Current conclusions regarding social media

Social media is a fascinating subject. There are numerous websites, blogs, journals and other resources in the online community to discover information regarding social media and its relatively recent impact on organizations, employees and online presence. At the beginning of this study, I began by asking myself several questions:

How and to what extent do HR departments and professionals screen employees before hiring by searching and examining their online presence?

Preliminary conclusions: I have spoken to about 10 different employers by mouth and Twitter… about half said they check out social networks either before or after an interview. Depending on my time, it might be interesting to look at several different fields to see if this changes. I have found multiple articles on online presence, but not published data on specifically on how often it is used by employers to screen.

Additional conclusions:

Thanks to Lindsay Olsen at the Ladders.com, I was able to find some interesting statistics regarding this:

• 22% of hiring managers use social networks to research profiles (+11% from 2006)
• 34% of hiring managers dismissed a candidate based on what they found (out of the 22%)
• 24% of hiring managers found information that was used to hire a candidate
• 77% of recruiters use search engines to learn more about candidates
• 35% have eliminated a candidate from consideration based on the information uncovered online
• 16% of executives found information they fear if seen could eliminate them from consideration of a new job.

Googling a candidate’s name to see what comes up in the search was one of the most frequent items that I came across in researching this question. Job seekers should occasionally Google their own name to monitor what “surfaces” when this is done. If anything negative is found, the candidate should contact the website and ask that it be removed.

What do they look for?

Preliminary conclusions: The employers that I talked to said that they look at the information posted by the potential employee, pictures, and content to judge professionalism.

Additional conclusions: Lindsay Olsen’s information shared some highlights on this as well:

• 41% of candidates posted information about them drinking or using drugs
• 40% of candidates posted provocative or inappropriate photographs or information
• 29% of candidates had poor communication skills
• 48% of candidate backgrounds supported their qualifications for the job
• 43% of candidates had great communication skills
• 40% of candidates were a good fit for the company’s culture.

How many business organizations and what kinds of business organizations practice this?

Conclusions: This is one area that never quite developed. I did not come across many defining lines among industries that said this industry participates, this one doesn’t. This leads me to believe that all industries are in some way, shape, or form, jumping on the social media bandwagon. Because the involvement of social media is so great, I would imagine that it is affecting all industries.

How can social media be used as a tool to enhance one’s job application, professional career and networking abilities?

Conclusions: Absolutely! By engaging in the constructive use of social media, one can put themselves at an advantage by learning how to communicate in new, innovative ways. With work and diligence, these skills can be honed and can greatly enhance networking abilities and career advancement. In addition there are new positions being created everyday to engage and manage social media as well as develop new social media communities. Because of the social media boom, or what is also referred to as the development of Web 2.0, the nature of business and organizational communication is changing. By being familiar and skilled at working with social media, professionals are able to tackle a new way to communication with consumers and clients.

What does a professional online presence consist of?

Preliminary conclusions:
    Establishing a professional, clean, online presence can make one more versatile in the job market for several reasons. Social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, PROpen Mic and LinkedIn offer the opportunity to connect with professionals in your field. You can also connect visually through friends and friends of friends, one can ask questions, learn about job openings, etc.

Having recently joined Twitter, I have seen many job openings posted just since I joined. On Twitter, the content of postings has a lot to do with how the site functions as a tool. If one posts, say, what they’ve eaten, where they’ve gone, or some other unnecessary detail. This isn’t really using Twitter to an advantage. However, by responding with educated thoughts, a user can offer succinct opinions and share valuable information with a easily reachable target audience. The user can also “follow” other users and gain information this way. Many users post articles and information about topics relevant to a field, and users can also search by keyword.

I have not found very much information on Facebook as a professional tool, but have heard more about it as a tool to “research” potential employees. Although users can join groups associated with their company, post job history and education info, and publicly advertise, I have found that it is used more as a friendly social networking site and less used for professional networking. LinkedIn, however, is primarily for posting professional information. Users of  LinkedIn can connect with other users resulting in a professional network that can be reviewed visually. On Facebook, one can create groups to separate different types of “friends”, but those “friends” can be from any area of one’s life.

