Here are just a few facts I’ve learned about LinkedIn over the past few weeks:

• Social networking accounts for one in every six minutes spent online
• 86% of companies will have used LinkedIn to recruit in 2011. Social media is becoming so much more than purely social; nowadays it’s a way to get yourself noticed, to get yourself up the employment ladder.
• The most overused buzzword on LinkedIn in the UK for 2011 is “creative”. This is closely followed by “motivated”. So even if you are both creative and motivated, try to think of a more creative imaginative way to say so. That will make you stand out from the creative and motivated crowd.
• The use of LinkedIn isn’t limited to any one genre of job. During the Christmas period, the LinkedIn team discovered seasonal employees such as turkey farmers, wrapping experts and Christmas tree farmers, all hoping to enhance their business through the use of the site.

So if you’re reading this because you’re beginning to think about your next steps, I strongly suggest that you get yourself on LinkedIn, if you haven’t already. Not only might you find your dream job on the site, but your dream job might actually find you.

Here are some top tips to enhance your career opportunities using LinkedIn from the team here at Edelman:

• Keep your LinkedIn profile up-to-date.  Remember to include your previous jobs and relevant experience; you want to prove you are right for the job!
• Match your skill set to the requirements of the industry which you are looking to join. Include relevant skills in your profile and status, as this will help employers find you.
• Set your LinkedIn profile so that others know that you are happy to receive offers for career opportunities, new ventures and job enquiries.
• Use the LinkedIn search tool to find people in industries that inspire you and don’t be afraid to send them an InMail or request an introduction.

• Monitoring for clients (any news stories mentioning the client or related to them)
• Watching parliamentary enquiries / debates and writing reports for clients with an interest in that subject area
• Hosting round table events
• Creating stakeholder lists (to invite clients to events, to set up meetings etc.)
• Conducting research into potential new clients

A few things that I learnt whilst in PA:

• Insight and knowledge of how Parliament and Government operates is very important. Parliamentary researchers are important influencers. They help MPs make decisions and often have parliamentary ambitions themselves.
• Numerous Peers have outrageously brilliant names!
• When organising a meeting/event with an MP, the closer to Westminster the better!
• DODs people is an INVALUABLE source of information!

The Public Affairs team at Edelman is one of the smallest within the London office, but they are an invaluable and respected cog in the workings of an all-encompassing PR agency. The clients are diverse, operating in sectors including energy, FMCG, retail, technology and property clients.
I had a great time during my rotation in Public Affairs, primarily due to my lovely colleagues, but also due to the knowledge that Iaccumulated during my five weeks there.

Having good experience or a great education is a great asset but you really must be vigilant in wanting to know how to apply it and be open to opportunities. I was a scientific researcher with limited experience in media before knowing that I wanted to go into PR. After my three month internship in the Healthcare department I had the fluke opportunity to go onto the graduate rotation programme which has certainly given me skills, contacts and an extra dash confidence.

So the rotations are officially over and all the graduates on the programme – as in Charlotte, Mary and I - have succeeded in receiving placements in our department of choice! Such a relief to know that it has all worked out for each of us and to actually sink our teeth into more permanent account work.

Although I didn’t question where I wanted to be placed in the end, I did feel drawn into the idea of what it might be like to continue working in some of the other departments. Knowing how things are in Edelman though, I am fairly certain there will be opportunities to work across departments regardless. I can’t emphasize how incredibly diverse the work was and now know it’s not just any global agency I want to work for, it’s Edelman.

Now to recap some of my takeaways  from the different departments:

• Everyone needs to incorporate a dose of digital into their daily activities. Spending time with the Spook team was a sure way to experience this. Doing first-hand online campaign activites and learning how to take advantage of  information and tools that are out there is a must.
• Act as a bridge to make change happen. there is no need to be complacent about appealing to the right people for the right reasons. My stint in public relations showed me how to be both effective and courteous in my approach as well as understand how issues impact locally.
• Work within your limits. As an industry, healthcare is highly regulated and doing PR in healthcare requires being mindful of what you’d like to what as opposed to what you can do. Challenging yet very rewarding.
• Being big can be a very good thing. There is definitely variety to be had doing PR over in corporate and finance spanning from global campaigns, corporate reputations, brand management, and working with financial groups. Also, there is a good chance that your friends or relatives will recognize the names of the clients you are working with, such as Rolls Royce, General Electric, Starbucks or UPS.

I am so pleased to have made a such a career change and to feel so sure of what I am doing now. Hands down I would recommend the graduate scheme, I cannot think of a more invigorating way to get such a variety of experience in such a short amount of time.

The crazy world of Twitter has taken over like never expected. I remember when it was first launched and thinking to myself “what is the point of this?!” and that “surely no one wants to know everyone’s thoughts all the time”. How more wrong could I have been. The phenomenon is here to stay, and working at Edelman and learning the importance in using the site, has reinforced that for me.

