“Social Media for your student and graduate job search” by Marielle Kelly

By @SimonCocking. Review of ‘Social Media for your student and graduate job search’ 2016 by Marielle Kelly, Author: Social media for your student and graduate job search | Career Adviser at @tcddublin. 

There’s a lot of talk about millenials, digital natives, and this whole divide between those born pre the internet and those, whose whole life dates post 1993 ish (definitions of what a millenial is vary quite a bit). You could suggest it is those who get frustrated when they swipe the front of a magazine / phone / screen and the imagine remains the same. However you define it, the key thing to consider is that how we behave online can have serious consequences for us in our professional working lives.

Don't be a stalker! #Linkedintips #LinkedIn #socialmedia #jobsearch pic.twitter.com/ARe3pW5neB

— Marielle Kelly (@mariellekelly) February 26, 2016

Despite operating at the sharp end of digitally aware users / consumers, at Trinity College Dublin, the author of this book, Marielle Kelly has still clearly encountered enough mishaps and ill advised online declarations that she had lots of great case studies when she came to write this book. From recent books such as Jon Ronson’s ‘So you’ve been publicly shamed’, it’s clear that we are all still learning how to successfully conduct ourselves online.

Facebook can play a part in your #socialmedia #jobsearch strategy (unless you're connected to your boss!) pic.twitter.com/nHpe3ETX4T

— Marielle Kelly (@mariellekelly) February 10, 2016

Kelly aims to help ease that pain and to try and safely guide her readers through many common pitfalls for students and recent graduates. We are moving into an era where ‘Your personal brand is your most important asset’. While some older readers may recoil at such a statement this is becoming more and more the reality for those graduating and due to graduate over the next decade. Kelly in this book aims to steer the reader towards understanding and making the best of this landscape.

Twitter lists help manage what you read and when. Categorise accounts like target companies, thought leaders etc pic.twitter.com/AKNP0SEpB2

— Marielle Kelly (@mariellekelly) February 4, 2016

There are chapters on how to use social media for your job search. How to effectively define your brand and put it online.  How to make the most of LinkedIn, Twitter, and blogging among other popular social media platforms. At the end of each chapter there are useful resources to follow up in more detail. There are also good case studies from people who have successfully leveraged social media to get the jobs they wanted to do.

It’s a relatively short book at 140 pages, possibly intentionally so with our ever diminishing attention spans, but it offers lots of good insights and helpful hints for it’s readers. Digital natives or not, it is still important to put some thought into how you plan to present yourself online. We may well have already reached the stage that our digital footprint is our professional reputation.

It’s well written book and an enjoyable read too. It will bring value to those that take the time to read it.

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