Also in researching these sites, I found the site called VisualCV.com where one can publish their Resume or C.V. as well as work samples, visual images, audio and video samples, etc. All of these components are linked on a site with a personalized web address which can be published on various social networks and exists online for employers to review. Personally, I think it’s brilliant and competitive and should be a requirement of colleges and universities. Documents from many programs can be uploaded to an online portfolio, and the visual CV can be linked to a number of different social networking sites including Facebook, LinkedIn, Myspace, and Twitter. It can also be downloaded and exported as a PDF to be printed or e-mailed. According to their website:

“A VisualCV is an Internet-based, multimedia resume that provides a comprehensive picture of you professionally and allows you to stand out from the crowd.”

Additional conclusions: When I initially began this project, I pictured online presence as an entirely personal thing. However, when I began researching, I realized (as more of a “Duh!” moment than an “Aha!” one) that businesses and organizations are also striving to develop effective, successful online presences as well. There are lots of websites out there with encouraging lists, tips, and recommendations on how to develop and maintain an effective online presence. Some common themes I found are:

• Work at it. Establishing profiles, developing websites, maintaining blogs, tweeting, and posting are not a onetime deal. They are in constant need of updating and management.
• Analyze and appeal to your audience. Without losing the essence of what you and/or your organization represent, appeal to your audience through words and visuals, by promoting other professionals like you , and staying on top of new information that affects your career and industry.
• Stay positive. This rule applies especially to job seekers and potential new employees. Blogging about employers- especially negatively is dangerous territory. The only people who get away with this are those that already get paid to do so.

In addition to the themes above, I have also published multiple blog posts regarding the development of online presence. One of my favorites is the 19 Presence Management Chores You COULD Do Every Day by Chris Brogan, which I plan to begin working on starting tomorrow.

 What are the effects of social media as a screening tool on college students and recent graduates?

Preliminary conclusions: Social Media is a quickly growing industry and there are professionals needed to run it and keep companies current on the various social networks and social media sites. Many companies have hired professionals simply to improve their online presence. Since they basically offer a way to conduct free advertising, companies can harness this by appointing a position to use social media to their benefit. Potential employers who are competing in a technical, global market realize this. By enhancing your abilities to use social media, and knowing how to effectively use it, one can boost their job application and resume.

Social Media is also being referred to by some as a “bandwagon”, but it does have its advantages. I can definitely see how it could be huge cost in inefficiency by being abused by employees who have access to it during the day. It also has the capability to hurt one’s reputation by the “wrong” material being posted. However, I feel that if it is used wisely, it offers potential employees, current employees, and companies a great way to expand their outreach and receive feedback in a global economy.

Additional conclusions: According to an article by Dan Schawbel in Business Week Online, “72% of companies plan to invest more in recruiting through social networks”. This means that recent college graduates should be actively developing their online presence, monitoring their current one, and deleting all of those party pictures from Facebook, or at least making them visible only to select persons. I saw an article on TechCrunch yesterday where Facebook is now the 4^th largest site in the world having grown in the last year by 157%! Amazing. I can remember in about 2004? 2005? When I was first hearing about it. In the month of June alone, it had 77 million unique visitors. Schawbel also offers tips to job seekers regarding each of the major social networking sites, and the tips seem to be geared towards younger users.

In addition to those initial questions, I looked at and blogged about research regarding:

1. Social media as an HR tool, how it is used in employee recruiting and its impact on hiring and firing practices.
2. The development and establishment of social media policy in the corporate environment
3. The developing and changing role of social media in public relations
4. Professional online identities and personal branding, as well as online branding for organizations

The amount of information that I have reviewed over the last five weeks is enough to make one’s head spin, and I feel like I have only scratched the surface. There is still so much more information out there; I look forward to my continued learning about social media and its impact on society.

