The Office of Career Services on Thursday May 28, 2020 hosted a Career Webinar session for students on how “The power of Digital platforms for today’s job seeker” from 2.00 – 4.00pm. The webinar focused on online learning and using LinkedIn to position yourself in the job market.

The guests for this session was Kevin Oywa, the Production Manager and Brian Amani, Employer Brand Executive at Unilever Kenya.

Kevin started off his presentation by encouraging students to have a LinkedIn profile as they slowly transition to the job market. He said that “you can use LinkedIn to get yourself over the edge”. To optimize your LinkedIn profile, you need to

  1. Add all genuine certifications and this includes free online certifications.
  2. Interact with industry champions in your area of interest.
  3. Create top awareness about your existence on the platform by contributing to conversations of interest
  4. Updating your profile every so often when you have a new milestone to update
  5. Following as many companies as possible in your line of interest.

For one to optimize on the opportunities digital platforms bring, Kevin emphasized that students must know the type of learners that they are. There are four types of learners highlighted and these include:

  1. Visual learners – prefer to take in information using charts, maps, graphs, diagrams, and more. Using images, shapes, patterns and other visual aids to explain concepts and ideas is the best way to reach a visual learner
  2. Auditory Learner – This learning style describes students who learn best when information is heard or spoken. They benefit from lectures, group discussion, and other strategies that involve talking things through.
  3. Read/Write Learner – Students who have a reading/writing preference prefer information to be presented using words. They love to read and perform well on written assignments such as stories or book reports.
  4. Tactile learner – this type of learner learns best when they can use tactile experiences and carry out a physical activity to practice applying new information.

After identifying the type of learner that you are, then it will be easier to get the most out of online learning platforms such as LinkedIn Learning; Udemy, Skillshare and Coursera.

In his presentation, Kevin indicated that LinkedIn Learning offers over 1,000 business courses on diverse topics that are relevant to current working place dynamics and is an excellent platform for working professionals looking to keep their skills up-to-date. The platform also offers certifications that you can add to your LinkedIn profile, showcasing your expertise and improving your online resume.

Udemy on the other had offers access to over 150,000 courses (taught in over 65 languages) in a wide range of subjects. Udemy is a massive repository of online courses, with topics ranging widely on development, business, finance, IT, office productivity, personal development, design, marketing, photography, health, music and teaching and academics. Each one is created and managed by the instructor. The platform also gives students certificates of completion at the end.

Finally, Coursera is an online learning platform that can give students access to academic courses and can even lead to a University degree, for less than the typical cost of attending such courses or programs in person. Topics range widely, including subjects like arts and humanities, math and logic, I.T., languages and beyond from over 200 universities and companies, including Yale, Google and the University of Pennsylvania

In concluding his presentation, Kevin pointed out some of the advantages of tapping into online learning platforms which include the leeway to arrange your schedules, Online courses prove a more affordable option than traditional ones.

This webinar session brought out the importance of online learning to build new skills in your career. Clearly, online learning is the future and will undoubtedly replace land-based learning. Mobile platforms have given access to more people to benefit from online learning, and this has created a huge data, then machine learning has given personalized solutions to the course content with using the big data.

Brian informed students about the opportunities available at Unilever for them including the Unilever Leadership Internship Program, Unilever Future Leaders Program and the Idea Trophy program. Students are encouraged to explore these opportunities on the Unilever website and apply for the programs when open.

The Office of Career Services appreciates the career advice and knowledge passed on to the students by Kevin and Brian both who are alumni from the University of Nairobi giving back to their alma mater.