As you might know, Beth Harte has been looking for a job for the past few months. Recently, she shared this feedback she had gotten from a recruiter:
“Remove all of your personal speaking, writing, blogging, and social media (i.e. Twitter, Facebook, SlideShare links, etc.) items from your resume. Companies don’t give a crap about that, they only care what you will do for them. Those items are red flags letting them know that you’ll request to be out of the office speaking or on Twitter all day and that you will not be helping to solve their day-to-day problems (i.e. tactical work).”
What do you think of this advice? And I especially want to hear from recruiters, feel free to email me if you don’t want to comment here, and I will be happy to post your thoughts anonymously. I am sure that most of us in the ‘social media fishbowl’ will gasp at this advice, but I would really like to see if this is the advice that recruiters are giving job applicants.
Now if Beth were 21 and fresh out of college and her only social media experience was creating a Facebook profile where she shared her photos of shoe shopping and frat parties, then yes, I could see not mentioning that. But Beth has active social media presences on Twitter, Facebook, her blog, that all work to establish Beth’s thought leadership when it comes to how businesses can leverage integrated marketing, social media, customer service, etc etc. Also, the fact that she has over 20K followers speaks volumes to her ability to build online communities.
But anyway, I wanted to ask recruiters if this is solid advice for job applicants. Should any job applicants be removing all social media activity from their resumes? And those of you that are also applying for jobs, what feedback are you getting from recruiters? As I told Beth, I can understand the recruiter saying she shouldn’t mention her speaking, but the removal of all social media activities floors me. I don’t think it should be the focus of her resume, but I also don’t think it should be deleted completely.
Recruiters, what do you think? Job applicants, what advice are recruiters and employers giving you about listing social media on your resume? And BTW, I don’t care what any recruiter says, if you need a smart marketer, you should definitely hire Beth!
UPDATE: We’ve had a few recruiters chime in with comments (Thanks guys!), and they seem to be agreeing with what the recruiter told Beth. I am wondering if part of it is simply social media having a negative perception as being only personal content? Beth creates business-oriented content on her blog and Twitter feed, so I would think that would have value for businesses that need someone who can connect with these same people.
So to ask a slightly different question to recruiters: If Beth didn’t have ANY social media accounts/presences, but did have a business newsletter that was aimed at CMOs and brand managers that had 50,000 subscribers, should she mention that on her resume?
If you are seeking a job that involves using social media (i.e. pretty much anything in PR/marketing) and you have related SM accomplishments then it’s a no-brainer.
Honestly I wouldn’t want to work for a company that didn’t value that experience because it’s something personally I’ve worked hard at and helped companies I’ve worked for succeed as a result. Obviously Beth is very successful at this and I would hope she’d want to translate those skills in her next opportunity so I’d throw that advice right out.
Now if it were an unrelated field, then that’s a different story…
Kelly, it’s not an issue of “me” not wanting to “translate those skills.” The reality is that many PR and marketing jobs do not require social media experience. The point to my post was that those engaged in social media personally seem to think it’s the “norm” whereas in some cases, it’s very far from the norm. Many companies simply seek marketing and PR pros that have deep traditional experience.
In my case, I am not seeking a social media position. I am seeking a marketing or PR position with a company that utilizes both traditional and digital marketing. If that includes social media, great. If not, that is okay to. Perhaps they are not ready and I can be the person that helps them when they are.
I also think people who have bought into personal branding think that it’s a plus when job seeking. In some cases there is no value-add at all.
Beth
Mack,
I think if I were a “21 year old fresh out of college and her only social media experience was creating a Facebook profile where she shared her photos of shoe shopping and frat parties…” I would probably have a job by now. 😉
Thank you for not only putting a spotlight on my job search, but also opening up a conversation around what is really going on out there. I’d love to hear what HR managers and hiring managers have to say on this topic.
The challenge that I am seeing, along with other really great marketers who are jobless!, is that companies and hiring managers have a hard time translating personal blogging thought leadership into “what can be done for me.” Perhaps we should be more vocal about that translation, but then that’s not social media…is it? It’s advertising. As well, there seems to be a lack of jobs for marketers with 12-18 years of experience. This level seems to have been wiped out by the down economy.
So, if you have social media experience and you are on your first or second job, that’s cool. If you have social media experience, but you are a director or VP level, what’s the value?
While social media folks seem to think that value is a slam dunk (because it has been for them personally), companies have not fully embraced the notion of social business. And that’s where folks at my level can truly add value… because we know how very important strategy is over tactics. And that all marketing strategy (no matter the channel) needs to either increase revenue or decrease cost.
Honestly, I am okay with removing things from my resume. If a hiring company “researches” me they will find my blog, Twitter account, SlideShare, etc. If my thoughts on marketing, PR, communications, etc. don’t mesh with theirs, it’s probably not a good fit.
I am 100% customer-driven and have been for my entire career. I am not going to be changing that philosophy any time soon. 😉 I truly believe social media (whether public or private) is the main channel that opens up a dialogue between company and customer so that perhaps they may finally end up on the same page.
Cheers,
Beth Harte
@bethharte
Beth I think that brings up another very interesting angle to this: In that YOU need to understand what makes YOUR social media activity valuable to companies.
