Facebook as a Career Advancement

Most people, including and especially myself, are under the impression that Facebook is used as a profile to share all the crazy pictures from the weekend and vacations,  or simply to chat with friends.  Most of us turn to Facebook on our iPhones or blackberries when were bored, or on the bus ride to school just to read the gossip and information for the day.  So, given the way most of us use Facebook we can see how it can be portrayed as such a casual environment.  But the truth is....many of us may not have been aware of how professional, and useful Facebook can be.

Recently, and more commonly, Facebook is being used as an "online resume."  More business' are creating Facebook profiles as forms of advertisement, and employees are sharing their career accomplishments and interests all in one page.  As Zeke Camusio states in the article "Why Facebook and Business Networking Go Hand in Hand" Facebook has advanced and quickly became a powerful business networking medium. I have created an example of a professional Facebook page to show how it may be used below:

Profile photo: http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/pediatricgenetics/images/pediatric-genetics-woman.jpg                    

Other photos: http://www.dietitians.ca/Your-Health/Nutrition-Month/Nutrition-Month-2012/nutrition_month_colour_ENG.aspx?width=250&height=250, http://a5.mzstatic.com/us/r1000/003/Purple/46/cd/05/mzi.qmmbbbcp.png, https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA2DF0VfOC5Aj0fvclyeTtoZcbQwHuHxwUmN-gInXZYZ6IyF2BNmW7bg_8vycUgUixLCc56UTGPPDvP2Y21AUBrWmjgE7HRpru7is9QzRhK_uVWQpS06-D7JtBDuInB1hCjZodxgtQPQtW/s400/nutrition+month.jpg, http://www.campusdish.com/NR/rdonlyres/9ED1E085-63B5-4E9D-BE24-0FD72D526340/0/canada_food_guide_2.jpg

This page was created as an "online resume," or an extra source of documentation to pass on to potential employers.  Creating a professional page can help attract attention of those in the same industry as you, or to potentially be found for a job opportunity or research project.  I know most of you were probably under the impression that Facebook was all fun and games but I am now confident to say you were wrong!  

For another sample Facebook page and the opinion of a fellow ALES204 student click here.

Introduction

Hello,

My name is Bianca Cimino and I am currently in my third year of post-secondary education.  I am a Nutrition and Food Science major, and hope to become a registered dietician once graduated.  Soccer, as well as traveling are my favorite past times.  This summer I had the opportunity to experience the european culture in Italy, Spain, and France. After spending a month with my family in Italy, it quickly becomes obvious how important food is to the Italian culture.  This being said, I one day aspire to expand my nutrition knowledge in collaboration with the european culture.

                         My Family gathering in Italy - as you can see food is a MAJOR part of it! 

I am currently using a few forms of social media such as Facebook, Twitter, Skype, and just recently learning to use Blogger! I am currently not using any of these as a source of research or work, rather, to keep in touch with long distance family/friends, keep in touch with events and the lives of those close to me.  Though we have only just begun ALES 204, it is becoming evident how these forms of communication can be useful when relating to research or work. We can use things such as Twitter to expand client base or name, or to better get a message across to a large group. For example Linda Miner is a nutritionist from Vancouver who uses Twitter to send out nutrition newsletters and fun facts.  Also, blogging can be beneficial to get across an opinion or relay information in a more personal matter.  A fellow ALES 204 student with an interest similar to mine, nutrition, also using Blogger can be found here.

I am looking forward to continuing my formal nutrition studies - at the University, and also informal studies based on nutrition and food while traveling back to europe again this summer.  I hope to look more in depth into the mediterranean diet, and all the home-made foods that come along with it!

For more ALES 204 related assignments, and future nutrition posts keep visiting my blog!