The 6 P’s of Online Branding

Another networking site, The Ladders, which claims to be “the world’s largest community catering exclusively to the $100k+ job market”, featured “The 6 P’s of Online Branding” by Kirsten Dixson and William Arruda in its Career Advice section.

After reading through the tips given by Dixson and Arruda, I had several more sites to check out and things to learn. I found it to be thorough, enlightening, and easy to remember because of the ‘Ps’. The article gives six suggestions for building your online brand, which of course, all begin with the letter ‘P’:

Publishing
Write articles or whitepapers, and get them published in online publications that your target audience reads. Your online profile will be even better if these publications are highly ranked in Google, Yahoo or MSN. You can also submit articles to article banks to have them syndicated.

Posting
If you’ve ever purchased a book from Amazon.com or BarnesandNoble.com, you can post a book review on these websites. It’s key to review books that are relevant to your area of expertise. Off-topic choices may confuse the perception of your online personal brand. Even if you love to cook, don’t review a cookbook if you don’t want to work in the food and beverage industry.

Pontificating
Posting comments on others’ blogs is a powerful way to build your brand – yet it’s probably the most overlooked online branding tool. Dan Schawbel is a marketing executive who has creatively used this technique to increase his visibility. In fact, this tool even garnered him a mention in Fast Company.

You can find relevant blogs on which to comment at Technorati.com or through Google’s blog search. Read a blog for a while before you comment to get a feel for the author’s style and whether you want this particular blog associated with your own brand. Remember, you can’t take back the comment once it’s posted, so ensure that it’s professional, well thought out, and error free.

If you’re hesitant about posting, go with your gut and sleep on it. Be sure to link the comment back to your own blog or website if you have one. You could also link it to your LinkedIn or Ziggs profile if you don’t have your own site.

Participating in online discussion forums also helps you to connect with and become more visible to others who share the same interests, though it’s not necessarily a part of your public online identity that will show up in a search. You can find forums through Google Groups or Yahoo Groups, and some by-invitation forums may be available to you through professional associations. Bernadette Martin, founder of Visibility Branding, says online forums can be a valuable way to formulate ideas and strategies before presenting them to the public on the internet.

Publicizing
Write press releases about your endeavors (solo business project successes, what you learned from attending a professional conference, noteworthy volunteer work, information about an upcoming speaking gig or article, etc.), and post them to free press release distribution sites like www.prleap.com.

You can find more sites like this by Googling “free press release services”. If you need the press release to rank highly (maybe you have digital dirt that you are trying to sweep under the virtual rug?), consider purchasing the search engine optimization services available from many of these content distribution sites.

Partnering
One of the most important elements of your brand environment is your professional network. Since your network can extend your brand for you by spreading the word about your unique value, it’s ideal to get others to write about you online. Cultivate relationships with journalists and bloggers. If you’re writing a blog that people read and enjoy, they’ll write about what you are saying and link back to you. It’s that simple!

Also, leverage social networking sites like LinkedIn, Ryze, ecademy and Facebook to connect with your network and keep them updated on your accomplishments. Aim for quality of contacts over quantity, and only add your real colleagues and clients to your online network.

Profiling
Use services like Ziggs, LinkedIn, Naymz, and ZoomInfo to create a basic online profile and increase the volume of Google results for your name. If your professional information already appears online, you are likely to have a profile in Zoominfo.

Since they automatically create your profile and twenty percent of the Fortune 500 use ZoomInfo for recruiting, you’ll want to claim your profile and update it regularly. To get the most out of these sites, post content that is consistent across all of your profiles and that matches your resume.

William Arruda and Kirsten Dixson are the authors of Career Distinction: Stand Out by Building Your Brand and partners in Reach , a global leader in personal branding for career-minded executives and professionals.

Classifieds are out; social media is in

Business Week Online featured an article by Dan Schawbel in which he declares that “LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and blogging are much better tools for finding jobs that speak to your passions than job boards and corporate Web sites”. The original article can be found here.

