Often an individual will choose style over substance when developing their resume, personal website, and online presence in social networking sites like LinkedIn, FaceBook, and YouTube. A person may choose to post several menial Twitter and social media updates (“looking for cute boots”) instead of concentrating on significant milestones and perhaps the announcement of attending a local, work-related MeetUp or LinkedIn event. Creating internet content is important, but producing mediocre content can be even more damaging than no content at all.
In the mid-to-late 1990s, people were new to the internet and to socializing via online communities, chat boards, and AOL groups. Websites were put together with more “razzle dazzle” than consideration content. When a webpage’s content seemed to get to deep or self promotional, a new page was simply a click away. Analytical tools show how users interact with websites and how mediocre online experiences lead to lost online viewers, lost sales, and fewer people interested in your website and organization (Karnel, 2010.
These same principles apply to online profiles and resumes. Recruiters and hiring managers need to be reviewing what MeetUp and LinkedIn events the prospective candidate is attending; what contributions to online discussions and communities the person is involved with; what group questions they are asking and what discussions they are contributing to; what associations and companies the person is following; and what are internet topics that person has listed in their profiles and biographies. This is a great way to uncover passive candidate prospects, but also to seed the online communities with comments and relevant discussions that lets members know that your organization is associated with the group or technology – and you might want to mention you company is hiring in specific job folders.
User interaction and “user experience” is now a new art form and one that a significant amount of sales and marketing strategy is going into. How someone perceives your brand – or how someone experiences the “online YOU” will be how introductions will be made in the future – just as online dating leads to more marriages. 1 in 1369 dates leads to marriage according to Match.com [6 million / (12*365] (Evans, 2009.) It would be nice to see an applicant tracking system that could track how many social networking postings and attending or sponsoring how many social networking events = lead to the hiring of qualified employees.
References:
Evans, D., Match.com Success Rates. Online Dating Insider. June 23, 2009. Viewed via http://onlinedatingpost.com/archives/2009/06/match-com-success-rates/
Karnel, P., Substance over Style, Setting Standards for Web Business. Website Magazine. January 2011. Page 31 – 32. Can be viewed via http://www.websitemagazine.com/content/blogs/posts/pages/web-trends-to-watch-in-2011.aspx
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