For example, we both know your 20K+ Twitter followers absolutely love you, and the fact that you have built such a large and hyper-loyal network is a huge indicator of your ability to use social media (especially Twitter) to connect with people. I could easily see a smart company (esp B2C) that uses Twitter to connect with customers utilizing you to manage and train their existing team on how to improve their efforts.
Your blogging experience speaks to your ability to create online content that resonates with others, and your ability to do so consistently.
Perhaps we are asking the wrong question, in that it’s not if we should be listing social media accomplishments on our resumes, but how can we make employers understand the relevance of those accomplishments?
“How can we make employers understand the relevance of those accomplishments?”
That’s exactly it!
I started blogging to share my thoughts and experiences in marketing and PR, because I wanted to share my knowledge, which was above and beyond what my “day job” required. I was hired to do marketing & PR, of course, but sometimes you aren’t always the VP or CMO and the final direction lies with them. 😉
The challenge now is that what I have blogged about doesn’t match my resume (deliverables and results that I or our team was expected to deliver for any given position). So it becomes a challenge of philosophy/thought leadership versus what’s actually been delivered.
For example, take Customer Lifetime Value. I blog about it and it’s value, but have I ever determined CLV in on of my positions? No. Can I, yes. So if a hiring company wants CLV experience, they will gloss over my resume, not see it and move on. It doesn’t matter what I blogged about. Again, that’s reality…at least until you can get to the point of a sit down conversation.
I don’t think there is a yes or no answer here but more of how much and is it related to the position or what you can offer to an employer. If it has relevance I would list it however that does not mean listing every speaking engagement you’ve done or going into excessive details. Removing “all” in this case as suggested based on what Beth does for a living does not seem to make sense. I have not seen her resume but what might be a better suggestion is just focusing on highlighting key relevant accomplishments with a way to access more information such as LinkedIn (most recruiters and companies are going to look even if you do not direct them) and polishing any only presence you have so that when a recruiter or company searches for more information they are seeing you in the best light.
Best wishes on Beth’s search and continued success!
Shannon, thank you for the well wishes! I have revamped my resume to remove the speaking, blogging, etc. and to pull relevant experience and results-oriented deliverables to the top of my resume (for those who don’t want to read through every position, etc.). I have a feeling that this version (Version B, in my A/B testing) will lead to more doors opening than my Version A, which was all about my so-called “personal” brand and personal endeavors as a speaker and blogger. Silly, me. I should have known better, but thought my personal experiences added value. 😉
Beth
Beth… I created a 2nd CV that has all my public speaking, blogging and other “non-traditional” experience and if I felt an interview merited it or I was asked for that experience, I provided them with the public speaking resume. Worked well for me.
Steve, that is a great idea and one I will “borrow.” 😉
Great topic Mack! Great points about the job applicant’s level of professionalism and their social media use, which may or may not be measurable by years of age.
An excellent opportunity to educate the recruiter on smart business of SoMe and for the recruiter to educate his client. Even if the client isn’t looking for SoMe skills in the position, we all need to be true to WHO we are in our resume and in person.
Bottom Line: A recruiter needs to believe in You, the REAL YOU.
Marketing is What I do, NOT who I am
Interesting… Marketing is WHO I am, not just what I do. 😉
I agree/disagree to an extent. As long as you keep it clean and professional it shouldn’t matter what the employer will pull up. Also, the candidate shouldn’t willing provide that information, the only site that I feel is relevant in a job search would be Linkedin. It is a professional network and should be used as that. Linkedin is a good source for others to view experiences and recommendations. Granted this can’t be used as a decision maker whatsoever.
Melissa that is a great point on LinkedIn, as I think that site is definitely viewed as more ‘credible’ by most business professionals.
Great discussion. Thanks every one for sharing valuable insights.
Based on what has been discussed and my personal experience, I totally agree with the fact that employers are only interested in what value your social media experience can bring to their business. Social Media is the most easy way for diving into the sea of knowledge on the internet. You might not always be able to add the value to a company just by being on Facebook, Twitter etc but the network you build, information you come across can be very valuable.
So bottom line is how to convey the value to the employers and relate that to their business. I think this has huge potential to set one apart from others as you cannot imagine a life without internet and social media now.
Hi Mack and Beth,
As both of you may know via mutual friends, I’m in the job market right now, too. And I’ve had people give me advice that I should change my email address to a more current provider, that I should blog more, that I should create a social resume, include all my work history on my resume, keep it to one page, and so on and so forth. At the end of the day, while this is all well-intended advice, I’m more and more inclined to think it’s mostly superfluous to the difficult task of connecting with the right person at the right time to find meaningful work where our deep experience can add value.
That said, I really don’t know how we find this “right person” other than to just keep putting ourselves out there. What I do know, though, is that having friends such as Mack can make all the difference in the journey.
