A few days ago, I was speaking with a good friend of mine who works in a Senior position at GE. We were talking about the impact of social network and GE's use of these to build a Talent Community. Then he mentioned: "...this guy is one of the global leaders in GE. He recently started following me on Twitter! I have to be extra cautious of what I tweet in there".
Welcome to the new world of our integrated social network; a world where our social activities is being viewed by others to make an impression of who they think we are--and these "others" cover a wide range of nodes within our network--friends, family, colleagues and even strangers!.
It's no more news that many of the common social network platforms have features that help you integrate your different accounts. You can make your tweets can appear on Facebook as well as on LinkedIn in real-time, although most of us did set-out to use the different platforms for distinct purposes--LinkedIn for professional networking, Twitter for real-time "reporting" via short messaging and Facebook for sharing life experiences in pictures, videos, notes, connections etc. with our network of contacts. What we seem not to realise however, is the ease of accessibility that so many "strangers" have to the loads of information we place on social network platforms--and these, they feel, could give them an idea of who we are.
These are a few things to keep in mind:
1. Increasing integration of social networking platforms is gradually eliminating the "one platform for one purpose" arrangement we usually keep on the various social networking accounts we have. The only exception (as it stands) are Instant Messaging (IM) platforms e.g. BBM, WhatsApp, gtalk etc. that give a higher level of privacy.
When you tweet via Twitter (or any of its related Apps), it could appear on your Facebook page (if you so choose under the settings). Many people see the integration of social network platforms as advantageous in that, one would not need to repost messages on different, sites keeping in mind that we have varying audiences in our different social networking accounts. The danger, however, is in what we share and the impression that people form based on how our "updates"/"tweets" portray who [they will think] we are.
2. Your "follower" on Twitter might be your prospective employer. Better still, your prospective employer may find your "handle" [and thus, view all your tweets] after searching a particular "hashtag". How many [more] organisations will be using social network platforms for recruitment purposes INCLUDING BACKGROUND CHECKS by the end of 2012? Yes, its no more news that companies use social network sites to brand themselves as employers of choice, attract and select the scarce talents they need to ensure they stay afloat the competition; however, it may no more be news in the next year, that companies now use social networking platforms for some form of background checks at any stage of the hiring process [which could also be just before the final decision]. Would a candidate whose Twitter handle reveals her frequent participation in #tweetfights have lesser chances of getting the job? Would hiring managers be able to determine the candidates' areas of interests from what is contained in their social networking accounts?
This could bring up the debate of "privacy features" and one could argue that if these features are well used, "strangers" would hardly have access to your "privacy" [FYI: this is hardly possible on Twitter. You cannot restrict views on "mentions"]. Albeit, it is important to note that putting the "good stuff" that creates the right impression of you via social network is increasingly becoming advantageous. People who have shared their skills, appropriately branded and marketed their competences on social networks have landed amazing jobs! Rather than not add, you'd better of adding the right stuff that sells you.
For all you know, your future boss might be the last guy that's just started to #ff you!
Welcome to the new world of our integrated social network; a world where our social activities is being viewed by others to make an impression of who they think we are--and these "others" cover a wide range of nodes within our network--friends, family, colleagues and even strangers!.
It's no more news that many of the common social network platforms have features that help you integrate your different accounts. You can make your tweets can appear on Facebook as well as on LinkedIn in real-time, although most of us did set-out to use the different platforms for distinct purposes--LinkedIn for professional networking, Twitter for real-time "reporting" via short messaging and Facebook for sharing life experiences in pictures, videos, notes, connections etc. with our network of contacts. What we seem not to realise however, is the ease of accessibility that so many "strangers" have to the loads of information we place on social network platforms--and these, they feel, could give them an idea of who we are.
These are a few things to keep in mind:
1. Increasing integration of social networking platforms is gradually eliminating the "one platform for one purpose" arrangement we usually keep on the various social networking accounts we have. The only exception (as it stands) are Instant Messaging (IM) platforms e.g. BBM, WhatsApp, gtalk etc. that give a higher level of privacy.
When you tweet via Twitter (or any of its related Apps), it could appear on your Facebook page (if you so choose under the settings). Many people see the integration of social network platforms as advantageous in that, one would not need to repost messages on different, sites keeping in mind that we have varying audiences in our different social networking accounts. The danger, however, is in what we share and the impression that people form based on how our "updates"/"tweets" portray who [they will think] we are.
2. Your "follower" on Twitter might be your prospective employer. Better still, your prospective employer may find your "handle" [and thus, view all your tweets] after searching a particular "hashtag". How many [more] organisations will be using social network platforms for recruitment purposes INCLUDING BACKGROUND CHECKS by the end of 2012? Yes, its no more news that companies use social network sites to brand themselves as employers of choice, attract and select the scarce talents they need to ensure they stay afloat the competition; however, it may no more be news in the next year, that companies now use social networking platforms for some form of background checks at any stage of the hiring process [which could also be just before the final decision]. Would a candidate whose Twitter handle reveals her frequent participation in #tweetfights have lesser chances of getting the job? Would hiring managers be able to determine the candidates' areas of interests from what is contained in their social networking accounts?
This could bring up the debate of "privacy features" and one could argue that if these features are well used, "strangers" would hardly have access to your "privacy" [FYI: this is hardly possible on Twitter. You cannot restrict views on "mentions"]. Albeit, it is important to note that putting the "good stuff" that creates the right impression of you via social network is increasingly becoming advantageous. People who have shared their skills, appropriately branded and marketed their competences on social networks have landed amazing jobs! Rather than not add, you'd better of adding the right stuff that sells you.
For all you know, your future boss might be the last guy that's just started to #ff you!
Tobi, I'm an ardent follower of the emerging trend in #SocialRecruiting and I found your blog via one of my 'usual online searches'. Keep the post coming and thanks for sharing.
ReplyDelete@SegunAkiode: Thank you very much. I hope to keep the pen in my hand as I share more insights. Nice to find someone else who shares same interest. My twitter handle is @tobiodunowo. Yours?
ReplyDeleteMy twitter handle is @segunakiode
ReplyDeleteI know it’s really difficult to find work in the UK at the moment with the economic crisis getting no better.
ReplyDeleteIs there any easier route to find work at the moment or do we all settle for poor paid jobs?
I wasn’t getting anything back from my CV send outs I have had my CV overhauled by www.editmycv.org and I am getting interviews now and have had two offers
Any advice on which to choose well paid job or job I love?
Cheers