With so much of our social and professional interaction taking place over the internet, it is more important than ever to deliberately and conscientiously build your online brand. Bechtel and bp partnered during the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) WE20 virtual conference to provide attendees with tips and best practices to manage their digital profiles. On November 5, Bechtel Social Media Manager Christen McCluney joined bp recruiter Stacy Zeller to present a breakout session titled "Brand you – in a virtual world" to conference attendees.
The hour-long session included tips for organizing an online presence that supports your professional and personal interests. Attendees learned how to create memorable profile headlines that go beyond the job title to convey information - like areas of interest or expertise - that can get them noticed by employers and recruiters.
Christen and Stacy also discussed how to display and leverage previous work samples, school projects, or extracurricular activities to help your profile stand out and provided an in-depth checklist for building a robust LinkedIn profile.
"Participating in this panel for SWE was an excellent opportunity to offer tips on personal branding and partner with one of our customers, bp. We came together to highlight how students and established professionals could differentiate themselves and use social media as a tool to expand their careers," said McCluney. "Well thought out profiles allow others to see your potential and depth of talent - especially in our current world when face-to-face interactions are restricted."
The workshop ended with Q&A where attendees asked for and received advice on topics ranging from getting recognized for international jobs to using advanced features of LinkedIn like stories.
This year's WE20 conference was entirely virtual, with hundreds of events hosted online from around the world during the two-week conference and career fair. Founded in 1950, the Society of Women Engineers is an international not-for-profit educational and service organization. SWE is the leading advocate and catalyst for change for women in engineering and technology, with over 40,000 members and 60 global affiliate groups worldwide.
To learn more about the Society of Women Engineers, visit their website at www.swe.org