Best to you, Beth! 🙂
Jenifer @jenajean
http://www.jenifer-olson.com
Jenifer I hear you. Searching for a job can be terribly draining and it usually does come down to connections and one or two people. I hope your search pays off as soon as possible 😉
Jenifer, best of luck to you on your job search! From what I have experienced, time is best spent networking and connecting versus building up a social media presence or working on developing a “personal” brand. It’s your network that will help you and your experience that will seal the deal! 😉
Great topic and timely… I just got the same feedback from a recruiter the other day. At first, I was a little put off by the comment. After thinking about it awhile, I came to the conclusion that it really does not matter if it is on the resume or not. Anyone doing their due diligence on me – will find them anyways. So, I took them off. Maybe the hiring manager will ask if I have X, Y, Z… Could be a great discussion during an interview. I can get a better sense to the importance or not within the hiring process.
Steve that’s a good point on ‘they will Google me anyway if interested’. Maybe if you KNOW that the position is going to be social media-intensive, then play up your activities more, but if not, then assume they will uncover it via Google?
Hmmmm….interesting conundrum, and I think this also goes back to Jenifer’s point in that most of the time it just depends on what that ONE person is looking for. Which is usually tough to figure out beforehand.
Steve, Mack,
A recruiter just left some great insights on my post. This particular part you might both find interesting:
“I think people operate under the false idea that recruiters are Googling them at every opportunity–whenever they apply for a job–to see what skeletons they have online. That couldn’t be further from the truth. Recruiters are far too busy to do that, and even if they did, it’s rarely actionable. It is all about the resume, so if it’s on that piece of paper, expect that to be fair game. But anything on a resume that’s irrelevant to the job (or not clearly shown to be worth considering) will be overlooked. Some recruiters will not value your social media experience if it’s on your resume. Your job is to make them see how it should be valued for the specific job.”
We know the last bit, of course. The key is that if it’s not a job that includes social media, take it off.
I am in the recruiting industry and have been for 25 yrs. The recruiter that told Beth to remove social media info is correct for a few reasons. Be careful not to assume that only a recruiter that works for a staffing firm or recruiting agency would tell someone this. Most “In-house” recruiters will tell you the same thing.
Social Media is like hobbies and interests. We all have them but many times they aren’t shared by our coworkers, managers, and perspective employers. In fact some people can discriminate against you based upon resume content and you’ll never know it. Like adding your age or college graduation dates, you just can’t include information that can make people jump to conclusions based upon information that isn’t related to a position they are trying to fill. No it’s not fair but it happens all too often.
The people and companies you “friend” or “follow” really has nothing to do with a position….yes even if you are applying for a SM position. Social Media is personal, thus the word “Social”, and one should not share personal information as it is relates to work. Even if you feel it is harmless you leave yourself open to discrimination because your beliefs or ideas could conflict with a manager that has the job opening.
For example, if you are a supporter of the NRA and right to own weapons and you “follow” or “friend” an organization related to the subject you risk being overlooked for a position because a manager disagrees with the subject or has an unwarranted fear that you will “go postal”. Another example is that you are applying to Soda Company A and their recruiter looks at your list of friends and who you follow and sees that you don’t follow them, or worse you follow Soda Company B. The recruiter will question how much you really want to work for the company and will go to the next candidate.
What about those applying for Social Media positions? It’s a thin line but if you are relying upon what you do in your personal SM activities then it might help, but definitely could hurt if it’s not related to the SM tasks the employer wants done. You do all technology and they are seeking health care related. You’re out. If you are seeking a SM position and you have SM experience for other organizations, then, no different than the “old advertising days”, you should have a portfolio demonstrating your campaigns for employers/customers..
Let your work experience speak for you, not your personal life. We as employers and recruiters are interested in who you are, but we hire based upon what you’ve done and what you can do for us. We don’t get to know you personally until after you’ve been hired…
Hey LDS! Ok what advice would you give for someone like Beth, or even me, that have used social media for previous employers, or clients. I assume it is ok to list social media then?
I think we are making assumptions about social media here that might not be accurate. For example, if you say ‘Don’t list your Twitter and Blog on your resume’, I think that advice assumes that both are being used personally. What if someone like Beth has built up a large following on Twitter and a large blog readership, but in both cases she has done so by creating business-oriented and professional content that’s aimed at marketers? How could that not have value for potential employers? She is proving that she has the ability to leverage social media as a way to connect with professionals and marketers. If part of her job will include her ability to connect with these same people, then I can’t see how that’s a bad thing.
Now again, if Beth spends all day on Twitter socializing, then yes, I could see where that would have little value to employers. But a proven ability to create professional and business-oriented content seems to me like it would have some value.
Is it simply social media having a negative perception? Would employers look at it differently if Beth didn’t use social media and instead had built up a weekly newsletter that went out to 50,000 marketers and business professionals?
It’s not a bad thing at all and that’s where the old style portfolio comes into play. In today’s world, more so than ever, one has to be careful about what information can be shared as many organizations have electronic policies and intellectual property clauses in employment agreements to keep their secrets safe (any oxymoron in a digitized world).
One should mention in the resume that managing and coordinating social media campaigns was part of the responsibility for the previous role. The resume should briefly speak to the some of the actions taken to build followers for Soda Company A by utilizing SM to appeal to the consumer, but don’t let it state how you accomplished it. You want to leave the reader wanting more by piquing the reader’s interest enough so that he/she wants to call you. If you go too far into detail and the program “isn’t right for them” per se, you’ll never get a chance to show the creative aspects you drew upon to create those campaigns in the first place.
