Recently, I came across an article in Crain’s Chicago by Freddie Laker with a group called Sapient, Inc.
Titled “What social media will look like in 2012”, he lists 11 predictions about changes in social media.
While the list is interesting, the first prediction really made me take notice. In its entirety, it reads:
1. Privacy expectations will (have to) change
There will be a cultural shift, whereby people will begin to find it increasingly more acceptable to expose more and more of their personal details on different forms of social media. Sharing your likes, dislikes, opinions, photos, videos and other forms of personal information will be the norm and people will become more accepting of personalized experiences, both corporate and personal, that are reacting to this dearth of personal information.
The part that jumped out at me was the passage: “people will begin to find it increasingly more acceptable to expose more and more of their personal details on different forms of social media”….
Now, I advocate giving social media a big hug. You have to embrace it, whether you are looking for work (either unemployed or working) or simply just trying to be a better communicator (professionally and personally). But I want to warn you about being TOO acceptable when it comes to sharing information online.
MORE COMPANIES DO THEIR HOMEWORK…
More companies are doing their homework before hiring someone today. It is becoming commonplace for companies to require drug screening, criminal background checks and even credit checks before having you sign on the dotted line. However, you can also know that companies can and do “Google” potential employees as part of their background check.
And that’s where I differ with the second part of his first prediction…
“…people will become more accepting of personalized experiences, both corporate and personal, that are reacting to this dearth of personal information.”
COMPANIES SCRUTINIZE MORE THAN EVER…
In my opinion, companies scrutinize candidates more than ever and will continue to do so. The competition is fierce, especially in SE Michigan and companies are investing time and money to make sure they have the right candidate for the job.
You really need to audit yourself online when looking for a job. Set aside your vanity and type in your name into a search engine and see what pops up. If you list your social media on your resume, make sure it is current and innocuous as possible. You need to curtail the kegger pictures from years back or anything that casts you in a negative light. Now, I’m not saying you need to be as pure as the new fallen snow, but you do need to make sure you are putting your best foot (URL in this case) forward.
While social media may continue to explode in 2012, I just don’t see companies relaxing standards when it comes to doing reference and background checks on individuals. So likely could be best to err on the side of caution when job searching…once you are in, well, you can post those pix again!
How I See A New Media World 