I decided to join linked in after a member of my SIG commented about some interesting discussions she had read on linked in surrounding my topic of Dance Injury.
I had been sceptical to join as I do not like posting personal information online and to have an interesting and professional profile it is recommended that you complete places of study and employment. Once I set up a basic profile I could see that I was able to manage all of the information and this gave me confidence to join groups and begin my networking on the site.
In a similar way, at the start of Module 1 I was sceptical about using Blogger but now have great confidence in interacting with others through blogs and SIGS. I have seen the benefits that joining a professional network can have particularly for employment opportunities, project research, and general discussions with others working in the Dance/Performing Arts sector.
Below is a link to my page. I plan to build up my professional profile through increasing my involvement in the social network.
Linked in
Had it not been for the BAPP course, I never would have stepped out of my comfort zone and joined the realm of networking. I will continue to improve my practice and develop as a professional by taking these steps in the future. I have been surprised by the influence networking has already had to my practice. I feel I have more knowledge, learnt new teaching skills and also recognised how important it is to keep learning. The course has encouraged me to find my real interests and has influenced decisions for my future. I am currently looking into Dance Therapy courses for after graduation and this may not have come to light had I decided not to further my education.
Hi Rebecca, how are you finding LinkedIn? It is a social networking platform that I too had previously not considered before starting this course. How are you finding it? Do you believe you have started to network in a greater variety of social groups? I must say, of all the performers I know, very few - if any - have a page on LinkedIn, choosing instead to promote themselves through Facebook. I do think that LinkedIn establishes a separate more professional persona as opposed to merely creating an alternative Facebook page. Where I am currently with my professional practice (full-time teaching assistant for Performing Arts in a secondary school) I do not feel any immediate pressure to create a LinkedIn profile, however I will not rule out freelance acting/teaching jobs in the future and as such, LinkedIn may be more appropriate to my needs then.
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