Unless the position is specifically for social media or related to copy writing then SM can be a negative. Too many people have the frat party pages and too many companies have had information leaked because someone innocently updated a SM site. In fact, within the past two weeks my company had to let someone go because the person made a negative comment about our customer’s customer in their facebook page. Our customer found it….not us.
As for newsletters, again it relates back to the position for which Beth is applying. If the position is for a tax accountant at Soda Company A then no the newsletter will have no impact. I really don’t see too many recruiters having the time in today’s market to read newsletters. Lots of resumes to read and if one doesn’t fit they just move on to the next one.
It’s a good thing that my social media hobby focuses on integrated marketing, PR and communications. 😉 It’s a better thing that my resume shows my professional social media experience for other employers and clients. Phew!
You should only have your ‘serious’ i.e. professional social media links on your resume e.g. LinkedIn. The latter shows how much of a networker you are (important in business) and also gives the recruiter a glimpse of your CV from a different perspective as well as showing recommendations (which I would have thought all help, don’t they?). If you use Twitter for professional purposes only like I do, then why not include it. By looking at the content of your profile, any recruiter can see another side to you simply by examining your tweets. I wish recruiters would look at mine!
Like Beth and Jenifer, I am also in the middle of a job search. Luckily, I am very busy with freelance work and my personal website. I started my blog in February, while at the same time joining Twitter and making my Facebook profile more professional. I’m in marketing communications, and my social media activities enforce my value to my next employer. If a recruiter passes over me because my Twitter account is listed on my resume, then it probably isn’t the right opportunity for me anyway. In my opinion, the best recruiters are using social media themselves and love applicants who do as well.
Marianne, best of luck to you! Perhaps that freelancing will turn into a new company? 😉
When you’re looking for a job you should strategically tailor your cover letter and resume to the specific job you’re hoping to land. If the culture of the employer or industry doesn’t value Social Media experience then it does make sense to clear it from the resume.
I agree with Kelly. If the company or industry doesn’t value Social Media experience you might be better off going elsewhere.
Good topic Mack. I look forward to hearing other responses and maybe a follow-up from your emailed responses.
I sent this to a friend of mine who recruits solely in the PR and marketing space because I’m curious to hear what she thinks.
I told Beth this via email last week and I’ll repeat it here: Those accomplishments are REALLY impressive to me, as a business owner (and hiring manager. Maybe the difference is that I value her expertise in the digital world as much as her years of integrated experience. I get that corporate America doesn’t live in our bubble, but I would never hire anyone who doesn’t have those skills listed.
Gini thanks for passing it along to your friend. It looks like the recruiters are mostly in agreement that social media success isn’t really that important when it comes to resume-writing.
So does that they are behind the times, or we are overinflating the importance of social media experience in the corporate world?
And to clarify, I’m not talking about someone that uses social media to socialize, I am talking about someone like Beth that has a proven track record of creating industry-specific content that connects with her network.
This really surprises me. I’m teaching a class in Social Media marketing and Communications on the college level, and all I’m hearing from those who are hiring is that a strong social presence, and blogging, is a real plus. In general I’m not dealing with recruiters, and in my career have never had to use a recruiter either for hiring or getting a job. I’m wondering if recruiters, as “middlemen” are out of the loop? Is there a gap?
Both colleges where I teach came to me specifically because they saw a need for it and were being told by prospective employers that this is what they wanted.
I’m with Gini. As I work with businesses who are doing all sorts of hiring, I always tell them to look for someone who speaks SM fluently. And I have to believe that those who say to hide all that stuff are reacting more against the stories of college students posting pictures of drunken orgies, etc.
Ken, Mack and Beth, I am one of those students taking a personal branding class at the MBA level and one reason that I enrolled is that it sets you apart from the crowd if you have some experience with SM.
I don’t know how prominent I would make SM on my resume, it depends on what I’m applying for. I was under the impression that most employers Google applicants and when you show up on Google for content rather than stupid drunk pictures you may have an advantage. Miriam
I hate to say this… but “personal branding” has done nothing for me from a job hunting perspective. I am encountering the same things I did in 2000 (dot-bomb era). So, I am not sure how much “setting apart” there is…
I saw your original post on this Beth, and was someone shocked by the advice. But I will say that as a hiring manager I can imagine two incorrect conclusions or assumptions drawn from your incredibly deep experience.
The first issue listing your publications and public speaking accomplishments might raise is someone could easily feel intimidated or otherwise feel that you are overqualified for the position.
Coming from someone with a corporate job who looks at all those as very cool speaking gigs that people like you, Gini and Mack do monthly, I could easily make that assumption – because you are doing things I find interesting and would love to be doing, therefore you must command more than I would be willing to pay (depending on circumstances of course).
The other assumption that could be made (not that I would make it) is that you might be in it for the short term – just a little something to tide you over until the cool speaking gigs heat up again, or until that book gets published…..
Not that i have made these assumptions, but I could easily see that being a mindset.
I also see Gini’s point that if I value those things I would miss out of you shared a resume that didn’t include them.
