Standing in front of a class of college students, it\u2019s more than a little insulting to see faces lit by cellphones, bored looks, or empty seats. You\u2019ve been invited by a friend-of-a-friend to guest lecture the freshman orientation class he\u2019s teaching, and you prepare a lecture that you believe the college student deep down inside of you would truly find useful.<\/p>\n
Aside from the fact that any college freshman would rather be any place in the world other than a freshman orientation class, thusly making their genuine disinterest in your presence nothing at all personal, it\u2019s even more insulting when you get back to your day job later in the morning. Vetting a long list of candidates for an entry-level position can be as interesting as the list in front of you.<\/p>\n
You finally\u00a0reach an applicant who looks legitimately qualified for the position (‘on paper’), only to realize that the way he manages himself\u00a0online is something less than becoming of a qualified applicant, you can\u2019t help but think back to that lecture you just issued, and wonder if your words of advice are being repeated elsewhere.<\/p>\n
As technology advances as rapidly as it has over the last decade, so to do the levels of stupidity of its users.<\/p>\n
You won\u2019t find many that dispute the brilliance of social media. Whether it be for personal use, or commercial, the fact remains that sites like Facebook and Twitter have done much more than allow average people to voice their opinions: it\u2019s a true marketplace, one as diverse as any potential marketer could ask for.<\/p>\n
As social media usage becomes more and more common (to the point where it\u2019s far more uncommon\u00a0to encounter a candidate\u00a0not<\/em> at all active on any social media), peoples\u2019 lives have become far more transparent than ever before. No one is immune to making mistakes, and the learning curve for social media usage has no defined age limitations. But in a society that has lived with the forum for over a decade now, it\u2019s still remarkable to find ways that\u00a0job applicants\u00a0can shoot themselves in the foot via a simple post, tweet, or a share.<\/p>\n Every recruiter, HR specialist, or small business owner can talk forever about the reasons they found not<\/em> to hire an applicant. For all the ‘keg stand’ photos present on the average recent college grad\u2019s social profiles, there are still the thoughtful individuals who share poignant articles with their followers, and it\u2019s the quality of these shares that resonate as loudly as the suspicious photos.<\/p>\n When you\u2019re reviewing a candidate’s social profile, keep an eye out for the good, as much as the bad. Often times, representatives of the hiring party are looking for reasons not<\/em> to hire a candidate, and end up avoiding the reasons why they should make the hire.<\/p>\n To any unsuspecting candidate, the question of where or how they heard about your position or your organisation\u00a0is often seen as a throw-in. To the unsuspecting hirer, this may also be the case.<\/p>\n Understanding how a candidate heard about your\u00a0position can be as telling as their social media presence, in that it can display their research abilities, true motivations, and genuine drive to be a part of the company.<\/p>\n This information really needs to be ascertained during the telephone screening process.<\/p>\n1. Look for the good ; don’t just focus on the bad<\/strong><\/h2>\n
2. How did the candidate find out about your opportunity?<\/strong><\/h2>\n