5. Social media in your professional life

Social media has evolved to connect people globally, as such, it has become a tool that is used for professional networking and career growth. Creating and engaging via professional social media platforms may enable you to:

• Discover new ideas and trends.
• Connect with audiences with the same expertise.
• Bring attention to your work.
• Enhance your influence and personal brand.

 To use social media effectively in a professional environment, consider these tips:

Security and Confidentiality

When sharing work-related matters via social media consider confidentiality, privacy, and credibility as these factors may impact your professionalism.  If you are unsure about the privacy of the work you’d like to share check with your manager or authorised personnel before sharing. Investigate the security settings available on social media platforms you are using, note, and employ, as appropriate, these settings or “locks” for your accounts. See Your Digital Footprint for information about social media platforms and their privacy settings.

General Tips

• Ensure your profile is professional and accurately reflects your online brand.
• Showcase your expertise and follow, connect, and engage with those who are influential in your field.
• Always remain professional, avoid sharing information about your personal life via professional profiles.

Check out LinkedIn

With more than 500 million members, LinkedIn has become a quintessential and optimal professional network. It functions as your online resume. It works best when you use it as career management alongside job hunting. By initiating connections with people you already know, LinkedIn offers a variety of ways to expend your network by finding relevant professionals. It also has a recommendation feature that allows you to give and receive formal recommendations to people who you have worked for, or with whom you want to connect. LinkedIn can also be used for Job hunting. Spend time getting to know the search features in detail. These features let you drill down into networks of people, companies, and job postings. Learn how to set up a good LinkedIn account.