The article presents a staggering statistic regarding employee recruitment; “72% of companies plan to invest more in recruiting through social networks”. To give an idea of how many professionals are currently using social networking, as of the publication of the article, LinkedIn has “more than 40 million professional member profiles across all industries”. Also, “with 250 million users, Facebook is the largest social network and is home to both corporate recruiters and headhunters”. Schawbel describes one user that “landed his current job as a sales associate for EMC without even submitting his resume”. He goes on to describe how potential employees can use each of these three social media to their advantage in finding a job “faster than the competition.”

When using social networking for professional advancement, Schawbel offers several tips including:

• LinkedIn
  • “Construct a flawless profile that will impress recruiters”.
  • Use your professional headline “to position yourself for the job you want, not the job you have.
  • “Obtain your unique LinkedIn URL so that it appears as http://linkein.com/in/yourfullname”

    **this is called a vanity URL, which many social networking sites are using because it comes up faster in search engines.

• Blogging
  • “Recruiters can gain a better understanding of an individual based on a blog, compared to a resume that has the same boring standard fields, such as experience and education.”
  • Blogging gives hiring managers an idea of how an applicant “may fit into an organization’s culture and the specific role that needs to be filled”.
  • “To be a successful blogger, passion, hard work, integrity, and the ability to take criticism are required”.
• Twitter
  • A potential employee can post their resume “on Twitter using twtjobs.com”.
  • “You can search for jobs by going to twitterjobsearch.com”.
  • Because of the restrictions placed on Twitter users, Schawbel suggests that users “go to twitbacks.com and create a custom background, which can include more of your information to paint a stronger portrait of your personal brand.
  • “Focus your tweets on your expertise instead of randomly tweeting about anything that comes to your mind, so you can become the go-to source for information on that topic”.
  • “Follow people in your field, especially those employed at companies that you want to work for”.
• Facebook
  • “Hide those party pictures and set privacy settings”.
  • “Get your custom URL by going to facebook.com/usernames and selecting facebook.com/yourfullname”.
  • “Status updates can be a job-seeking tool”…”as a way of networking old contacts without harassing them”.

With applicable tips and good advice, this article is like a mini-guide for social media and job hunting. Schawbel calls social media “the great equalizer” because it gives job seekers the ability to “connect directly with hiring managers who work for companies you have genuine interest in instead of applying mindlessly through job boards”.

A problem with social media

Barry Hurd discusses his interest in an “Internet Persona” as well as employee management with regards to social media in his blog post “Online reputation expert? I have a question for you”.

He brings to attention a problem that he describes as reaching “a point of explosive conclusions”.

The Problem: Reputation management as a whole has become a crisis point. There are companies charging thousands (or tens of thousands) of dollars to clean up search results, move critical information around, syndicate positive information, and

The Crisis: a majority of these firms lack understanding of brand impact, search engine problems, public relations nuances, legal ramifications, and everything in-between. The band-aid solutions that are being employed are like using duct tape to keep the Titanic from sinking. Eventually the clients relying on those businesses will succumb to an incredible spotlight of publicity they didn’t want.

Although his post sounds more like a pitch for a business venture, he addresses an interesting issue. Social media does not come with easy fixes, problems or solutions. Because the World Wide Web is, well, a web, there are many, many connections that just one post, sentence or even phrase can affect. One person’s opinion regarding an organization can easily become misconstrued and become viral…it can easily do harm rather than good. It can also have the opposite effect, which is what many companies hope and attempt to do by engaging in the use of social media and in encouraging their employees to do so.

