Abstract
Self Presentation is an aspect that every individual should possess and in presenting a professional presence online, a platform should be created for that practice. This is where the social platform LinkedIn and an institutionâs e-portfolio come into play. They serve as a way for individuals especially students still in the prime of their college career to practice professional presentation. My project serves as the epitome to do so successful and in a manner that can potentially lead to employment. We live in a society with very public platforms for the distribution and preservation of our personal image online. Social media affords us the opportunity to be front and center in our very own curated editorial spread. The way we interact with our families, our work persona and the various discourse communities we are associated with, all contribute different aspects of our personalities. However, we may question whether we should project our real personality online.
With ePortfolios, students can give employers and undergraduate/graduate schools a fuller, richer picture of themselves. They can include their essays from their courses; they can include course syllabi to explain the course content; they can add pictures and sounds to enlarge their audienceâs picture beyond the written word. An ePortfolio can essentially be used as a learning tool for self-presentation.
Online spaces or social media platforms centers around the presentation of self and impression management that users of the web want to portray in their online presence. Self-presentation refers to conveying oneself with the help of information or visuals that other people can view about a particular individual. In order to practice the effectiveness of self-presentation, Iâve decided to join the social platform of LinkedIn to produce an e-magazine for my peers to use as a guide so they too, can successfully present themselves online. Because I am a college student and college students alike are constantly making strides to obtain opportunities in their field of study, I believe LinkedIn is a great job-seeking tool used to present oneself professionally in hopes of getting employment. LinkedIn is not your average social media platform; it may look like Facebook but the content shared on the site is far more relevant and significant to landing that dream job. Students are constantly struggling to find employment and LinkedIn is a great way to start as long as they present themselves in a professional manner. Those who opt out of the LinkedIn route may find satisfaction in their e-portfolio where they can professionally present themselves by showcasing their academic work throughout their college career. With self-presentation comes strategies needed to be professional for both the real world and an online presence. Through utilizing my LinkedIn account a social platform to get ahead in the professional world, I have found there are specific attributes that are linked to not only a professional profile page but the fortune to make connections with the right people and gain opportunities that was once out of reach. With my e-magazine, students are invited inside to take a closer look at what it means to present themselves appropriately in a professional realm.
Below you can find:
E-Magazine of How to Present Oneself Professionally Online
and finally The Write Up