Using LinkedIn

LinkedIn profile

The importance of LinkedIn

LinkedIn is a really important profile to posses as it allows you to make contact with and be viewed by professionals and businesses within you chosen area of the market. It is a professional online document that allows you to showcase your own personal style as an artist with the skills that you have for succession within the industry. to me on the hardest things about this network is actually making it, it was really easy to place in all my detail and so forth to actually create my profile the thing that I found a challenge was the ability to add to my connections as I had no idea of how this program worked being do new to the website (I didn’t know it existed before the class) but when I figured it out (after time) it was simple to use and apply to make myself look as professional as possible while helping establish myself in the industry, making it one of the most important thing to have as it is one of the elements that can move you forward and gain you opportunities and a job in the industry that only wants the best.

My profile

In my profile in LinkedIn I have filled out only certain details that I feel are relevant for the professional viewer to see taking into consideration the different comments made within my class about the element that I need to include and the way to promote myself within my profile here is a summary of my profile:

·         Title page – in my title page I have placed information about who I am and my current position in the fashion textile world as being a student over time this will change dependent on where I end up at the current moment in my career path, on the background of this header I have place one of my more successful digital design from my past collection so that the viewer can see what style or work I produce making my profile not just information based but have something supporting what I say in my profile allowing them to build up a visual image of me as a designer as well as a knowledgeable one. The photo of me on my profile I feel needs to be improved as it is small and even though it’s a photo of my face it is not very flattering at all so doesn’t send out this positive image as well as a lighter bigger photo would produce.

·         Summary – in my summary I have written about my style as a designer and the different skills I have that help me do the work I do. When looking at different profiles there was not a set way to write it as everyone’s had a different way of writing about themselves to promote them, therefore I decides to write like I would normally do about someone else if I was reviewing them as by doing this I am stepping away from myself somewhat meaning that it was more comfortable to write about myself as it doesn’t feel like I’m boasting about myself as I’m detached. the way it is in third person also makes it sound more professional as the language is not so personal, it also works well due to the way that it makes my name one of the key words used so it almost places a trend of my name within the profile to grab people attention. Overall I feel though it could be better but the more I do as a designer the more I’ll be able to talk about myself and skills and therefore naturally develop my profile page within time from this basic original one where I do not have a lot to talk about.

·         Experience - I haven’t got a lot of experience but I have placed in what I have done on my portfolio with the most relevant one at the top, in these experience examples I have placed a brief summary with the trend in the word print (which is also in my summary) to draw attention to this aspect I want to go into within the market therefore stating that I do have experience in my chosen path. But this really needs to be build up as it just looks poor compared to others therefore it really highlights the need for me to gain more experience resulting in it being added to the list of things I need to do within my near future to help me in getting into the industry.

·         Education – for my education I have placed on it that I am a current student and some of the things that I am going to study within the course so they are able to see some of the different elements and skills I will gain within this part of my education. I have also placed on my HND and the items I did in this especially the printed aspect and the more textile passed techniques I used to say that I am knowledgeable about the textile processes needed and frequently used. What I didn’t want to do is add my other educations and achievements as I feel that they are void now that I have achieved more and developed more then what these other qualifications show and therefore are not really relevant anymore. One of the things that I am unsure of is the way that within my HND I had to do a lot of different projects to add together for that one qualification, each module was for a different element with some being about print while others being about fabric manipulation or embroidery and we were given grades for each, therefore I am unsure if I should chose some to write about in detail to show the viewer I have experience in different areas of the market, but in the end I have decided to leave this off the original profile but in the development of my profile in the future I may add this on for the reason stated above dependent if this is relevant for me as a designer in the future as I develop.

·         additional information – in the added information section I have added my interests and items that are not necessarily needed in a professional document but that do say something about me and my personality. By doing this I feel that it opens myself up as not just this design robot but as a human that is not perfect as she loves gossip and the such, It also makes me look more rounded as a person as it stated that I am not so self contained but I am interested in other things as well. in the future of my portfolio this section may not be relevant as it is very personal to me meaning that I may take it out, it all depends really on what I feel about it then as someone that has developed into a designer and not just a student who aims to crack the market.

·         Volunteer work – volunteer work is one of the areas that I do have a lot of experience in so am able to write loads about, the only thing that I am concerned about is the way that my volunteer work has nothing to do with the fashion textile industry. but overall my volunteer work showcases that me as an individual an trust worth in what I do and responsible and therefore build up a positive professional image of myself that I feel doesn’t really need any improvements within. The only thing that I may add is some work within the industry to make it more in keeping but I need to obtain that first making it something I could look into within the future to make myself look better on this area.

·         Awards – for my awards section I have placed the award I achieved within my HND using empathizes on my key word of print to gain recognition of the way that I was able to do well in the chosen path of the career I want to go down. On my CV I have place some other achievements that I have done but due to the way that I didn’t gain any certificated documents for this I kept it of my profile as this may not be as important as the one I have named. To develop this area more I really need to get some more awards so that I can add to this area therefore over the holidays (due to the way that I will have more time to put toward it) I aim to look into little projects I can do within fashion textiles to build up my achievements so that a potential employer or a viewer can see that I am moving forward in the market and am involved and current and therefore meaning that I may be more appealing to them.

·         Language – languages is one of the area that I am lacking in as I only speak one so compared to others that are very involved in different languages and therefore am at disadvantage as this is a global network so I would not suitable in some locations, but the fact is that I am very bad at learning new languages so it would be nearly impossible for me to say that I’ll learn a new language to make me more appealing as that just would not happen, therefore in this are I’m just doing to leave it as a disadvantage for now.

·         Skills – the skills section is really key as it showcases all the things that you can do therefore you need to add all of the elements that you can do relating to the area that you want to build your career within. People can then endorse your skills linking you to them and to the industry needs as well. at the moment I have not go any endorsements due to the way that I only have found out how to add people so have not got all of my replies back so have limited amount of connections that I will develop more to build up a good network of professionals within my profile for me to link back to.

·         Connections – again connections is another thing that I need to work on as I have invited people to connect to my page but have yet to yield a response from them, but I know it is a major part of this documentation so I will keep on with it so I can make a good broad network of people that are within my chosen aspect of the market that can take a look at what I do and promote myself further to look positive and developed as a designer.

·         Following – the people you follow can really help you get an insight about different items that may affect me as an upcoming designer and someone working within the fashion textile and business market. Therefore I will keep on following different people and groups that will be influence to me as they will be able to help me in my development as a designer. The people I follow as well will help me gain attention from others as they will be able to connect to me if they have similarities and identify with myself, therefore link with me on a personal level as a designer.