Have your parents or tech savvy grandparents tried to add you on Facebook but you’ve declined because you don’t want them to see your profile? Now what if employers, who determine your future, are scrutinising your online personality, which in turn may skew your chances of recruitment?
(Created by me, statistics)
We are the millennial generation, bringing new culture to the workforce (Tapscott, 2014). With our increasing online presence, we introduce different forms of recruitment and screening.
Topic 2 discussed the issues lack of anonymity can generate for employment. Another example of this is Ronson’s article (2015) about Justine, who lost her job due to a tweet.
But it’s not all bad! Through utilising your social media in the right way, you can benefit from your online presence.
Your online profiles can help sell you. Whilst traditional resumes are ‘dry’, online profiles allow expression of personality in an interesting way (Parcells, 2014). Your online identity acts as an electronic CV (Carruthers, 2012), employers are reported to spend “ten seconds on a CV”, so you need other ways to market yourself (Harris, 2014)
Why is authenticity important?
This video expresses the importance of authenticity. It emphasises that employers are looking for people that they want to work with. Parcell’s article (2014) posited that a lot of companies use an ‘Airport test’ to evaluate candidates: testing if the candidate is someone they’d want to spend time with at an airport layover. Use the internet to promote yourself in a way to make yourself stand out and be a desirable employee. Show your personality, passions and differentiate yourself (BBC, 2013).
How do you ensure authenticity?
Authenticity is the degree to which your online profile reflects your identity (Ramperseed, 2009). The key to authenticity is consistency! Create your personal brand and display it over multiple platforms (BBC, 2013) to make your ‘googeable self’ evidently authentic and familiar.
(Created by me)
Different social media websites provide differing levels of authenticity through the amount of information required for your profile (Lander and Schmidt, 2016). Linkedin shows an authentic view of your identity, providing objectively verifiable information with the function for others to endorse your skills (ibid.). Use websites that prove authenticity.
Blogging is an innovative way to portray your authentic identity. It allows for passions and enthusiasm to be shown, exemplifies ability to dedicate yourself to a task, shows creativity and how you are different (The Employable, 2016). Employers want people who demonstrate these skills!
Your authentic identity isn’t just shown through words. It’s built through connections, (Rampersad, 2009), things you’ve liked and followed, building of networks and contributions – these are ways of proving your passions and authenticity (IE, 2014).
Word count: 419
References:
- Tapscott, D. 2014, Five ways talent management must change, [Online], Available: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2014/10/don-tapscott-talent-management-millennials/ [accessed 2016, November 7].
- The Employable, How blogging can get you a job, [Online], Available: http://www.theemployable.com/index.php/2014/10/28/blogging-can-help-get-job/ [accessed 2016, November 7].
- BBC News. 2013, Job hunting: How to promote yourself online, [Online], Available: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-25217962 [accessed 2016, November 7].
- Ronson, J. 2015, How One Stupid Tweet Blew Up Justine Sacco’s Life, [Online], Available: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/15/magazine/how-one-stupid-tweet-ruined-justine-saccos-life.html?_r=2 [accessed 2016, November 7].
- Harris, L. 2014, Using Social Media in your Job Search, Online, Available: http://moocs.southampton.ac.uk/websci/2014/03/13/ill-tweet-job-spec-snap-cv/ [accessed 2016, November 7].
- Carruthers, R. 2012, Managing Your Digital Footprint, Online, Available: http://coursecast.soton.ac.uk/Panopto/Pages/Viewer.aspx?id=2caea677-5fec-4c1a-9ad3-70320d724655 [accessed 2016, November 7].
- Nyman, M. 2014, Curating your Online Profile, Online, Available: http://www.neilsrecruitment.co.uk/2014/01/curating-your-online-profile/ [accessed 2016, November 10].
- Landers, R. N. and Schmidt, G. B. 2016, Social Media in Employee Selection and Recruitment, Online, Available: https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=YfIgDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA167&lpg=PA167&dq=authentic+online+professional+profiles&source=bl&ots=1kMMxw5Ab_&sig=isSBNTJxzXzprB_9Un-OAZAZY3U&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjsjsymu57QAhWqJcAKHaUUDeA4ChDoAQgaMAA#v=onepage&q=authentic%20online%20professional%20profiles&f=false [accessed 2016, November 10].
- Rampersad, H. K. 2009, Authentic personal Branding, Online, Available: https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=dCRZoNZPnEoC&pg=PA118&lpg=PA118&dq=authentic+online+professional+profiles&source=bl&ots=lcS9cWw6tS&sig=ARduPLmpRn2Y6Kj8Wr7xPeKkcRU&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjsjsymu57QAhWqJcAKHaUUDeA4ChDoAQgxMAU#v=onepage&q=alavi&f=false [accessed 2016, November 2016].
- Parcells, N. 2014, How to Create a Killer Online Professional Profile, Online, Available: https://www.looksharp.com/blog/how-to-create-a-killer-online-professional-profile [accessed 2016, November 10].
- IE University, 2014, Be found, and then be great!, Online, Available: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XR_WPzzx86o [accessed 2016, November 10].
- Kane, G. C., Alavi, M., Labianca, G., and Borgatti, S. 2014, ‘Wha’ts Different about Social Media Networks? A framework and Research Agenda’, Mis Quarterly, (38:1), pp. 275-304.
Statistics for graphic: Jobvite, 2014, Social recruiting Survey, Online, Available: https://www.jobvite.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Jobvite_SocialRecruiting_Survey2014.pdf [accessed 2016, November 10].
Claire's blog 
Hi Claire,
I really enjoyed your post this week, from your catchy title to that eye-catching and informative info-graphic. You gave the post a very personal feel and I think in a topic such as this using that tone is an excellent way of conveying your points. The structure and flow of the piece also made it a pleasure to read, and your line of discussion was incredibly consistent and thoroughly explained throughout.
This is perhaps the most well-researched and well-sourced post that I’ve read thus far, and it really instilled a sense of confidence in your work, knowing that each point you made was backed up by its own interesting theory or piece of evidence.
As I mentioned your info-graphic was bold and provided a succinct way to pick out some of the most important statistics on the topic. Similarly, the video you included was short but sweet, packing plenty into a mere two minutes without needing to draw out anything – well chosen.
I can only agree with your opinion on authenticity and the ways in which it’s created. In terms of staying true to yourself throughout all forms of social media, do you think that different social media platforms can create different impressions of an individual based on what each platform emphasises in a person? For example, Instagram can encourage people to be more artistic as it is a visual medium, whereas blogging could promote literacy skills? It would be interesting to explore the extent to which this is the case.
Overall, a brilliantly well-written and factual piece!
Will
LikeLike
Pingback: Reflection: Professional, not boring – What would Will do?
Pingback: Digital FOMO is a very real thing – Claire's blog