BackThe new rules of presentation
Rsums aren't enough today. Increasingly, companies are also scrutinizing the social networking profiles of candidates
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There was a time when, if you were looking for a job, you just had to write a comprehensive résumé and clean up nicely for the personal interaction. Now, every applicant has to do a lot more, especially when it comes to the use of social media platforms.
Take the case of a 31-year-old TV professional who was pink-slipped a few months ago. She chose not to whine about it on her Facebook page or Twitter profile because over 80% of her friends are from the industry. Instead, she used social networks to connect with more people and showcase her work in the hope of getting freelance assignments.
Candidate and brand value
Companies are increasingly looking beyond the applicants’ résumé, and into the details of their social media activities, to get insights into who they really are in everyday life. In fact, status updates are becoming as important as personal references. Social media has made each one of us a micro brand, and companies looking for “brand value" check social media activity. “What might seem an innocent, funny, playful status update might have repercussions that are beyond our imagination when companies begin to judge us based on those updates," says Nina E. Woodard, founder of Nina E. Woodard and Associates, a California-based global human resource (HR) consulting firm that also has operations in India, in a phone interview.
Hrishika Vuppala, a US-based engagement manager at consulting firm McKinsey & Co., says: “I prefer not to comment on controversial topics; for instance, I would be circumspect about making a religious or political comment. Instead, I actively choose to talk about neutral topics I am passionate about, such as travel, sports and new technologies or about my personal accomplishments."
Platforms such as Twitter and Facebook, which did not start out as being even remotely connected to one’s professional life, are being used actively by companies to assess candidates because they “give companies a better idea about an applicant’s personality traits beyond the résumé", says Woodard.
Applications through social media networks too are on the rise. A case study report on hiring in technology and consultancy firm Capgemini, released last week by the Society for Human Resource Management India, an association of HR professionals, shows that on average, Capgemini received 3,001 applications online every month last year, compared with 343 in 2012—a 774.92% increase. The number of applicants on social media for senior managers jumped from 32 in 2012 to 247 in 2013, according to the case study.
Interestingly, professional networking site LinkedIn has recently added applications that seek to reveal more about an applicant’s cultural and social make-up. Members can now become a part of groups, communities; the profile asks questions such as “causes you care about" and “organizations you support". These questions are not usually addressed in a résumé or an application, but today these are among the parameters companies look at while assessing candidature.
Nishant Rao, country manager of LinkedIn India, says, “We have specifically devised tools so that employers get a 360-degree view of a candidate." And recruiters who use LinkedIn find these updates useful. “HR managers can get a comprehensive view of potential candidates with such tools; their interests in groups and companies that they follow or are a part of, endorsements from their ex and present colleagues and bosses give a recruiter a much stronger foundation to make a decision on the candidate," says Mumbai-based Mohit James, HR director at cosmetics maker L’Oréal India Pvt. Ltd.
Showcase yourself
Vijay Menon, an alumnus of the Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta, is the director of business solutions at RAMPgreen Solutions (P) Ltd, a mid-size information technology solutions firm in Delhi. According to Menon, LinkedIn is “a better version of the résumé"—the static résumé, he says, is on its way to redundancy.
But there is a lot beyond a LinkedIn profile he looks at while hiring. “For roles such as digital marketing, it becomes important for us to check an applicant’s Facebook, Twitter and Instagram presence; we want to find out whether the candidate is digitally savvy; we also seek to understand a person’s orientation by monitoring how he/she is using his/her social media accounts," he says. Klout scores (a score between 1 and 100 to a person, depending on his/her ability to influence others through social media updates across platforms) are also checked for prospective campaign managers and digital and social media consultants, Menon adds.
Several companies also find social networking sites a useful way to conduct background checks and verify information, especially pertaining to previous employment history and disclosure of educational institutions attended, to minimize cases of fraud and fabrication.
But there’s need for caution in how you use social media. “Facebook/Twitter/Instagram were first created as tools of personal communication, but they are increasingly being used for professional purposes as well, and we all know that. One needs to be extremely careful about what is showcased in the digital world as nothing is truly private any more," says James.
“I would advise applicants to have dummy accounts; create one account for professional purpose only. I would also urge them to keep their updates generic. For example, one can disclose his/her interest in politics without becoming a member of an activist/specific group; basically maintain a clean image," says Bangalore-based Kris Lakshmikanth, founder CEO and chairman of Headhunters India Pvt. Ltd. “Companies often have covert politics; for instance, some companies might be anti-politics or anti a specific stance on religion; applicants stand to lose if such information is derived from his or her social media networks; you won’t even know that you have been rejected because you are culturally considered a misfit in that organization," he adds.
Not being active on social media is not a solution, says Woodard. She believes this would give the impression that the candidate is not in line with current social and professional dynamics; being social media savvy today means that the candidate is someone who is topical. “I advise candidates to paint a consistent picture of themselves across media platforms, based on who they are and what they want to showcase; this is what companies are looking for."
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