Seems like a bit of a Catch 22 to me. Wishing you all the best with your search…
Let me throw one more thing in here, after reading Sean’s comment. In this day and age of Google and the Internet, etc, I have to believe that anyone who is doing any hiring is going to Google the applicants to see what they find. If Beth gives me a resume, and omits a lot, and I Google her and find she’s leaving things out (read: hiding?) I might wonder why.
We all preach that once you put something on the web it stays there. So it behooves us to be honest about who we are, including our accomplishments.
Ken, I guess my question would be how do you know what’s omitted? But let’s be clear if there’s one thing I have been accused of in the past… it’s being too honest. I am not good at BSing…sometimes a negative, sometimes a positive, but it is what it is. 🙂
If I Google someone and there’s a lot more than is on their resume, I’m gonna start wondering why it isn’t there…
Sean, funny enough I have had some CEOs and other hiring folks (who didn’t have positions available, mind you) state exactly that… “With all of this knowledge and experience, I am not sure I could afford you!”
As well, the recruiter said the same thing. The last impression you want to make is that you are short-term because you’d rather be off speaking, etc.
The fact is I want a permanent position. If need be, I would take vacation to speak or do it locally in the evening. My goal isn’t to become a professional speaker. 😉
So, it looks like your assumptions are spot on my friend!
Sean now THAT to me is a much more logical argument for possibly removing Beth’s speaking and social media from her resume.
Beth,
As you know, I talk with a number of marketing execs and CEOs quite frequently.
I think part of the issue is that those you’ll be interviewing are high enough up in the organization that they didn’t “grow up with” social media. They didn’t learn about it in their MBA programs and it’s not something that they took on at lower levels in the organization and for which they took on increasing responsibility over time – as they did with the rest of their marketing and executive skills and experiences.
Honestly, the same goes for most recruiters out there – and I have a number of them in my networks as well. They may use the tools for some recruiting but they certainly have no understanding of how marketing is completely transforming in our new world of 2-way dialogues between companies and customers.
So, you’re in a situation where you’re meeting with people who don’t understand – yet – how critical it is for them to understand how social media has changed the game for them as marketers. OR, their regulatory and legal departments are extremely conservative, so the company is simply not addressing social media or social business yet, and so your experience is not yet considered valuable.
And then there’s that other possibility you may be facing – you know more than they do. You’re an accomplished speaker and that makes you a “star.” Smart/secure execs will value that immensely and want to hire you to make the organization better. Those who are insecure may see that as a threat (and you wouldn’t want to work for them anyway!).
I do work with CEOs who are trying to better understand the role that social media plays in their industry and who understand the importance of having team members with these insights. I hope that you’ll find a company with such a CEO who values experience like yours and is instructing their team to hire people like you. Ultimately, your experience and insights are invaluable and it would be a shame – I believe – to work for a company where you couldn’t leverage them to take the company to grand new heights!
Wishing you the discovery of that perfect job, Beth!
Thank you Lisa, I was hoping you would chime in here as you are in a position of close contact with dozens of CEOs on a daily basis. I knew you could add a perspective that most of us don’t have. Thanks.
Where’s the like button when you need it? 🙂
This is why I have the utmost respect for you Lisa! 😉
Such an interesting topic. I’m not currently looking for employment but if I were it would be in PR and Marketing and I too would have quite a bit of social experience for my most recent work. I would include descriptions and brief explanations of those duties/projects and I would also include my LinkedIn info. From LinkedIn you can find all of my other networks. I use it as a catchall of sorts so that if someone was looking for me professionally they would in fact be able to find EVERYTHING there is to know about me. I don’t have anything to hide and don’t try to because I know it’s all able to be found. I just do my best to keep it all clean and professional.
I would be without any current work experience if I omitted my social networking. I do find it redundant to list your facebook and any pages you admin, twitter accounts, blogs and so on if any future employer or client can access all of that information via my LinkedIn.
I love Lisa’s quote above: “They may use the tools for some recruiting but they certainly have no understanding of how marketing is completely transforming in our new world of 2-way dialogues between companies and customers.” Which is my entire point…
The short answer is: Putting any social media experience on your resume depends on the industry, company and job you’re applying for.
The long answer is: For those of us active on Twitter and other social platforms, this topic is a NO BRAINER, and for me the advice is not surprising considering how we’re still in a major learning curve when it comes to the hiring managers and the C-Suite (again depending on the industry) understanding how employees use social media. Many executives still see social media as just a hobby and possible time waster.
If you love social media, and you have past speaking engagements on your resume, and Twitter success stories on your resume, then I encourage you to find a company that allows its employees to have a voice in external communications, on blogs and other social platforms. Many companies are letting employees use video to express whats going on in the business, for internal and external communications.
These guys do exist. They’re coming around slowly in the financial and Healthcare industries, but these forward thinking executives do exist.
I wonder if they exist in Philly… 😉
I’ll admit that I didn’t read through every single comment because I was too excited to comment. This is a great topic for discussion. I have a few points of my own to add (that hopefully won’t be duplicates):
– The idea of having experience with results-oriented integrated marketing communication plans on your resume is highly desirable in the marketing field. Even if the position is not social media related.
– I have a friend who recently secured a position in corporate PR for a major retailer. She did not disclose her social media activity and only recently “came out” as a blogger and was actually sweating it!
