With the emergence of social media, the way we interact both personally and professionally has forever changed. Where candidates once aimed to enhance their CV’s with volunteer experience, we see the transition to focusing on their digital footprint and Klout scores. Face-to-Face interviews are no longer the opportunity to make a first impression. It begins digitally with the upload of a CV, connecting your social media profiles and conducting a video interview.
Prior to meeting a candidate, companies can now ascertain not only their professional credentials, but also gain valuable insights (good and bad) into their personalities, hobbies and communication habits. From the employers’ standpoint, they know more about their candidates than ever before. However, because the digital world is constantly evolving, they also have the responsibility of keeping their recruitment teams educated on emerging technologies and how to best utilize them. An HR MySpace account just isn’t going to cut it anymore, even if you do have Tom as a friend.
From the candidate standpoint, if they are savvy, they can use this opportunity to express their personality, feature their creative work and show just how awesome they are. Alternatively, we have all heard stories of candidates that lost both job opportunities and actual jobs by ignoring the impacts that their actions on social media can have. Remember kids: your digital footprint is forever!
My recommendation is that both employer and candidates spend some time in each others shoes… unless they’re Birkenstocks.
Candidates, use tools like 360social to get a full picture of how you’re presenting yourself in the digital world and see what recruiters see. Perhaps you may want to check-in to fewer bars on Monday nights or maybe that cooking blog you began in university can be revived. If you’re applying for jobs in a specific industry, show that you have a passion for it by following and contributing to online conversations with the leaders of that industry.
Employers, embrace the digital world as your ally and begin following industry leaders like Mashable to gain some insights into what your candidates are up to and where they can be found. Showing that you’re innovative and open to exploring less-traditional approaches to recruiting will only make you more desirable to candidates. Google and Apple remain the top two most sought after companies to work for and they certainly didn’t get there by being traditional and lacking innovation!
Most importantly, enjoy the digital world for what it is- an amazing platform to express how truly awesome you are, both personally and professionally.