Building Networks on LinkedIn

I am a newcomer to LinkedIn and have to say I was a bit sceptical about how useful it would be. I have been amazed. I thought carefully about my profile before I published it on LinkedIn - it's worth taking some care just as you would with a job application - this is essentially an advert for you and your skills. I then started to connect with people and build my network of colleagues past and present. Past colleagues are useful because they can endorse your skills and recommend you - all this information gets added to your profile boosting your attractiveness to any employer out there who might just be looking for someone like you.

OK, so you're wondering what on earth I'm talking about. Take a look at the following site: What is LinkedIn? And watch this video (it's quite long at nearly 6 minutes, but it's worth it, he gives a really good description of LinkedIn with a great accent):

We have two LinkedIn Groups in the Department of Real Estate and Construction. These are open to all students and graduates from our degree programmes (postgraduate and undergraduate). Joining LinkedIn and one of our groups will help you:

• Build a professional network
• Maintain contact with classmates and see what they're up to
• Be kept up-to-date with job vacancies, placements and internships (we post details of these on our LinkedIn Groups as employers send them to us)
• Take part in discussions or ask questions of the Group (useful if you need to find something out for work)
• Feed back ideas and suggestions to the Department (we have used the Real Estate Group to ask for opinions on recent MSc programme developments)
• Share experiences of getting a job and the world of work
• Build and develop your online profile to get you noticed (a lot of employers use LinkedIn to seek out potential employees and also to check you out if you apply to them)

If you want to know more about the ins and outs of building your social network take a look at this useful article in The Guardian.

And finally, now that you've created your profile on LinkedIn, join one of our Groups:

Real Estate

Construction Management, QS and Project Management