– On the flip side, your social media experience may be tainted by the fact that everyone who has a Facebook page and a Twitter account deems themselves a social media expert. There’s a huge difference between proclaiming yourself one and having the experience to back it up.
With all of that said, if companies aren’t scrambling to hire Beth Harte, what hope do the rest of us have?
Hey Fadra! This made me giggle out loud “came out as a blogger…” That is so sad. Why do employees need to be so afraid, we do have the First Amendment (in the US). And thanks for the kind words, too!
I know I am not a recruiter and perhaps weighing in here seems odd but, as a business owner and the person who hires all of my employees, I have to say that I would WELCOME an applicant that was fluent in social media. If I was hiring for my front end receptionist position, how wonderful would it be for me if they were savvy with Twitter and FB and YouTube etc such that since I have set up the infrastructure for all of those platforms for my business, I could have my employee handle updates and responses and posts and keep track of the analytics thus freeing me up for handling other business issues. I think it is short sighted for employers to not recognize the value of having social media fluent employees working with them. Even if the business is not yet utilizing social media as part of their marketing strategy, it is not going away!!! So why keep your head in the sand?
Thanks for letting me chime in…
Claudia – you are right, it’s not going away soon and yes it would be helpful to have someone at the front desk who understands social media a bit but one thing to keep in mind is that yes they might have some knowledge because of their personal experience but that doesn’t mean they understand it from a marketing perspective. And to add to that, I’m quite certain that you would be hard pressed to find a social media consultant who would be interested in being a receptionist.
My suggestion would be to hire for the two needs separately, hiring a social media consultant on an hours per month basis.
Just adding a little perspective from someone who has been on both sides of the reception desk.
Employers don’t care what you’ve done, but what you will do for them. They don’t care about your past jobs, but your past results. They don’t care if you Tweet or Post but how will that help them.
The quote is blunt but rings of truth, why should an employer care you speak, unless of course you can speak for them and increase their sales. How does your personal presence on Twitter help your potential employer? If you are going to spin your social media presence, it needs to be in that light, not how great it makes you, but how it helps them, what’s the ROI on them hiring you?
Tell the story of how your social media presence has helped your employers and will help your future employer. WIIFM applies to hiring companies as well.
Good thing I have 6 years of *actually* implementing social media for organizations. 😉
I wonder if seeking a job changes some of the dynamics — I’ve been recruited three times in large part because of my professional social media experience combined with my personal social media use. However, the first time was the only time when a recruiter was the initial point of contact for me. Other times someone else in the organization referred internal recruiters to me. The other factor at work, I’m sure, as Beth already mentioned it — she is further along in her career than I am and I am only now at the corporate manager level. This might also have something to do with it.
In any case, I think the ultimate answer will be much more nuanced – rather than a do/do not ever list your experience.
By the way, I have never listed my personal Twitter presence as “experience,” but only as an alternative means of contact along with the URL for my LinkedIn profile. There’s no substitute for real experience — managing social media for a business is very different than using it for yourself.
Shannon I tend to agree with your approach, in general I don’t think mentioning your individual social media presences makes a lot of sense, maybe list it as one of your qualifications. Something like ‘Over 5 years professional experience using social media (Facebook, Twitter, blogs, etc) in a business setting.’ That way you aren’t trying to make it a focal point of your resume, so the companies that don’t care won’t be put off, while the ones that do will probably want to check you out.
Admittedly I have not read all of the feedback here but felt compelled to offer my two cents. I could not disagree more with the feedback from recruiting professionals. Perhaps the issue is that maybe the next opportunity for Beth needs to be networked and not recruited. Is it possible that recruiters with this mindset are behaving as gate keepers and do not adequately considering the incredible value that Beth has created through her hands on application of today’s tools.
As a hiring manager in marketing I would be far more concerned with a candidate that had no digital footprint rather than one that had ‘too much’ of one.
Beth’s online work is indicative and representative of the type of professional that she is, the perspective she brings to the marketing discipline, and the value that she would offer to a potential employer. Her post announcing the search for a new opportunity was, in my opinion, sincere and articulated a seriousness about shifting gears and looking for new employment. I read it as a statement of fact, that she is at an professional intersection and has decided on the route that she will take.
Eliminating her candidacy for her success is absolutely absurd. It is up to the hiring manager to determine whether or not she is sincere about investing 100% effort on the objectives at hand or if she’ll be sidetracked by her side work.
That conversation must happen and it is the job of the recruiter to educate the hiring manager or business leadership to understand that the conversation has to happen. Failure to do so, allowing leadership to mistakenly view her social media success for distraction, fails the person doing the hiring.
Organizations that minimize Beth’s professorial body of work as a distraction are probably the wrong organizations to work for. Consider this. About a year ago I had a conversation with Scott Monty, Ford’s Global Director of Social and Digital Communications, who made it clear that Ford hired him due in part to his online success. Ford’s mastery over leveraging the social web to increase brand awareness speaks volumes, in my opinion, to the wisdom of that decision.
Mack, Beth and all, thanks for the valuable conversation. As a PR agency CEO, I’ve often seen resumes that were “over-balanced” towards social media, politics, writing, speaking or other similar pursuits by great candidates who thrived in these pursuits separate from their job.
