Students wake up and head straight to Facebook for their social media fix.
A survey by graduate recruitment website Milkround.com found Facebook is the first social media tool students go to in the morning, with 84 percent using the site before any other and 96 percent visiting Facebook on a daily basis.
The findings backed up Facebook’s position as the leading social networking site used by students, with You Tube (56 percent) Twitter (35 percent) its nearest rivals for daily attention.
The most common reason for students to use social networking is following trends: 83 percent will use a social media because their friends do too. But social media has to enrich a user’s life in some way: just over three in five will use a social media because it is fun or gives them knowledge (63 percent and 61 percent respectively), while half want social media to make their life easier.
Blogs (21 percent) and forums (13 percent) might be considered old forms of social media tools, however they remain a daily destination for many students to contact people on the Internet: more than seven out of 10 students also said they had a clear understanding of what “blogs and forums” are, second only to “social networking sites”. Despite the popularity of micro-blogging site Twitter, just 22 percent claimed to have a clear understanding of the term while “visual sharing tools” was a familiar term to a third.
When it comes to jobs, although just 29 percent of students use social media to promote themselves to potential employers, 81 percent would be more proactive if they had more guidance on how to make the most of social media channels to find work. More than half (52 percent) would use LinkedIn to search for jobs and the professional networking site is the social media the most students would like to know more about (37 percent). Just 14 percent of students check LinkedIn on a daily basis with two percent visiting the site first in the morning.
Milkround.com spokesperson Mike Barnard said: “While social media has long-been a source of online entertainment and an ideal tool to keep in touch with friends, but it is encouraging to see students becoming interested in ways to further their careers via their social networks. With eight out of 10 keen to know more, they would do well to learn how LinkedIn works, but also consider other options such as keeping their eyes peeled for opportunities advertised via company pages on Facebook or in their Twitter feeds. Milkround.com has introduced a job Twitter feed to enable jobhunting students and graduates to keep up with the latest vacancies while they communicate with friends and stay up-to-date with news on the micro-blogging site.”
He added: “According to our survey, 93 percent of students are conscious of their social media profile: they are mindful of the pictures they post on Facebook and the statements they make on Twitter and blogs. That is a clear sign of the level of attention activity on the Internet attracts and acting responsively on the web seems now as important as anywhere else.”
How to make the most out of a LinkedIn profile
Milkround.com encourages students and graduates to take advantage of LinkedIn. The professional networking site is the ideal place to start building an online profile with work experience, skills and qualifications in one place. To help students and graduates make the most of LinkedIn, Milkround.com has put together 10 short and simple tips to make a profile have greater impact.
1. Customise your profile URL
To appear higher in searches, create your unique URL. It should look like this: http://linkedin.com/in/yourfullname
2. Post a picture
Give your audience a face to your profile. Upload a recent head-shot.
3. Brand yourself
Take advantage of branding yourself with either a smart headline that reflects your current position, or by letting others know what kind of job you are seeking.
4. A clear summary
Include a brief paragraph informing of who you are, and what you are looking for. Feel free to mention your unique skills, experiences, qualifications or awards.
5. Promote yourself with recommendations
Get recommendations from colleagues, both from work and university. Ideally you should have a recommendation on your profile.
6. Use keywords
Ensure you use keywords that reflect your experience and education when writing the different sections of the profile. This enables recruiters and others to find you first in people searches.
7. Update your skills
Take advantage of the skills section by highlighting yours.
8. Integration!
Show you are active on multiple social media platforms by integrating a twitter and word press blog in to your profile. This gives a clearer sense of who you are.
9. Use applications
LinkedIn offers several applications that you can add on to your profile. For example, if you are an aspiring journalist you can upload articles to your profile.
10. Be active
Create a name for yourself on LinkedIn. Be active on the site by joining groups and answering questions in the Q&A section - this is the interactive version of professional networking.
