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Employers Will Not Dance with Anyone’s Negative Social Profile

I must admit that I am sometimes quite resistant by social profiles. I personally do not feel everyone, even employers, needs to know everything about me. Nor do I want to know everything about others. We all have opinionated demons that can be extreme to those that do not agree with us.

So what!

Such is life! This is what makes the world unique and interesting. We are not robots.

Some would argue that these technology avenues are good for recruiting because recruiters can use them to get to know their candidates. I totally disagree. Anyone can create an social profile that gives the viewer an image of a workplace angel…the perfect candidate…the right fit for the team.

To me, this makes social profiles unreliable. If someone uses their Twitter account to rant and rave about their passions that may not be common to the masses, does not mean that they will not be an excellent employee. Now, let us turn the table. Someone can have glowing online social profiles but their workplace ethic simply sucks.

My belief is that recruiters should not heavily rely on social profiles in recruiting decisions. It’s an unstable source as we as humans are sometimes unstable. Since I do not have the ultimate hiring power for the entire world, I, in addition to you, must consider the trends of our “social media crazed” society.

Having social profiles on the web becomes problematic when we do not consider our audience. Sure they can delete your friendship on Facebook or stop following you on Twitter but the audience is actually the ENTIRE world. Technology has taught us repeatedly that once something has been sent digitally, it is available forever and for ALL to view.

We must seriously consider all the messages that we send when we post on Facebook, Tweet, text or send e-mails. Our fascination with technology is great and has afforded us ways of connecting with others at a very cheap rate. No one ever really complains of having an outrageous long distance telephone bill these days. We can simply text, email, Tweet or Facebook our long distance friends and family.

Almost everyone desires to be an authentic being. We want to be true to ourselves. What happens when being true to ourselves is “politically incorrect”? Well, if you know this about yourself, you may want to monitor how you use technology and when you use technology. It may help to make an agreement with yourself such as never to use technology when you’re angry or intoxicated.

Another short 1-2-3 “punch to yourself in the face” is to 1) STOP, 2) consider the possibilities of how your social profiles may affect the entire world and 3) choose. You may still choose to proceed after these steps but at least you are conscious of what you are doing and aware of the possible negative impacts of your use of technology. Let us not be foolish to believe that it doesn’t matter or we won’t get caught.

Roland Martin

Mr. Martin had been with CNN since 2007. Last year he released a tweet that seems to have eventually cost him his position with CNN. Two days after his negative tweet regarding the gay community, he was suspended from CNN.

He also met with the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation organization after the tweet in an effort to repair the damage he caused. After last year’s Presidential election, Mr. Martin was seen less and less on CNN. April 6, 2013 was his last day with CNN. Coincident? NOT! I truly believe his tweet cost him his position with CNN. Had he punched himself in the face with my 1-2-3 suggestions above, he would probably still have his job at CNN.

Michael Nodianos

This is really sad. This young man was videotaped while expressing his very strong and probably inebriated opinions regarding the rape of a young girl. In the video, he joked about the rape and his comments were definitely politically incorrect. Mr. Nodianos was wearing an Ohio State University shirt during the video.

The video was deleted but hackers found a way to release it. It went viral. A Facebook campaign was launched to have Mr. Nodianos expelled and to have his academic scholarship revoked. He is no longer a student at Ohio State University.

His irresponsible use of technology has cost him his academic scholarship and education at Ohio State University. All that we do online socially is a part of our electronic profile regardless of whether that was the initial intention.

Richard Cebull

Mr. Cebull forwarded a racist joke. Does he have the right to be a racist? Yes, he does. Does he have the right to be a chief federal judge and known racist? No, he does not. Mr. Cebull’s action of forwarding a racist joke about President Obama was unacceptable and unlawful.

Mr. Cebull wrote a letter of apology to the President in addition to filing a complaint against himself. We must remember that what we distribute digitally to a few individuals potentially is seen by the masses.

The delicate dance of authenticity and political correctness is an absolute requirement regardless of your position in life. Technology connects us all and does it very quickly. If you Google your name, what do you see? More importantly is what do you want your potential employer to see? Being intentional with our use of technology is not an option. Our social profiles have capabilities to extend worldwide. Now that’s a large audience. Do you want applause or do you want to be “booed?”

