The Impact Of Social Media And Work Connections On Your Employment Chances...

I have applied to a couple of companies and had so so luck getting responses. The underlying reason being my out of CONUS work history for the past 23 years. HOWEVER something happened recently that reminded me that the world is really getting smaller and the impact that we ourselves can have on our future work opportunities without even realizing it. One of the companies I applied to was Prime. I was contacted by a recruiter who listened to my work history with somewhat skeptical enthusiasm and at the end was kind of like, "well..I'm not real sure we're going to be able to do much with you..." Needless to say, I was extremely disappointed as Prime was one of my top picks..a few weeks later, however, I get a phone call out of the blue from a different recruiter from Prime and this was the gist of the conversation. "Mr. DeCou, I am XXX, a recruiter from Prime. We have looked at your application and would like to have you report to orientation on Monday"...well, this was a Wednesday..so, he wanted me to come to Missouri in four days time...in addition, he sent me a conditional offer in writing that was amazing. I was THRILLED, but had to break the news to the recruiter that I was still living outside the US and my projected return to the CONUS wasn't until September at the earliest...So, he told me to make sure I call him, (HIS emphasis) as soon as I get back and ready to report to orientation...so by now you may be asking what does this mean?? Well, here's where I think this amazing turn around comes from...I have a LinkedIn account...it details ALL my work history for the past 20+ years as well as glowing recommendations from previous employers and supervisors. I didn't TELL the recruiter I had a LinkedIn account...I didn't put that information on my application...but if you do a google search of my name, my LinkedIn account is one of the first hits you get...Now, I also happen to have the type of account that shows who viewed my profile and searched for me..you got it...one day BEFORE I got the phone call from Prime, the very same guy searched for and viewed my Profile. Here is my point ladies and gentlemen, Don't take anything for granted nowadays..social media is EVERYWHERE. ANYTHING you post, list or put out there becomes part of the WWW and is searchable and potentially visible to a future employer....have a Facebook profile? Make SURE it doesn't have ANYTHING that a potential recruiter could see that could hurt your chances at getting hired...go through your old status updates...anything on there about getting drunk, or passing out at a party or driving drunk or doing drugs?? GET RID OF IT!! Do a google search on your name and see what is out there attached to YOUR name and Face..Got a twitter account with things on it that are controversial or may be taken out of context and be embarrassing? Clean it up. At the end of the day, make sure ALL that is visible when a stranger looks for you is positive and professional. Hope this little diatribe makes sense and helps wake people up to the new reality that is the openness that we live our lives with now..

Big Brother is watching YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Big Brother is watching YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Absolutely, Kathy..the younger generations(gosh, I sound like an old fart...now get off my lawn) don't really get the fact that all this stuff they post and text and tweet is stored somewhere...and is a LOT easier to access than they realize..and employers and recruiters USE google and other search engines a lot to check on potential hires..unfortunately, this is becoming standard across the spectrum.