networking for work: email and linkedin
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Networking for Work: http://networkingforwork.org.uk
Building an online profile
- Assessing your current email address (if you have one) using our Email address scorecard.
- Creating a new, professional-sounding email address to use for applying for jobs.
- Key features and benefits of having a LinkedIn profile.
- Creating a LinkedIn profile – our how-to guide and other resources at networkingforwork.org.uk
Having a simple email address can help enormously with job hunting:
- It's free and easy to set up using a simple webmail service such as Gmail, which can then be accessed from any computer with internet access or a smartphone.
- Simply having an email account demonstrates your computer literacy.
- Makes corresponding with potential employers easier, faster and cheaper (no postage stamps required).
- Can submit application forms completed electronically rather than by longhand, improving on their presetation and cutting down completion time.
[Image by Sean MacEntee]
An email account is invaluable for job hunting...But what first impression might your email address be giving? What are some of the more eye-opening email addresses that you've encountered?
Use our Email Address ScorecardAssess your current email address using our simple scorecard. What's your score? How do you think your current email address might be impacting on your job-search? Is it helping or hindering you?
Find our resources on networkingforwork.org.ukFind The Email Address Scorecard and other email-related resources, including a Communities 2.0 video guide to creating a Gmail account, on the ' R e s o u r c e s ' page on our website.
Common email address issues
- If you have a quirky or playful email address, this may well put some employers off.
- Similarly, an email address which includes a date of birth means people can form unfair preconceptions.
- An impersonal email address that is a mixture of numbers and letters may not say much about you, but can be difficult to remember and easy to mistype too.
- Avoid using a child's/relative's name instead of your own, an employer might assume you're using someone else's email account.
Some email address solutions
- It is well worth creating a new email account to use just for job hunting if your current one is unsuitable, but don't forget to keep checking it!
- K E E P IT S IM P L E and create an email address as near to your full name as possible. Include middle names/initials or underscores if your name isn't available.
- Consider the 'brand reputation' of the webmail service you're using, especially when applying for positions that require IT know-how. Gmail is generally considered to be the best.
You can use your new, professional email account to build a LinkedIn profile. See our video on 'Introducing LinkedIn' at:
http://youtu.be/iGUq9P9hiwc
Find our resources on networkingforwork.org.ukFind our step-by-step guide 'Create a LinkedIn profile' and other LinkedIn-related resources, including Kind of Digital's guide 'What is LinkedIn?', on the ' R e s o u r c e s ' page of our website.
By the end of thisSession you should have:
- A professional-sounding email address that you can use for applying for jobs.
- A better knowledge of the LinkedIn professional network and how it can support you in your search for work.
- The tools to get started with creating a LinkedIn profile for yourself, using our how-to guide and other resources at networkingforwork.org.uk
