Can your PLN be used to help professional development post-course?

My PLN can certainly be used to help with my professional development post-course. A prime example of this is that I’m doing a co-op in the spring, and my professional social media profiles will certainly help me with networking and staying connected when I return to school. This ties in to the interview with Amber, where she mentioned that having an open mind when meeting new people can allow you to be exposed to new forms of teaching or new opportunities, and my situation is a great example of how this is possible: by staying connected with people I meet in my co-op semester, I’m certain it will be easier to find my next co-op and eventually a job post-undergrad.

 

Can your PLN be relied on to open professional opportunities and on which platform does your emerging expertise get good exposure?

I would certainly rely on my professional PLN, but only to a certain extent. With the ability to converse with head-hunters and recruiters on LinkedIn, many doors can be opened simply by being active and having a properly filled out profile. I have actually been offered interviews that have led to job offers simply by having the “looking for opportunities” button selected on LinkedIn. In contrast, I would say that platforms such as Twitter are great for maintaining contacts and staying up to date on current events within one’s professional circle but lacks in the rigidity of profiling that LinkedIn offers.

 

Can you leverage your PLN in future endeavours?

I certainly can (and have previously) used my PLN as leverage to find jobs. For example, I’ve just recently received a co-op job offer from Scotty Manufacturing, which is a local company specializing in downriggers and firefighting equipment. This opportunity would never have presented itself if not for my PLN, as I reached out to a family friend that owns the company to see if they had any positions open. They didn’t actually have any positions, but they created one for me, and I can almost guarantee that this would never have happened if I didn’t use my PLN as leverage.

For a less personal perspective, the globalization of media has led to internationality of job prospects, allowing for many different people with different backgrounds that may have never been possible previously due to geographical challenges (Del Guidice, 2014). An example of this is my cousin’s team at Adobe, who comprises of seven people working remotely from four countries, all offering varying perspectives and ideas. This would never have been possible if not for PLN’s on platforms like LinkedIn either, as these relationships would have never been formed.

With consideration to the reading and video interview, how do you ensure that you expand your PLN via social media platforms into spaces that may be outside of your comfort zone?

I really liked when Amber was saying how she likes to align herself with people that challenge her, which allows her to grow from criticism, which is outside most people’s comfort zone. This allows for huge leaps of growth within a professional setting, but at the cost of comfort, which I would consider to be a variable. I would absolutely say that it is imperative to push one’s comfort zone, as that often leads to new opportunities and new growth that could’ve been previously unimaginable.

 

References:

Del Giudice M. (2014) From Information Society to Network Society: The Challenge. In: Social Media and Emerging Economies. SpringerBriefs in Business. Springer, Cham. https://doi-org.ezproxy.library.uvic.ca/10.1007/978-3-319-02490-5_5

Miller J. (2020) EDCI 338 A01- Amber Glauser. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RiWaXNfnHAg&feature=youtu.be