More on Social Media Policies

I found an article on 123 Social Media dot com which includes a list of at least 30 social media policy examples (included below):

POLICY EXAMPLES

• Blog Council – Disclosure Policy
• Greteman Group (Marketing Agency)
• IBM Social Computing Guidelines
• CISCO Internet Postings Policy
• HP Code of Conduct
• Intel – Social Media Guidelines
• Opera Employee Blogging Policies
• Sun Guidelines on Public Disclosure
• Harvard Law School – Terms & Policy
• BBC – Editorial Guidelines, personal use of Social Networking
• US Navy – Web 2.0 – Utilizing New Web Tools
• CivilService – Code for Online Participation
• (CIPR) Chartered Institute of Public Relations Social Media Guidelines
• CIPR – Social Media Guidelines for Consultation
• US Air Force Social Media Policy (with flow chart)
• Porter Novelli (PR Firm – added 2-26-08)
• Government Policy (added 2-26-08)
• Dow Jones Social Media Interaction Policy
• WellsFargo Community Guidelines
• Wall Street Journal
• GM Motors Blogging Policy
• Gartner Web Participation Policy
• Associated Press Social Media Policy

Some things I noticed in exploring these policies:

-          As I’ve previously mentioned, many social media policies are taking a positive stand point and telling employees what they can do as opposed to what they can’t. For example, Opera Software encourages employees to

“Be open and use this service for discussing life at Opera, or talking about topics outside of work. This area is yours, use your personality and use your language, whether that’s English, norsk, casual, refined, techy-jargon, or Pig-Latin.”

-          IBM’s Social Media Policy is much longer and more detailed than Opera Software’s. It also has a special section directed at managers and executives:

“Managers and executives take note: This standard disclaimer does not by itself exempt IBM managers and executives from a special responsibility when blogging. By virtue of their position, they must consider whether personal thoughts they publish may be misunderstood as expressing IBM positions. And a manager should assume that his or her team will read what is written. A public blog is not the place to communicate IBM policies to IBM employees.”

I thought this was a brilliant addition to the policy. Although every employee has a responsibility to their company, it’s important for managers and executives to remember that they are especially visible as representatives of an organization, as well as “role models” for the employees that they supervise.

-          Another important point that policies explore is content rights. I found that Harvard’s Social Media Policy thoroughly covered these rights from the get go:

1. Rights in the Content You Submit

Default Creative Commons Public License

Unless you specify otherwise, any and all works of authorship copyrightable by you and posted by you to any blog (“Content”) are submitted under the terms of an Attribution-ShareAlike Creative Commons Public License. Under this license, you permit anyone to copy, distribute, display and perform your Content, royalty-free, on the condition that they credit your authorship each time they do so. You also permit others to distribute derivative works of your Content, but only if they do so under the same Attribution-ShareAlike license that governs your original Content.

Please read the full text of the Attribution-ShareAlike Creative Commons Public License.

Amongst other things, this license permits RSS aggregators to copy, distribute, display and perform any Content on your blog that you syndicate using RSS. All Content on your blog is syndicated for RSS aggregation unless you change your settings to indicate otherwise.

Option for More Restrictive License Terms

If you prefer to offer your Content on more restrictive terms, you may do so as follows:

For Content you submit to your own blog, remove the Creative Commons logo from your blog template (contact us if you require instructions).

For Content you submit to a blog other than your own, label your submission with a full copyright     notice, i.e., your name, the word “copyright” or symbol “©” and the year of first publication.

By posting your Content using the Services, you are granting Harvard a non-exclusive, royalty-free, perpetual, and worldwide license to use your Content in connection with the operation of the Services, including, without limitation, the license rights to copy, distribute, transmit, publicly display, publicly perform, reproduce, edit, translate and reformat your Content, and/or to incorporate it into a collective work.

Attribution

When publicly displaying, publicly performing, reproducing or distributing copies of your Content, or Content as incorporated into a collective work, Harvard will make best efforts to credit your authorship. You grant Harvard permission to use your name for such attribution purposes. You, likewise, agree to represent yourself accurately. You acknowledge that misrepresentation may lead us, in our sole discretion, to cancel your use of the Services and delete any of your Content.

Social media policies are written differently for every organization. Some go into more detail regarding rights, some regarding content, etc. Ultimately, they are written to encourage social media usage as well as to encourage conduct that supports both the individual and the organization.

A Social Media Policy

One recurring topic that I have found in several articles/ blogs is the importance of a company to develop a policy on social media… when and how it is used, what is published or posted, who has access at work, etc. Since anyone can publish or post just about anything, I agree that it is important for companies to come up with a policy for handling social media and social networking sites. This policy will vary from industry to industry, but should still exist.

