Teaching Students about Online Professionalism

Many students appear to be continually connected to social media sites such as Facebook. Such social media sites can be pervasive in nature. The use of these sites through mobile devices often extends into the classroom, sometimes to the detriment of scheduled teaching activities. Further, many students do not seem to be aware of the negative effect that ill-considered information placed on social media sites can have towards their future employment. This chapter reviews the positives and negatives of social media as it relates to the future employability of students. Due to the changing nature of this field, the chapter is largely presented from practical experience, rather than a traditional academic research-led approach. Much of the focus is on the ways that students can present themselves online in a manner which should encourage employers to offer students jobs and placement opportunities. The chapter reviews a number of the major Websites where students should establish professional profiles. It also looks at the overall need for students to establish a professional presence online and show that they are a desirable employee. The chapter concludes by looking at the challenges involved with integrating the teaching of employability through social media into existing teaching. A number of research areas for further consideration are also presented.