Do you still believe that the first impression is the last impression? If so, you might be making a serious gaffe! It is about your Online Reputation.
We have prepared for our job interviews or even class presentations keeping this dictum in mind. There was nothing wrong until the world got the informative giant known as the Internet or World Wide Web. The First Impression that we all prepare for might not be the one which is going to happen in the Interview Room. Actually, the first impression might take place even without your knowledge. It does happen on the Online Platforms that we know as social media.
What if the one who is going to take our First Impression gets to know us even before our ‘Animated and Prepared Impression’ goes to them? What if they get to know us through night-out images or the fun-filled Instagram? What if our e-mail ID or name leads them to our ‘Super Cool and Dashing’ Facebook and a lot more?
We shall surely get apprehensive of this prediction or warning and shall start wondering what the hell has happened to the employers? What damn Selection Process is this? What do they have to do with our ‘Personal and Social Life’?
Dear Aspirants, they pay you for your personal and social life only. The salary or the business profit isn’t used to feed the air or aliens. If one has a particular kind of personal or social way of life, of course, the work he will do at the workplace will be guided by that mindset.
In this age of all-round communication and collaboration, when designations and hierarchies are becoming obsolete, one cannot even imagine a separate and secret personal life. You work with humans and work for humans. So, nothing spares you from getting exposed and known or stalked.
For a student doing a professional degree which shall be getting selection interviews in the last two years, this becomes most important. Online Reputation Management is of utmost concern. It gives and takes the job away. It gets promotions and terminations and bans for a few cricket matches as well. It also lends you in jail or an obsolete-unknown corner.
If you are eager to check for the company and head towards their website and social media as well, there is a possibility, as much as 70% that the employers will also look at your online presence. If you are absent there, it isn’t of any help. If you are present and occupy a good place, you are likely to be liked by the employers.
LinkedIn has long been a part of candidature history and resume. Now it is time that aspirants voluntarily mention their social media in the resume or in the e-mails so that the company does not need to spy on them. It is sure that they will do. For leadership positions is it most likely to be the first thing to do when the HR Executive gets the resume in hand. Sometimes, the call for interview of first interaction over phone happens only after the scrutiny of the online reputation. LinkedIn is more of a Social Media platform now as they have also added the ‘social’ features recently.
Trijit Sen, MCA student at MMDU, Mullana says that the employers do mention this at the placements sessions that our social media profiles are to be mature and must synchronise with the reputation of the organisation we want to join. He is of the view that the first year students should actually start working on their Online Reputation Management right from the first day of their courses.
Mansi Kush, who is pursuing graduation in Physiotherapy, says that it is not just the engineers who need to have a good online presence. Rather, each one who aims to hunt for job, projects or even entrepreneurship, has to have an impressive profile across social media platforms. For a doctor, it is all the more important because it is the ‘image’ and ‘personality’ that works more before the patients reach you. She is glad that her class of the first year is using Twitter and Google Classroom as well. They have recently ventured into Podcasting as their assignments.
Tanya Gupta, who is doing her Dental Internship at MMDU, sees another positive side of Online Reputation Management. She says that her blog and writing at various platforms has actually opened new dimensions of learning and career to her. So when you manage yourself online, you don’t just get a job, you expand your learning horizons as well. She is hopeful that her LinkedIn profile will expand her professional networking and will surely connect her with the globe.
Take this task of ORM with a stress-free heart. Don’t be afraid of the spying, stalking, snooping terms. These are part and parcel of hiring someone for a responsible role. If it isn’t a responsible profile, even you may not be interested in giving it your best shot. Hence, for a dream job, you need to make an impressive reality in the virtual world. Besides, ‘social recruiting’ is a new trend in the corporate as well as the private service sector. Companies keep an eye on the online-accomplishment sharing and they keep hunting for the best suitable workforce.
This is an age of information and communication. Your resume is also a set of information that you want to communicate. Don’t keep the old belief that only you need to search the employer. They also need to reach the right person, even if the person knows them or not. Therefore, when a company moves out of the HR office cabins and reaches the online image consortium, you must be present there.
A survey by Career Builder said that “3 in 10 employers have someone dedicated to solely getting the scoop on your online persona.” What works when an employer takes a look at your social profile? How much role does the ORM play?
- Candidate’s background information supported their professional qualifications (38 percent)
- Great Communication Skills (37 percent)
- A professional image (36 percent)
- Creativity (35 percent).
- Fifty-seven percent of employers are less likely to call someone in if the candidate is a ghost online.
The Tips to Follow:
- It is Your Own Personality which is manifested online, so it has to be responsible.
- Pause before you Post. Remember, the old saying, “A fool speaks what he knows; a wise man knows what he speaks!”
- Be Present on Genuine Social Media Platforms and Be Active as well!
- Follow or Join only those who add to your worth as a human being and a prospective worker.
- Remember, it will be more stressful to delete your accounts or hiding them just for the sake of selection in a job. What goes online is there forever!
- Don’t join any Political or other unethical propaganda.
- Explore and make an active network by participating in discussion and interactions. Don’t be a dead fish; Online World is about being ACTIVE!
Leverage the Online Media to Network with Employers and give shape to your aspirations. Your careers are unpredictable; your preparations shouldn’t be!
Author: Parveen Kumar
Assistant Professor (Communication Skills & English), MMDU Mullana