With “more than twenty years’ experience in corporate communications and technology marketing in Europe and North America”,
Michael O’Conner Clarke advises that “every organization needs to look at this space from their own perspective and figure out what’s going to work within their culture” in his blog “A Common Sense Social Media Policy” published on A Fistful of Talent. Kelly Dingee offers brief advice on the subject which points out that “employees need to be reminded of your company’s expectations of representation”. Uninstalled. Another post that mentions this idea is

Sharon Lauby, the president of International Talent Management (ITM), guides readers through “10 Must-Haves for your Social Media Policy”. ITM is a company specializing in employee training and human resources consulting. Lauby’s list:

1. Introduce the purpose of social media
   
2. Be responsible for what you write
   
3. Be authentic
   
4. Consider your audience
   
5. Exercise good judgment
   
6. Understand the concept of community
   
7. Respect copyrights and fair use
   
8. Remember to protect confidential and proprietary info
   
9. Bring value
   
10. Productivity matters
    

Of course she expands on each of these ideas. They all consider upholding ethics and morality. Most items are self explanatory, and can be easily explained from organization to organization except number 1. The purpose of social media is where organizations are still navigating territory. This is where organizations should address what they are trying to accomplish by engaging an audience through the use of social media.

Here are some links to actual social media policies published online by organizations:

Mosman Municipal Council

GM Fastlane Blog

Sun Microsystems

Intel Social Media Guidelines

 

Johnny Taylor Jr. on Social Media

Johnny Taylor Jr. is the President and CEO of RushmoreDrive.com. He was recently featured on Human Resources iQ in an interview regarding Social Media in Human Resources. The full interview can be found here. Taylor explains that “more and more recruiters are using these sites to obtain a better understanding of the personality and lifestyle of potential job candidates that could positively or negatively influence their position in the organization”.

One of the first questions asks whether an “employer’s use of social media…as a recruiting strategy” is a violation of privacy. I completely agree with Taylor in his position on this, which is that people create their own accounts and post their own content freely. If someone chooses to make information available online to the public, this public includes potential employers. This is why social media users should be conscious of what they are posting online and why online presence has become an issue for discussion.

Taylor describes what human resource professionals are looking for on social media sites. “Employers are trying to increase our chances of finding the right ‘fit’ in our organization (fitness meaning technical credentials and cultural/values fit)”. While there are definitely aspects of one’s life that should not be used as criteria for employment, employers and recruiters can sometimes form opinions of a potential employee depending on what they choose to post online.

The interviewer also asked Taylor, “How much of an influence do these social networking sites have on an employer’s decision to hire job candidates?” Taylor states that although “human resources departments aren’t surfing social networks as a common part of their recruitment process”, they “are increasingly turning to them (especially for new college graduates)”. He does explain that “it’s not at all uncommon for applicants and employers to conduct a quick Google search on someone in advance of an interview”. He also explains that information found by recruiters on social networks is not the only information used in the hiring process.

Taylor finishes off the interview by advising applicants to “assume your parents access your social network every day – so no lies, compromising pictures, etc.” This seems like sound advice to me; however, my entire family- including my in-laws are on facebook, so I am already practicing this.

Personal Branding Blog… an interesting discussion

I recently read “When Personal Branding, Social Media and Human Resources Collide”, a blog post by Dan Schawbel in which he reviewed a discussion with Steph K, an HR Director at HP. The full discussion can be found at: http://www.personalbrandingblog.com/when-personal-branding-social-media-and-human-resources-collide/

The article mainly focuses on blogging, in particular the use of blogs by HR people. However, the last two questions contained information that I found pertinent to my current research. In one question, Schawbel asks “What are the top 3 things you’ve learned as an HR professional while blogging that you didn’t know before?” Personally, I like lists. They condense information and make it easier for me to store in a busy brain. Steph K answers with these three items:

“1. It’s really easy to get wrapped up in your own company and not pay enough attention to trends in the outside world. Blogging and reading blogs has helped me stay informed about the world and people outside my company, more than I expected.

