Social Media is playing a more significant role in both acquisition & retention of Senior Managers. While Social Media is universally used in the younger crowd, a quick look through Linkedin shows that Boomers are definitely participating. It’s not to be ignored. If you participate in any Social Media Site, such as Facebook or Linkedin, consider any and all information, photos, etc., to be in the public domain. Web addresses like rogerramjet@aol.com, or imastud@gmail.com will not have the desired effect. You may think me humorous on this point; I’ve seen such addresses on resumes of GM’s.
- Obtain a boring email address as close to your name as possible. Don’t use your spouse’s email address as your personal one, thinking you don’t need one. Google, Yahoo, AOL, Verizon & Comcast all have systems able to accommodate the least technologically literate of us.
- Assume everything you put on any social media site is a matter of public knowledge. It can and will be used against you.
- If you are a party to a lawsuit, any information derived from any online presence or source can not only influence the outcome, but your lawyer may choose to withdraw representation.
LinkedIn is THE social media site for business. It’s oriented towards the business user, and is somewhat user friendly to the barely tech literate. LinkedIn operates on the assumption that we’re all linked together in some way, and if we’re not, their software will nudge it along. I am convinced they create connections between people that neither request nor want them. It’s not necessarily a bad thing, but is important to know. Recently, I received a connection request from the owner of an Auto Shop specializing in windshield repair. In Nebraska. I live in Boston.
Over 300 million people are signed up with LinkedIn, mostly for business purposes. If you’re signed up, you can be found, contacted and recruited. It’s not exactly like putting your company employee list online, but close to it. Search firms can search by title, industry, geography, zip code; you get the idea.
If you are recruiting, and think LinkedIn is a panacea, you may be disappointed. It’s only slightly better than a cold call.
- You may find viable candidates on LinkedIn, but they often don’t respond to inquiries.
- Research departments of Search Firms use LinkedIn as one avenue among many to source candidates. My researchers think candidate identification using traditional methods are more successful.
Facebook is not generally used for business, although companies are often looking at all social media outlets when doing due diligence on new hires. Boomers often use Facebook as a medium of communicating with family members. Just remember it’s in the public domain. All of it.
Many companies have Facebook pages to promote their brand. Social Media is often now part of an integrated PR & Marketing Strategy. That train has left the station.
140 characters can be very short, or very long, depending on the author. While Hamlet opined that “brevity is the soul of wit,” neither he, nor his creator Shakespeare, could have anticipated Twitter. Carl Icahn, or his minions, use Twitter.
Bill Gates and Warren Buffet use Twitter. If you must have a Twitter account, be careful what you write, as everything is in the public domain.
A high profile politician, Anthony Weiner; and journalist Geraldo Rivera, both launched tweets accompanied by photos certain to be enticing, hoping the recipients would agree. It landed somewhat differently.
Twitter can affect both executive acquisition and retention when used well, or poorly, as a PR device, any other way. Twitter is ubiquitous. It is perilous to underestimate its importance.
GLASSDOOR
GLASSDOOR is a site that allows employees to rate management of organizations where they have been, or are currently employed. It can be a great source of insight into company culture, C-Suite behavior, compensation, or other aspects of the organization. Gauging accuracy or agenda’s; good luck.
GLASSDOOR should be visited regularly by a C-Suite executive. It helps to know how you’re spoken of by current and former employees. Any executive with moderate knowledge of Social Media will check you out on GLASSDOOR.