With all of the new online social media popping up, employers are taking notice and beginning to investigate potential employees, along with employees that have been with the company for quite some time.
I do believe that it is O.K. for employers to do a little investigating and research on potential employees. The businesses and employers have the resources to do so, so why wouldn’t they? It then becomes future employee’s responsibility to be aware of the pros and cons of having social media accounts. For example, a person going out for a night on the town should keep the phone and camera in the pocket during the night instead of live tweeting and updating their facebook photos at 2 a.m.
People need to understand that in the business world these days, everyone represents their own “personal brand.” I have spent the last few years building my personal brand to where I am now. I take pride in my social media accounts, especially my twitter account. I would be comfortable presenting my twitter account to future employers and showing them the work that I have done in the past. I maintain a “clean” feed, produce online news, and keep my followers up to date with what is going on in my life. I am completely transparent with what I do and what is posted on my account.
To some, what I do would make them uncomfortable if the public was aware of what they were doing to that extent, but I see it a different way. By being completely transparent online, I am gaining the trust of my followers and my future employers. I believe that honesty is the best thing to have in this online digital age.
What it comes down to is that employers aren’t stalking their potential employees in the digital age just to find their dirty laundry. Some are looking to find what they’ve done in the real world and what kind of experience they have. This is the day and age where your resume is not only on paper, but represented through your online brand.
