This area is all about the capacity to create a positive digital identity and reputation not just in your studies, but for your future professional career. Identifying digital tools to meet personal goals (such as health and fitness) and to participate in social and community activities, whilst being mindful of your personal safety and responsibility in the digital environment, but also maintaining an appropriate work-life balance when working online.
Managing your web presence
Whenever we post something on social media, we leave a digital footprint, which others can view and make assumptions about who we are. This is not a problem when we share things privately with our friends and families, but when you start looking for a job anything that is shared publicly about you, by yourself or others can be viewed by future employers. So, the way we utilise our social media presence can impact our employability. Have a look at this guide to using social media for job hunting to learn the digital skills required to manage your online presence to make sure your profile is professional, and to use social media as a tool to get yourself noticed for the right reasons.
Keeping your Personal Data Safe
It is important that you understand how digital data is collected and used by different systems, and how to keep your personal data safe. As a student at Swansea, you must adhere to the Digital Technology Use policy when using university computers or logging into the network and system tools. Look at the guide on information security, for advice on Password security, the importance of backing up your work, keeping software up to date and tips to avoid Malware attacks on your device. Learning these key digital skills it something that will not only help you keep your data safe whist at university, but these are skills that you can forward into your personal life and future careers.
Behaving Safely and Respectfully Online
With a lot of teaching now taking place using online webinars, it is important that you understand what is expected of you in a webinar and how to make sure that you and your peers get the most out of the session. This webinar conduct guide will help you make the most of this form of instruction and collaboration.
Writing a CV
Don't leave creating a CV until you are applying for your first job - start today. By creating a digital CV, you will be able to keep it up to date quickly and easily as your qualifications and experiences grow. Find out what information you should put in your CV and how to format the digital document in this Swansea Employability Academy guide to creating a CV.
LinkedIn is an online social network designed to link people professionally. It acts as an active online CV which allows you to share your skills and experiences with others. If you would like to learn more, the Swansea Employability Academy has a guide on setting up a LinkedIn profile which you will find useful.
Shortlist.me
Video interviews are now being used by employers across a range of sectors as it increases flexibility for both the candidate and recruiter. Shortlist.me is an interview preparation platform which allows students to practice interviews in a video format and receive feedback through artificial intelligence and self-refection. These employer-accredited interviews give students a feel of what companies are really looking for and what they may experience when applying for internships or graduate roles.
The Swansea Employability Academy Career Development Course
The SEA Career Development Course is an online, self-directed course that can help you harness digital tools to market yourself to employers. It has particularly helpful modules on creating a CV digitally, and using LinkedIn to grow your network and promote yourself. Enrol on Canvas via this link and start today!
Reducing Eye Strain
Using a screen for work and entertainment is becoming unavoidably more common place, and with prolonged use of computers comes the increased impact of eye strain. It is therefore important to know how you can take care of your eyes whilst you work. You can read more about how to do this by reading this blog post.