Your online profile and activities on Facebook and Twitter may sometimes matter more than your resume details for a recruiter
Yojana Sharma, TimesJobs.com
Do you tweet while talking to people? Do you ‘check in’ at Facebook frequently?
Think before you do that for that may impact your hiring chances, especially if you are a mid and senior-level executive. Here is how recruiters are assessing candidate social profiles and taking the call.
“Yes, we do check candidate’s social profile. A look at that will hint at a candidate’s past record, his/her likes and preferences. It helps in creating an impression about the person,” says Anuja Bose from Mumbai-based Vahura – a firm that specialises in legal hiring.
Social connect for mid and senior-level professionals counts
While social profiles act like the first place holder but they work only for mid and senior-level positions. Junior-level candidates have no or minimum work experience and may not be so conscious about building the professional image on the internet but mid and senior-level professionals do it well.
Recruitment firm Chetna Placements based in Bhubaneshwar has had the same experience. “Entry-level staff or junior executives may not pay lot of heed to building professionals profiles. They may use their social accounts for callous chit chat as well. But that is not too much bother for this category,” says Bhagat Kumar from Chetna Placements. They hire for all levels for primarily BFSI and IT/ITeS segments and have noted that not many entry-level candidates have social profiles/professional references online.
“When recruiting for mid and senior-level positions, the story is different. At times, professionals mention their social profiles – particularly on professional sites –prominently on the resumes itself. That means subtly that we are present online and you can confirm facts from there as well,” says Bhagat.
Doing business via professional profiles
“Professionals profiles are needed not only be for job hunting or to show off work references but also for business networking and exploring business opportunities,” says Anuja. “Many a times, professionals scout these sites to know who’s who in other organisations as well. Before a pitch or presentation, it helps to know the key decision-makers as well,” says Subhashree from Chetna Placements.
“In rare circumstances, a senior professional may not have a social profile or may not have details of the work listed on his or her profile. Then it’s recommended to do the old school research about the candidate,” says Anuja.
She said professionals from metros and tier I cities are more net-savvy and more professional image conscious as compared to tier II cities.
Social media overuse is no misuse
In today’s world when followers and fans matter, companies see tweeting and posting in between world as “not so bad”. “An employee is a company’s mouthpiece. So if his or her popularity (fans/followers) soars, then it is good for the company too,” says Anuja.