A year ago today, if someone asked me about ways in which an authentic online professional profile can be developed, I would have come up with some rather old news: creating a profile on LinkedIn, or uploading a set of cv and cover letter onto websites like JobsDB.com. Whereas, if you ask me now, I would tell you to be careful not to post any of your drunk pictures onto your Facebook or Instagram accounts, due to the current trend showing that the online social media platforms are now very much involved in the recruitment processes.
This week’s topic, too, is very much linked to the previous ones. As we now know how it is like to have a more ‘authentic’ online identity, we then look further into how it can be presented in a 10-second long snap, in order to grasp the attention of the recruiters. And as suggested by Tobie’s amusing ironic analogy of Trump’s approach in the election, an unauthentic and unqualified strategic approach may yield negative consequences. Thus, it is now getting more and more important to understand how to self-promote using your online social platforms. It is believed that blogging, being consistent through images and texts across online social mediums, carefully choosing what to present to the public, will help to show your creativity, passion, interests and dedication even without submitting a typical paper CV. Besides, as Will indicated in his post, it is crucial to show who you really are across all platforms and to not just follow the rules and instructions like everyone else does.
Finally, this week’s topic has also made me realise how the authenticity required and the growing involvement of online social platforms in recruitment may eventually make it necessary that everyone wears a mask even in the digital world, as any socially undesirable acts may lead to major negative consequences like public shaming, as shown in Justine Sacco’s tragedy.
Links to my comments:
Will’s Blog
https://whatwouldwilldo.wordpress.com/2016/11/13/professionally-digital/#comment-25
Tobie’s Blog
Hei Lam Cheung 