It has been a very educative and eye opening experience working on the web presence project. In this age and era, the internet has become a very integral part of our lives. Almost everything in life revolves around the internet. Many interactions; social and business are done through the internet. People who do not know us, therefore, may get their first impression of us from the internet profiles that we have both on the social platforms and professional profiles. For this project, I worked on building my web presence in a professional platform; LinkedIn. The platform is more professional but can be used for a few social exchanges as well.
Background Graph
I began the project by looking at some other profiles that had already been developed by other users. It gave an overview of some of the information that needed to be included. I included a background graph picture that looks attractive but also professional at the same time. It had to be attractive to attract browsers into reading through my page and professional to show that I am a serious professional.
Headline
The headline is important in introducing me to the audience. It is the first impression and therefore, I made it short but catchy. I also introduced my industry and current status as a graduating student.
Summary
I have summarized my academic qualifications and brief working experience as an intern with three global organizations. I have also highlighted some of the skills and experiences that I have. The summarized introduction is vital since it gives whoever looks at my web profile almost everything about me and gets them interested to into finding more that there is to know about me professionally. I have used some keywords in my summary to make it possible for my profile to be accessible when other users are conducting searches.
Education
This section covers my educational background stating the institutions that I have attended and the academic qualifications that I have attained. Mentioning my highly regarded learning institution could help me network easily with people who would like to meet professionals who gone through the institution.
Employment/Professional Experience
The section covers my employment and professional experience highlighting in details all the internship programs that I have undertaken and the experiences that I have had working in China. Developing my web presence on this front was interesting as it gave an opportunity to reflect on the experiences that I have gained working for major world-class organizations based in China. I had extensive experience that extended to other areas that are not necessarily related to my professional qualification but ones that are important for someone looking forward to being involved in management in future. This section is crucial on my LinkedIn profile as highlights the achievements that I have already had in my young career. It highlights in detail the important roles that I was trusted with as an intern and how I successfully carried out my responsibilities. It helps me attract the right people to network with and provide me with opportunities to advance my career globally.
Skills and Endorsements
In this section, I just highlighted the skills that I have including communication, emphasizing on my public speaking ability and my fluency in both Chinese and English. The section should also have shown the endorsements that I have gotten on various skills, but since my profile is new, I had none at the moment. I will, however, be looking to garner as many endorsements as possible as I continue to develop the profile. It will help improve my search ranking within the LinkedIn platform.
Causes I Care About
The section highlights the fields am more passionate about both as a professional and also a member of the society who seeks to improve the welfare of the society. The section helps in networking me with other professionals with the same interests.
Organizations, Acquired Skills & Interests
In these sections, I have mentioned the organizations I have worked for, the skills I acquired while working in these organizations and also my social interests. These sections are important since the past organizations that I have worked in are well-known, and they are big industry players in China. It is an advantage to be associated with them. Social interests help in linking with the other people with the same interests.
Future Plans
LinkedIn is a platform that helps in creating professional networking and therefore, it requires that one provides as much information as possible for possible referrals. Some people consider LinkedIn is a job hunting platform. I believe that it is more of a social-professional networking platform that can equally help someone get a job. I plan to continue updating the profile as frequently as possible to develop a much networking connections as possible through the platform. I plan to follow majorly influential people within the industry who have the reputation of offering mentoring advice to upcoming professionals. I will use Linked in both for searching the market for better opportunities and also for connecting with people who have common interests we can share ideas.
