How to build and use your online network

Have a think about your current online connections. How many of these people do you speak to on a daily, weekly or monthly basis? How many of these people do you think you could reach out to when you have an idea or news to share?

If you’re not sure of the answer to these questions you may want to rethink how you build your online network and whether you can use it in a more effective way moving forwards in order to help you reach your aims and goals.

Step 1: Building your network

The first step is building your online network. Here are some quick tips to help you get started:

Build your network the right way

Think about which platforms you want to use and the best ways to connect with people on them. Remember, look for quality over quantity. One great connection with an employer at an organisation you would love to work for is more meaningful than 100 connections with fake accounts.

Develop a reputation for being helpful

Offering support and advice is a great way to show your passion, knowledge and engagement with a certain topic. Your actions here may prove useful when looking for work, allowing you to evidence a time you’ve helped someone overcome a problem or challenge.

Promote yourself

Use your online network as a platform to show your skills and highlight what you can offer to an individual, group or employer. Don’t be afraid to share your strengths and accomplishments.

You can also find opportunities to learn from those within your network and develop your core skills further, helping to improve your employability in your free time.

Remember to be cautious with who you connect with online

There is nothing wrong with being selective in who you accept or decline. You can always pause before making a decision and ask for advice from your people in your support network, a family member or friend perhaps, on whether you should allow this person into your online network.

Step 2: Using your network

Now you have started to build your network, think about ways you can effectively engage with and use the connections you have made. It may be helpful to categorise your online network into two groups: informal and formal.

Informal online networks

These are people that you know outside of school/work and can include family or friends, members of clubs or teams you are in, people who volunteer with you, or an online community you engage with. You can ask members of your informal network if they know anyone who is currently hiring, how they got their job, and advice on how best to look for jobs in their line of work.

Formal online networks

These are people that you know on a professional level and can include people you have met at career fairs and events, university open days, during a part-time job, mentoring programmes and so on. You can ask members of this formal network if they have advice for someone in your position, if they know any opportunities that are coming up in their company that you could apply for, and how you can gain further insight related to their role or sector. These relationships may take more time and effort to build so be prepared to put in the work and show a genuine interest in the person behind the account. 

So, what now?

The activities below have all been designed to help you get fully ready to take your next steps - whatever pathway you choose to take. Each set of activities ranges from a short activity which should take no more than 30 minutes, through to portfolio activities, which are longer, project-based tasks. The more time you spend on each activity, the more you'll get out of it, but you should be able to find something each week to fit into your schedule.

Why not start with the short activity first and then work your way through the remaining activities until you’ve completed them all?

Short activity

Research the social media presence of three people that you admire

• Try to pick a variety of different people (e.g., someone who runs an independent business from home, a local business owner with a premises in your area, and someone who runs a large corporate business, for example).

• Find the differences between how they use social media including what they post about, how they engage with followers and what their goal is in using their platform.

This should help you start to think about how and why people use online platforms to network and how you may start to do the same in a way advantageous to you.

Main activity

Make a list of the online platforms that you currently use to communicate with people.

If you don’t use many, or any at all, pick platforms that you would like to use.

• Research the main purpose of each platform, and make a list of its advantages and limitations.

• Decide the most appropriate platforms for professional use, and the most appropriate platforms for personal use.

• You might decide to use one platform for both personal and professional use, but if the platform us public, you'll need to ensure that anything you post is appropriate and you're completely happy for future employers to read or see.

It is usually a good idea to set your personal account to 'private' and be selective in who you share content with or have as a follower.

• If you don't already have one, follow the tips in the Portfolio activity, and create a professional account which is public and focused on networking and your career goals.

Portfolio

Think about the online platform that will best help you in your future career. For example, a journalist may enjoy keeping up with current events on Twitter, whilst a designer would want to look for new trends on Instagram.

• Build a draft online profile for that platform.
• Think about would appeal to future employers, clients, colleagues, etc., and how you would make a good impression.
• Consider images, bios, and the kind of content you would want to share that would make up your digital history, as well as the types of people or profiles you would want to follow.

This type of planning will allow you to use your time online more productively, in a way that enhances your career prospects rather than distracts from your goals/work.

PSHE lesson

Split the class into small groups and assign each group a different character with different goals. (For example, 'This is Chloe. She loves cooking for her family and wants to own her own cafe one day. This is David. He wants to train to be an electrician.')

• Each group should work together to decide which platform(s) would be most useful for their character and how they would use them to achieve their goals.

• They should then present their ideas back to the class. (E.g., Chloe should use Instagram to post photos of the food she makes, and post cooking tutorials on TikTok.)

As an extension, ask students to think about the qualifications or training that their character would need to get to where they want. For example, Chloe could be a self-taught chef, or she could look into hospitality apprenticeships and eventually be self-employed. This will encourage students to think about the different routes that people can take to enter a chosen profession.