During my Technology placement I have been introduced to the very clever TweetLevel tool that was created right here in the genius Tech & Digital teams. For those who like me, were completely unfamiliar with this tool, it was created to measure four areas of importance with Twitter users. Influence, popularity, engagement and trust are the areas of measurement that TweetLevel helps to break down and understand for whichever user you want to test in the application. I won’t share with you what my level came out at, but I will say that I sure have my work cut out for me if I want to be considered “influential” in any way!

TweetLevel is just one example of the types of leading initiatives that come out of Edelman. In the four weeks I have now been with the company one trend sticks out the most and that is the constant push to be cutting-edge and leaders within our industry. Working in this environment helps to motivate and encourage you to break boundaries and think in an innovative way. If I use the example of Twitter, my attitude and thoughts towards this particular medium has significantly changed in the past few weeks. I am now wanting to ensure that my tweets are interesting and valuable snippets of knowledge, rather than the fact I’m glad it’s a Friday and it’s time to celebrate!

During our 9 month placement in the Graduate Scheme I will be highlighting more examples of the impressive and innovative practices that Edelman is reknowned for. My first bit of advice to future grads out there, who are looking to become involved with Edelman, is to get TWEETING! Test your TweetLevel score and then develop ways to improve it. Remember that ‘knowledge is power’ so the more knowledge you can send into the world wide web, the more power and influence you will start to have – in theory anyway! Have fun and good luck!

Check out more about TweetLevel @ http://tweetlevel.edelman.com/

Feel free to follow me on Twitter @listentomegs

Once the excitement of learning we had made it onto the graduate scheme began to settle, ‘first day’ nerves began to kick in. Now I’m sure anyone who’s spent time somewhere as an assistant or as the ‘work experience kid’ knows exactly how we were feeling as we joined our first departments. Knowing we were only with each team for just three weeks, we pondered what tedious tasks could potentially lay in wait… making tea round the clock, photocopying into the dark hours…

Surprisingly the answer is none! Whilst we’ve all done our fair share of media monitoring and media lists we’ve also had the opportunity to get really stuck into some exciting accounts and try our hands at a variety of the different tasks which make up the job.

And it’s not all about press releases! The last two months have really opened my eyes and imagination to the full potential of PR, despite having worked in an agency prior to Edelman!

With each new department comes a new language, a new perspective and a new set of drinking buddies at the bar. It’s no exaggeration to say that there’s a real sense of community here at Edelman and everyone makes you feel part of the team.

If you’re looking for a chance to get a foot (and a leg) through the PR door that strikes the right balance of training and on-the-job learning whilst sampling a taste of the many disciplines of PR, then this really is the place to do it!

In addition to the obvious benefits of free booze and food, we’ve enjoyed kick-starting our professional careers in Edelman’s brand new, rather swanky offices. Our jaws almost dropped when we first arrived back in September to be confronted with lots of stylish black leather, interesting features and acres of glass. I remember one visitor asking, ‘are these the offices of a new design company?’

In our new offices you’ll find not only a stylish bar where Friday’s free drinks await, but also a delicious subsidised café where free breakfast is held and various meeting rooms for all requirements (our twice-weekly subsidised massages are usually held in one of these rooms!) I’ve added a few photos of our new office to this blog post to provide you lovely prospective grads with a feel for our beautifully decorated working environment.

Moving on from Edelman’s snazzy interior design, we’ve also been enjoying the chance to rotate around Edelman’s main London departments as well as attending a jam-packed varied training schedule. These rotations and training sessions are set to mould us into well-rounded PR consultants by equipping us with all sorts of necessary media and PR basics and experience.

In fact, it’s the PR experiences, or rather the two client events I’ve attended so far, that I’ve personally found to be the most rewarding and interesting of all the perks of PR. A few weeks ago the Corporate Department kindly took me along to watch Lee Evans at the O2 in one of our client’s corporate boxes. Not only did I end up crying with laughter, but this occasion provided me with a fantastic opportunity to meet one of Edelman’s clients in a friendly, informal and fun atmosphere. Since starting work at this company I’ve started to realise that meeting clients and journalists in an informal social situation is paramount to establishing a strong and enjoyable working relationship.

This last point was reinforced when I attended the match100 event for match.com. This event was set up to celebrate the fact that match.com has made over 1bn connections on the site and in some cases allowed people to meet their future husband/wife who have subsequently gone on to have lots of beautiful ‘match-babies’. It was lovely to not only hear people’s interesting stories, but also gain the opportunity to meet the lovely Adele Parks and some journalists from top publications. Again, by fostering a fun and informal atmosphere, this event encouraged people to relax and engage in an interesting conversation about the client, which, essentially is at the heart of what PR hopes to achieve!

Best of luck with all your applications!