The Importance of LinkedIn to Newly Qualified Assessors
What does social media have to do with my career as a newly qualified Assessor?
Good question. We recommend a LinkedIn account for all our newly qualified Assessors. Why? Because LinkedIn is a platform for professionals to connect, share knowledge, and take steps up in their career. I’m sure you’ve all heard that old adage: ‘It’s not what you know, it’s who you know’. LinkedIn allows you to make contact with the right people.
LinkedIn is the platform for professionals and there are many ways you can use it to build your career in assessment and even find your first job as an NVQ Assessor. In this post, we’ll be giving a few top tips on how to make the most of your LinkedIn account.
LinkedIn Groups
When you join a LinkedIn group, you are immediately connected to a network of others within the same industry, with the same interests, or attending the same event. This gives you common ground with strangers and license to connect with them for discussion. Many groups will host events, so you’ll even get to meet useful contacts in ‘real life’. Even better, such events often take place at locations such as bars and curry houses…not a bad way to break into the industry!
For NVQ Assessors, you might join groups such as:
- NVQ & Apprenticeship Assessors looking for work (5,287 members)
- RQF/End-point assessment/Vocational Qualifications Assessors, IQAs and EQAs (5,237 members)
- Freelance NVQ Assessors looking for new work (182 members)
- Assessor Training Jobs, News and Courses (404 members)
In these groups, you have the opportunity to gain useful information and advice, get notified of relevant job vacancies, and speak to other assessors.
LinkedIn Jobs
The LinkedIn platform hosts its own job site. Unlike traditional job sites, LinkedIn allows you to research the company and its employees much more thoroughly. This means you can make an informed decision before making an application. In other words, you can have a good old snoop. Similarly, the company can take a look at your work history and verified skills.
Direct messaging
If you have the premium version of LinkedIn (paid), then you have the added function of being able to send direct messages. This means you can get directly in touch with the relevant person within a company, even if job posts aren’t advertised. However, use this application sparingly – some people aren’t fans of unsolicited messages.
Your profile
Even if you don’t make use of the extra features that are available with LinkedIn and LinkedIn Premium, simply having an account puts you in the running for opportunities. Many employers use the LinkedIn platform to headhunt talent (as well as the odd person trying to get you to buy essential oils…!).
This means companies may contact you to invite you to submit applications for relevant jobs. Just make sure your profile is as complete as possible and shows a full work history. The more content you contribute to the site, the better – this shows your industry knowledge. It also goes a long way if you get former colleagues, friends, or relatives to verify your profile skills.
Brooks and Kirk are on LinkedIn!
Do you remember the list of useful LinkedIn Groups we gave at the beginning of this post? Well, one of those is ours! Join Assessor Training Jobs, News and Courses to keep up-to-date with everything that is happening in the world of assessment. You can also join our Facebook group for Assessors.
Of course, you can also get in touch with us directly to find out more about how to break into the world of assessment and start your new career. Our team of assessment experts are waiting to give you professional advice.
Steve is a Chartered Manager and a Fellow of the Chartered Management Institute.
He provides Educational Consultancy to the 19+ sector as well as being an Assessor, IQA, EPA and Digital Marketing Professional. When not doing any of these he finds time, every now and then, to write blogs and articles.