Several times when we hired a consultant with a political background, they were gone at the drop of a hat when the next election happened or their winning party was opening job opps.
Social media is such a vital part of PR and marketing, I can only think the recruiters are out of touch on SM or expressing their client bias and fear about where loyalties will lie in some situations. Imagine being a high profile Democrat working with a client who is a high profile Republican? Thus the advice to temper the resume may make sense. You may also be limited by your local market and make up of companies with sizable SM composition/role where you’d be a slam dunk/fit. The fit will happen Beth and I hope it will be worth the wait. Best wishes.
Beth, If you search for jobs with the old traditional titles of PR or marketing, that is mostly what you will find, old traditional jobs. Try searching http://www.indeed.com (which aggregates listings from many resources) with just social media and you will be very surprised at the both the quantity of the results and the variety of non-traditional titles people are coming up with for these new roles. Great discussion here!
What I get out of this article is that if you want a traditional career, then utilizing social media won’t be a necessity on the resume. However, if applying for a more modern career, then any social media experience at hand would look good on the resume.
And, thanks Joe, i’ll check out that site!
Great subject by the way….
I’ve been searching for a job in marketing communications and social media for a few months now as I near the end of my graduate studies. So far, I’ve had a certain amount of success from the inclusion of my Twitter handle and blog on my resume. Several hiring managers I’ve talked to have said the main reason they wanted to call me is because of something they read on my blog. I think if you are in the hunt for a social media, PR, marketing or any other communications related job, it is very beneficial to include such talents in your resume. It should go without saying, however, that any online presence you refer to should be very professional.
Eric that’s the thing I really like about a blog, IF you position it properly, I think it can be a huge benefit for your job search, Because if your resume gets the attention of the employer, they are going to Google you, and that’s when they will see all that blog content you have created. And likely, the content areas that you are focusing on will be the first thing they see.
So if you’ve got a nice body of blogging content on the same topic and business areas that are relevant to the employer (and especially the position you are applying to), I think it can make a BIG impression on the employer.
Mack…this is a great post and great thoughts to consider, especially those coming from the college ranks. As a college educator, I have actually built a whole semester around Social Media as a business communication tool. One of the things that amazed me, but I should not be so surprised, Social Media Technologies come so naturally for “this generation.” The semester was more of community building than teaching the tools, why…because they are naturally inquisitive about these technologies. Given this context, I believe it will not be a discussion of whether if they should include it…it will be more of how to include. Simply put, we include certain skill sets in certain areas of our resume for recruiters evaluation. This is becoming a necessary skill set for students for cross curriculum communication. Example…
Two years ago, we did a campaign on Clemson’s Campus to distribute videos to students inviting them to an event educating them about the legacy of the university. There were going to be donors at the event who had left money in their will to Clemson. The university wanted students to meet donors, to establish that conversation of legacy. The new book about the history of Clemson was going to be handed out as well. They wanted to make one invitation video and email it to students. OK….STOP! Their is only a 1% open rate for these marketing emails on Clemson’s campus. So we enlisted students to help us produce eight different videos where the students were the stars. Then we started a Facebook event and posted the videos once a week. The students shared them all over and we had hundreds of students show up, hundreds more than anticipated. Bottom-line…Facebook has become a necessary communication and community tool for students in higher education. Students are creating events, creating communities, and they are doing it in a way that we marketers could lots from. It is now being integrated into Business Communication textbooks along with blogs and other social/new media tools.
So…bottomline, it is not whether if it should be included, it is almost becoming a proficiency issue. The conversation in the classroom has moved from how we should sterilize our profiles to how can we use it for a project. I think companies of tomorrow want to know more than just “I have a Facebook account” (as described above), but how have students integrated it into their business communication accumen.
These are my humble thoughts. My Fall Semester will be totally geared around creating three networking events using social outlets to engage students, faculty, and the corporate world to get together and build business relationships. It has become the pre-requisite for students to communicate on campus.
These are my humble thoughts and I think this is a post that we will be hearing more about for the years to come! Innovative Thinking.
Bobby
This whole scenario frustrates me to no end…
First and foremost – who would want to work for such a close minded employer in the first place? If I was told this by a potential employer then the impression I would get is that this employer is stuck in the past, not adapting to new technologies, and who knows what other ‘Big Brother’ type policies are forced upon you when you get hired.
Secondly, this type of mindset might work now, but considering that the newer generations expect access to social media and are the largest user base of these tools, recruiters for these organizations will soon find they have NO applicants to choose from for their top notch jobs — especially when the economy picks up. Social media use is growing among all demographics.
Thirdly, why would you not encourage your employees to engage and network with peers in their industry and field on social networks? I cannot even quantify how much I have learned and the knowledge I’ve gained (and applied to my work) by networking and sharing in my field on social networks. I recently spoke at a conference in Copenhagen because of a network connection through Twitter – in return I received a FREE pass to the conference, the top of its kind in my field, and came back to my organization with more knowlege and information than ever. And considering training budgets are at zero, utilizing networks through these tools allow your employees to continually develop their skill sets and bring back benchmarked lessons learned… not to mention speaking skills, people skills, etc. etc. etc.