2. A blog is not PR. Corporate blogs are not the company line or the company position, they’re just a place to write the blog around a common interest. Bloggers are asked to represent their own viewpoints; they are not a spokesperson for the company. At the same time, bloggers have a lot of responsibility. We need to be aware of things like privacy and be able to achieve the perfect balance of discretion and transparency.

3. I’ve been pretty amazed at the amount and quality of information that’s out in the blogosphere. In HR, recruiters seem to be the biggest group out there blogging and reading. This should be good news for job seekers because recruiters are always looking for candidates to match the positions they’re working on, even in tough times when they have fewer positions to fill. The world is n the midst of a changing recruitment model and companies as well as candidates are trying to figure out better ways to find each other. I think social media has a huge role to play in that.”

The first item on his list makes a great point. In expanding knowledge of trends in the outside world, outside of a particular company, it can give a professional the knowledge and opportunity to perform better in their current position.

The second item, regarding PR, deals directly with appropriateness and professionalism. It touches on the idea of a fine line between the freedom to express ones opinion and thoughts without causing damage or harm to the reputation of a company. Although not all posts are negative, this is a controversial area and is often one brought to the forefront of the topic. Although blogs are not “PR” represented by the company, they could easily create situations that would potentially involve a PR department if the blogging got out of hand. On the other hand, blogs can also serve to spread positive news by reviewing topics, situations, services, products or practices that could also positively affect a company. In addition to employee blogging, clients and consumers can also blog and comment on blogs which only expands the “word of mouth” regarding a company.

Third on Steph K’s list is a comment on the “amount and quality of information” found in online blogs. He states that “recruiters seem to be the biggest group out there blogging and reading”. This is a great thing for those of us out there looking for potential job opportunities, especially if they are reading our blogs…that is, of course, if the blogs they are reading are relevant to their company and well written. It also gives potential employees an edge over those who just send in a resume and go to an interview. Blogging can show off great writing skills and knowledge on a variety of topics.

Additionally, Steph K describes the web as a “great equalizer” with “constant correction and improvement of information” which means that there is updated information all the time. However, this also means that there more of a chance to receive incorrect information, so blog readers should beware of their sources. Just because everyone can have an opinion and post blogs doesn’t mean that their information is correct.

In the last question of the discussion Steph K asks, “Even before social media, networking was often touted as the best way to get a job and this can be tough for people who are early in their careers. Personal branding seems instrumental to that. What do you think is the best way to get a new job, and if you had to pick one piece of advice to give new grads, what would you tell them?”  

Schwabel’s first sentence sums up the answer: “I would recommend that they start as early as possible”. He advises that new grads, “invest in the development of content that you can use in your interviews or to attract new opportunities”. Regarding social networks, Shwabel’s position is that they have “leveled the playing field, such that you can connect directly with hiring managers and recruiters, instead of submitting your resume to job boards”.

The Personal Branding Blog has been syndicated in Reuters, Forbes.com, Sun-Times, Hoovers, and Fox Business.

Preliminary conclusions

Some preliminary thoughts regarding some of my questions:

How and to what extent do HR departments and professionals screen employees before hiring by searching and examining their online presence?

            I have spoken to about 10 different employers by mouth and Twitter… about half said they check out social networks either before or after an interview. Depending on my time, it might be interesting to look at several different fields to see if this changes. I have found multiple articles on online presence, but not published data on specifically on how often it is used by employers to screen. I plan to address this more when I get to the topics in Week 4.

What do they look for?

The employers that I talked to said that they look at the information posted by the potential employee, pictures, and content to judge professionalism.

How can social media be used as a tool to enhance one’s job application, professional career and networking abilities?

            Establishing a professional, clean, online presence can make one more versatile in the job market for several reasons. Social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, PROpen Mic and LinkedIn offer the opportunity to connect with professionals in your field. You can also connect visually through friends and friends of friends, one can ask questions, learn about job openings, etc.

