Be a Friend with LinkedIn – good for your ACCA career

I was never into internet. With just one email address and checking it only once a month, I was trying to avoid it. Why? I don’t exactly know why, but one big excuse was that at the time I was way too busy with my ACCA Studies.

One day my friend forces me to be more active on internet. “It will help you find ACCA Jobs and make new contacts. Plus as you’ve been a teacher, you can also impress others, make new connections and it would be good for your ACCA career”, he said in a mocking tone.

I gave it some thought when it came time to try it out I was confronted by numerous social websites such as LinkedIn and Facebook. Before I knew it, my fate was decided – I experienced a new career in digital media. No longer did I check my emails only once a month, I was reading them constantly, and now I am reaping the rewards of these technological advances. Sometimes I regret I should have started it earlier.

I decided for Facebook first. From time to time I'd get invites and messages. Often I ignored them, or put them off for another day. Since Facebook seemed more fun, with its photos and games and fan pages, I spent much more time there, accumulating more than 300 "friends," revising my bio several times, and posting various article links.

Then 3 months ago I started covering leadership and ACCA careers, and every career expert I talked with, from coaches to headhunters to campus recruiters, told me that LinkedIn was an essential job search tool. Great for your ACCA career! A LinkedIn profile can serve as a passive job magnet, since accountancy recruiters and hiring managers use the site as a gold mine for locating ACCA qualified candidates.

I met ACCA students and ACCA professionals alike, who shared their experience about how they get their jobs through Linkedln. “It’s a new experience. I wrote an article in a local newspaper and a newspaper editor, after going through my article hired me in a permanent position”, told one of my LinkedIn connections.

So my best advice for ACCA students (after their June attempt) is to set up a profile on LinkedIn and update their CVs accordingly.

Think professionally and act in a professional manner with LinkedIn. Facebook is a different kettle of fish, more fun and perhaps more informal. But we’re talking about a professional community for professionals read by the professionals. And potential accounting employers won’t be pleased with stupid status updates or your teenage adventures. (this is what they might see with your Facebook page – think before you act or show your Facebook profile publically!) So look out for potential opportunities and do not give yourself any excuse (like I did) not to use these social networking websites. Who knows you might be getting a new ACCA career while making new acquaintances on Linkedln.

LinkedIn is not the only place to search for ACCA Jobs, or to upload your accountancy CV. Try specialist accountancy job boards, make sure you can upload your CV for free, ensure that you are allowed to apply for jobs for free, and see if they offer free tips and techniques to help you with your chances. All of these can be found at the specialist accountancy and finance job board, at http://www.TonySurridge.co.uk/job-search