Sigh… ok, rant done. 🙂 Just my two cents for what it’s worth… Sometimes these mindsets are products of a lack of social media education. I’m so tired of people who have never used Twitter, aren’t on Facebook, or have no idea what LinkedIn is, making policies and decisions around these tools.
Wake up employers or you will be left in the dust by your competitors who will snag up all the talent because they don’t have antiquated HR policies.
And I do realize that this discussion (in the comments) is focused more on whether to put these qualifications on your resume – but I guess I had to get my general frustrations around these mindsets out first in my rant aboe. But yet, in addition to my rant, I do think you should add them to your resume if they highlight your qualifications for the position or highlight your skill sets in general (speaking skills, presentation skills, thought leader, etc.).
And going back to my point about lack of education on the employer’s part, why do you need to explain the value of these tools? That would be a red flag for me – but more so the fact that they automatically assume you’ll be “asking for time off” because of them. {still rolling eyes} 🙂
I’m saying this as someone who started in digital (search, display, social), got full-time MBA, then moved to brand management.
I mostly agree with the recruiter with two exceptions: (1) the applicant is applying for a social media position or (2) the applicant recently graduated from undergrad. Social media speakers, digital consultants and the like…anyone with half a brain can Google stuff and become one (not that Beth falls into this camp). In terms of standing out, this stuff doesn’t help at all.
It also depends on the company. Many people here claim “I wouldn’t want to work for that type of company anyway”…well, that’s most of Fortune 500. Unless you’re talking about Amazon or Google, they are mostly risk-averse with low technology/digital IQs. Bigger companies have bigger fish to fry and social is only a small part of their integrated marketing communication.
FYI, I work for one of these low technology/digital IQ companies now. Instead of whining, complaining and shunning about it, I view this as an opportunity to drive a lot of change (outside of my main responsibilities)…perhaps the rest of you should too.
How can you drive change in an organization if they won’t even consider you for the job because they are so adverse to your social media experience?
Just saying. 😉
I too work for a risk adverse, low tech, conservative company — do we work together? 🙂 — a Fortune 500 – but even we are looking for candidates for certain positions with social media experience/qualifications to help with that internal education and ‘change’ you mentioned. So I wouldn’t be quick to make a sweeping assumption like that… the times, they are a changin’!
And if we’re not allowed to whine or share our opinions, then what are blogs and blog comments for anyway?
That’s why I agree with the recruiter about taking out or de-emphasizing the social media stuff on the resume (with few exceptions), which is what I did. HR looks at skills and fit, but also potential. Can you learn, grow and become a leader, and does the resume show growth over time? Going back to Beth’s case, she has shown professional growth, but if her resume is anything like her LinkedIn, the digital stuff obscures and dilutes it.
No, we don’t work together, but I think I follow you on Twitter 🙂
Well if you follow me on Twitter, then you should definitely be used to my whining and complaining by now. 😉 Ha ha…
Great points – I agree it should be listed if it builds the case of being fit for the position and a fit for the organization, but if it isn’t tailored to either, then don’t list it. Same reasoning as to why you only list experiences on a resume that make you a better candidate for the job — the same reasoning why I didn’t list that I worked as a bar tender for two years in grad school on my resume (although, when mentioned in an interview, employers seemed more interested in that experience than anything else! :)).
So it shouldn’t be about whether it’s social media experience, speaking engagements, project work – it’s about whether it proves you’re right for the job.
I’ve recruited, written professional, blogged privately, been CEO and more. My thoughts: Feature the stuff that you’re proud of – where your presence made the world a better place in one way or another. Any employer or recruiter in 2011 is going to google you and need help weeding out the clutter from the pearls. Your c.v. is a reasonable place for this stuff, in my opinion, but keep it thin to content that is either professionally relevant, shows your contribution to the common good in one way or another. Another option is to use your Linked In profile to consolidate your social media presence. My current CV has my corporate web site (I write and contribute all content), my twitter id, my skype contact info, and my mobile phone number. Google yourself and clean up what you can. There are some good free feedback tools out there for social media reputation management. I don’t put Facebook on my resume, and would find that strange if I saw it on one. I might make an exception if someone listed groups they had founded/admined for common good or professional purposes.
Sean I just added LiveFyre, so it’s there now 😉
Mack,
Unfortunately, there are lots of human resources and recruiters who still see social media as a negative beyond the LinkedIn profile. Personally, I would not want to work for a company who isn’t excited about a candidate’s reach through their blog or social media channels. In 2009, I had been blogging for 2 years and the company where I worked at as an HR Director became increasingly worried about my presence and blog on social media. I could justify my case as 30% of my job seekers were coming from social over a two year period, but the company still worried that I was doing recruiting on the side for other companies because of my blog.
I left the company in October of 2009 and set out to help train and educate people in my industry: HR and recruiting. Education is the focus of alot of what I do now.
My advice to Beth is to list her blog and achievements proudly, and she should be prepared to answer any questions on the topic. Beth should target her job search on companies that are open to bringing in someone who has this level of experience and influence in the marketplace, and don’t give up. Many companies and leaders are intimidated something they don’t understand. It’s important to remember that.
Best of luck to Beth!
Jessica Miller-Merrell