5.1 What are Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn?
At the time of writing this course, the three main platforms which may be of use in shaping your work or life are Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn (pronounced as linked in).
Here’s a brief overview of each.
- Facebook (www.facebook.com [Tip: hold Ctrl and click a link to open it in a new tab. (Hide tip)] )
Facebook allows you to link up with friends, and even friends of those friends. It provides a place to share your news, views and items of interest. For recruitment, Facebook can bring together recruiters and job seekers, and you can use it to gather information on potential employers with Facebook pages.
- Twitter (https://twitter.com)
Twitter is mainly used on mobile phones and enables short messages of less than 140 characters to be sent to all the people who ‘follow’ an account. It may be used by recruiters to get messages out to many potential employees very quickly and so can be a very good way of keeping your eye out for opportunities.
Top tip: Include your career interests in your Twitter profile. Make it a kind of micro pitch for work.
- LinkedIn (www.linkedin.com):
LinkedIn is used primarily for ‘work’ networking. When you set up a profile, the system automatically links you with people you might know, initially using your own education and work experiences. You can also make contact with organisations and individuals who may be able to offer you work, or help you to find it.
Top tip: There are different levels of membership but the most basic (and free) level is more than adequate for most people.
Some of you may already be active on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or other social media sites. For others they may be untried, difficult to access or uncomfortable places to be. So, the next section offers some brief tips on how to get started and also how to feel more secure online.