
Jamie Kunkel said there’s much more to online professionalism than a good profile picture.
“Sometimes students don’t take full advantage of the opportunities to reach out to people in the field they’re interested in,” said the business program’s career and placement coordinator.
“Employers have told us that students from Guelph-Humber are really well prepared the real-world work environment,” Kunkel added, “and students can’t forget to show how well-rounded their education is because it sets them apart.”
Kunkel’s biggest ‘to do’ tip, for Guelph-Humber students who want to be effective online, is to personalize the message that is sent with the request to add someone to your circle.
“Think about how many messages industry professionals get in one day… It’s better to send something personalized that says who you are and where you two met so they better remember you,” she said.
Beyond networking, the career advisor said LinkedIn is an excellent resource in making the decision of where to focus on potential career paths. “The best thing students get is an opportunity to browse careers,” she said, “people who are interested in getting into specialized field should take a look at the profiles of professionals who are employed in jobs they want to be in one day.”
By probing the industry online, students can find learn how to properly frame their personal brand to fit potential employer standards.
“A person who works for marketing may have a more creative profile than someone who works in accounting. Having access to these people allows you to understand the standard that are set in that job. Students can then decide if that career path matches their personality and tastes,” said Kunkel.
By popular demand, the University of Guelph-Humber is gearing up to have its third LinkedIn event of the year.
At the end of February, the Student Association will release the details about the next online networking workshop.
Tanvi Bakshi, the student-elected Business Program Representative said she is trying to make sure this event happens because it has become a prominent feature in the business industry.
“You never hear business professionals at networking fairs asking about adding you on Twitter or Facebook… LinkedIn is just more professional,” Bakshi said.
About the Author
Daniela Napoli 's work will change the future (at least hopefully!) When she's not busy making great big goals, Daniela likes listening to awesome guitar solos & increasing her Sneak to 84.
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