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| Can going offline make you look suspicious to employers? |
Forbes' Kashmir
Hill brings a new twist to the world of social media. She argues that lack
of a Facebook presence can make you look suspicious; in life, at work and
to perspective employers.
She discusses recent media stories that suggest a minuscule online
persona may be a trait mass murderers share and might be a reason for
suspicion. She then tells us why the lack of a Facebook page might make you want to think
twice about becoming someone's lover. She also brought up a point that
immediately came to my mind as I started reading: What does it mean to
employers when someone is not using social media?
I feel especially compelled to expand on this subject as
electronic communication has become such a large part of how the resourcing
industry does business today. Much of what used to be handled by snail mail,
hard copy files, and faxes has now become as immediate and timely as social
media itself. Reaching out to candidates found on LinkedIn and other social
media can be done in seconds instead of days.
As careful as you need to be now that your online persona is
examined and scrutinized in many professional situations, you need to be just
as careful to have something out
there about yourself. Given that social media has become so popular, the lack a
presence not only makes you potentially invisible to employers, but you could
lose out on a position because of being so far out of the norm.
I am not suggesting that removing yourself from social media
is wrong but, like it or not and despite the potential discrimination and
privacy issues, it has become an important tool for many employers during the
hiring process.
For example, let's take a look at LinkedIn. Simply having an
account doesn't make you visible. The number of connections and the groups of
which you are a member can impact your visibility to potential employers and
likelihood of being considered for a position.
If you are a salesperson or recruiter who has 50 connections and isn't
active in any groups, at a minimum it tells a potential employer that you aren’t keeping up with the
times and new tools of the trade, and at worst, you may be really bad at making
connections.
These days it's more important than ever not
only to be careful WHAT you put online, but to make sure that you do, in fact,
put SOMETHING online. To take it a step further; it's not enough to simply have
a presence, but to keep your presence active and updated.
