Community Contribution #2
Expanding Professional Learning Network
For students, LinkedIn is by far the best digital platform to develop one’s professional network. It lets you interact with people, businesses, and corporations; explore job postings; and keep up to date on what the current job landscape looks like. While staying on top of your LinkedIn profile is still paramount today, it is not ideal to rely on it. Through LinkedIn, I have yet to get any professional advances. I have been trying to the best of my ability, but my professional learning network seems to still only expand through in-person interactions.
As I continue to explore LinkedIn’s offerings and maintain my profile, I remain hopeful about potential opportunities that may arise through the platform. I am quite comfortable sharing information online, but the way I should be using LinkedIn is remarkably different from how I’m used to interacting online, particularly through Instagram. So far, on my LinkedIn account, I have only posted about my post-secondary endeavours, co-op work experience, and long-term travel, but when I look at my account as a whole, I don’t really see myself. I see the “put-together Kirsten” that would look good and spark interest to any professional onlooker. As a result, I am much more inclined to strive for in-person connections and only use LinkedIn as a sort of reference or resource that supplements my professional learning network.
Data privacy and security limiting and/or promoting a PLN?
Digital identity has always been in the back of my mind while interacting with digital platforms, but that definitely stems from how I may be perceived by online peers. It has only been quite recent that I’ve been beginning to consider how my digital identity and reputation would appear to potential employers and mentors. Thankfully, I have not been faced with any repercussions because of the way I interact online, which leads me to believe that I’m doing a pretty good job at maintaining a pretty good digital reputation because my last job required a background check and security clearance.
One of the simplest ways to maintain privacy online is to have a private account, but even with a private account, you still need to give some form of personal information to a digital platform. Instead of carelessly signing up for a social platform to see what it has to offer, it’s a good idea to have a little self-check-in to ask yourself what you are comfortable with sharing in the sign-up process and on the platform itself.
