Why is it important to make professional connections online – especially when working remotely? How might this be achieved effectively?

Centre for Social Informatics PhD student Marina Milosheva addresses these questions in a new article for The Conversation.

In the article, Marina draws on her own ESRC/Skills Development Scotland (SDS)-funded doctoral research on career information literacy, and that of our PhD graduate John Mowbray on the role of networking and social media tools during job search (also funded by the ESRC and SDS). She explains that networking underpins two crucial aspects of professional advancement – employability and self-directed career advancement – and that effective online networking depends on researching the communities for engagement, approaching the task in a strategic manner, and adopting proactive behaviours.

The article is a contribution to The Conversation‘s Quarter Life series on issues that affect those in their twenties and thirties.