Young adults can be professional too
After reading the first few numbered points in the article written by Hollis Thomases all I could think was discrimination, discrimination, and discrimination. Every point on Thomases’ list could represent a person of any age. That is why we have the interviewing process. A company should not hire a person anyway if they are too immature or untrustworthy so to say that all 23-year-olds are too immature is a little too extreme. The business just has to find the right person to represent their brand and company well.
My generation grew up with social media so we know the ins and outs and are able to use these tools successfully. Facebook and Twitter come naturally to me. I was fortunate enough to watch these tools take off and grow. Since I was young, probably around 7th grade, I was able to get involved with early social networking sites like Myspace. I have the experience of these tools, older adults do not.
Social networking websites did not catch the eye of older adults at first. They were skeptical and kept their distance. My generation made it popular and a successful PR and marketing tool. We are the audience so I believe that we know how to connect with one another and can promote a company better than someone who is much older and “matured.” This generation brought it to the world’s attention so we should be trusted with the responsibility of promoting a business. Speaking for myself, finding a job in this economy is tough enough that I would never risk an internship or a job by acting “immature” on a company’s social media website. Young adults do know more than an older generations would so I think we are able to make a businesses website more successful and inviting to consumers or clients.
September 17, 2012 @ 8:57 pm
While I do think some interns or recent grads might be proffesional enough to run a company Twitter or Facebook, there are enough major social media blunders for the person making that hire to err on the side of caution.
I actually agree with Thomases for the most part, even recognizing that her points are not the case for ever 23-year-old.
The company/organization brand is just too big of a responsibility to take that risk on an intern. In my opinion, it’s just a safer bet to leave that to a professional.
September 18, 2012 @ 9:11 pm
I do agree and believe our generation set the platform for social media to be a successful public relations tool because we have been the consumers of social media and what is being advertised through it. However, It doesn’t mean that we know the other side of the business. I think that although we do know a lot more about social media than older generations, the older generations know a lot more about business than we do. They have made a living out of public relations and know how company’s need to be portrayed. I don’t want to take away anything from our generation though because there are people our age out there who could be very successful using social media for public relations, I just believe company’s want to be more conservative with their brands/reputations and would side with someone with much more experience in the field.