Having recently joined Twitter, I have seen many job openings posted just since I joined. On Twitter, the content of postings has a lot to do with how the site functions as a tool. If one posts, say, what they’ve eaten, where they’ve gone, or some other unnecessary detail. This isn’t really using Twitter to an advantage. However, by responding with educated thoughts, a user can offer succinct opinions and share valuable information with a easily reachable target audience. The user can also “follow” other users and gain information this way. Many users post articles and information about topics relevant to a field, and users can also search by keyword.

I have not found very much information on Facebook as a professional tool, but have heard more about it as a tool to “research” potential employees. Although users can join groups associated with their company, post job history and education info, and publicly advertise, I have found that it is used more as a friendly social networking site and less used for professional networking. LinkedIn, however, is primarily for posting professional information. Users of  LinkedIn can connect with other users resulting in a professional network that can be reviewed visually. On Facebook, one can create groups to separate different types of “friends”, but those “friends” can be from any area of one’s life.

Also in researching these sites, I found the site called VisualCV.com where one can publish their Resume or C.V. as well as work samples, visual images, audio and video samples, etc. All of these components are linked on a site with a personalized web address which can be published on various social networks and exists online for employers to review. Personally, I think it’s brilliant and competitive and should be a requirement of colleges and universities. Documents from many programs can be uploaded to an online portfolio, and the visual CV can be linked to a number of different social networking sites including Facebook, LinkedIn, Myspace, and Twitter. It can also be downloaded and exported as a PDF to be printed or e-mailed. According to their website:

            “A VisualCV is an Internet-based, multimedia resume that provides a comprehensive picture of you professionally and allows you to stand out from the crowd.”

Social Media is a quickly growing industry and there are professionals needed to run it and keep companies current on the various social networks and social media sites. Many companies have hired professionals simply to improve their online presence. Since they basically offer a way to conduct free advertising, companies can harness this by appointing a position to use social media to their benefit. Potential employers who are competing in a technical, global market realize this. By enhancing your abilities to use social media, and knowing how to effectively use it, one can boost their job application and resume.

            Social Media is also being referred to by some as a “bandwagon”, but it does have its advantages. I can definitely see how it could be huge cost in inefficiency by being abused by employees who have access to it during the day. It also has the capability to hurt one’s reputation by the “wrong” material being posted. However, I feel that if it is used wisely, it offers potential employees, current employees, and companies a great way to expand their outreach and receive feedback in a global economy.

Social Media and Social Networking…what are they?

The Common Craft Show and Lee LeFever offers very simple visual presentations that help define and explain social media and social networking. Social Media in Plain English describes social media as a way for regular people to offer “feedback, organization and promotion” regarding an organization’s products or services directly back to the organization through technology such as blogging or video. Social Networking in Plain English describes how social networks, or “people networks” can “help us find jobs, new friends, and partners”. The major benefit that social networks offer is that they act as a map, like a road map, to allow us to see our network and its possibilities.

 About.com further defines social media, and breaks it down into several categories…

“Now that we have answered the question of what is social media, we can move on to social media websites. Because social media is such a broad term, it covers a large range of websites. But the one common link between these websites is that you are able to interact with the website and interact with other visitors.

Here are some examples of social media websites:

• Social Bookmarking. (Del.icio.us, Blinklist, Simpy) Interact by tagging websites and searching through websites bookmarked by other people.
• Social News. (Digg, Propeller, Reddit) Interact by voting for articles and commenting on them.
• Social Networking. (Facebook, Hi5, Last.FM) Interact by adding friends, commenting on profiles, joining groups and having discussions.
• Social Photo and Video Sharing. (YouTube, Flickr) Interact by sharing photos or videos and commenting on user submissions.
• Wikis. (Wikipedia, Wikia) Interact by adding articles and editing existing articles.

And these websites are not the only social media websites. Any website that invites you to interact with the site and with other visitors falls into the definition of social media.”