How important is a social profile to you? Tell us what you think in the comments section.

by Meghan Ivarsson

13 Keys to Write a Carefully Crafted Cover Letter

When crafting a cover letter one has to be perfect and to the point as what is reflected in your cover letter should get you the job you are applying for. Ensure the cover letter is clear, grammatically correct, concise and error free. Here are cover letters writing tips that will make you stand out from the crowd.

1) Attach a cover letter with each resume sent out

It’s always good to send a cover letter even if not requested by the employer. Your cover letter may make the difference between obtaining a job interview and having your resume ignored.

2) Target your cover letter

Check out the job posting and list the criteria the employer is looking for and make a comparison with the skills and experience you have. From there you are able to address your skills and qualifications that match the job description.

3) Provide quality evidence of your qualities

Pick out the top most qualities the employer is seeking in their job specification that you most likely posses and include in the resume.

4) Write a custom cover letter

Writing a custom cover letter at times can be time-consuming but in the end, the cover letter will show the hiring manager at a glance why you are the best person for the job as skills and experiences are included.

5) Start from a cover template

Use a cover letter template s a starting point which will help you create your own personalized cover letter a cover templates helps you take little details and fix them in your own personal letter.

6) Don’t rehash your resume

The cover letter should go hand-in-hand with your resume, therefore expand your resume the highlights of your background in relation to the job you are applying for should match.

7) Write simple and clearly

Make the first paragraph clear enough to sell you to the job. Write short and targeted letters that the employer can read and get what type of personality you have. Each letter should be one page or less and short paragraphs maintained. Finish the last paragraph with a call to action, request the hirers to contact you for an interview.

8) Relevant and brief

Ensure your cover letter draws the recruiter’s eye to relevant experience on attached resume and give him or her a positive picture of you. A brief and a straight to the point cover letter is an advantage as it will not take the managers much time knowing the type of person you are in just few words.

9) Personalize your letter

Write your cover letter and address it to the individual in charge of hiring. The individual is able to go through your cover letter and by reading it he/she will know what you really are targeting.

10) Use email for cover letters

Include cover letters in the mail and keep the message short. Send as attachment when the employer has requested for one. As sometimes cover letters are the ones preferred by the hirer.

11) Spell check and proofread

Ask someone to read your correspondence before sending it out. The other person can take note of important mistakes and correct you. It’s not always easy to note our own mistakes.

12) Sign the letter

Provide a signature at the bottom of your cover letter. This shows a strong signal for authenticity. The cover letter is the only paper needed to be signed.

13) Review cover letter samples

Take time to review cover letter samples that will enable you get ideas for formatting and content. Check to ensure that your letter explains how your skills relate to the criteria listed in the job posting. Reviewing other peoples cover letters will give you a guide on how to better your cover letter.

What challenges you writing cover letters? Let us know in the comment section.

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by Mark Anthony Dyson

Do you impress potential employers?

Do you impress potential employers? Nobody will hire you to just give you a chance. It doesn’t matter if you are hard-working and dedicated unless you own the skills and applied knowledge needed for the employers’ position. A lasting impression is sustainable if there is a pattern of project completion or successful business accomplishments.

Employers want the job done in spite of obstacles, personality conflicts, and bad hair days. The blog, America’s Job Exchange’s article, “What Do Employers Want?” stated, “A good employee gets the job done. A great employee gets the job done in spite of everything – including when priorities and schedules shift.”

What does it take for a job seeker to impress? Among having a great resume, cover letter, an impressive portfolio among other things, here are some important attributes needed:

1. Impress employers with wide range of collaborations and projects

Presently, the workplace excels when employees create and embellish their projects and deepen existing expertise along the way. Job seekers who show creative solutions while partnering departments and businesses establish core competencies attractive to future employers. Even more impressive is offering a range of diverse work relationships across various global cultures.

2.Impress employers with quick and perpetual learners

Job seekers who quickly absorb lots of content in a short amount of time shows you quickly create value from ideas. This often comes from lots of reading and writing in your niche, and finding new ways to apply new learning and theory. Job candidates acutely aware of his or her learning style thrive from taking something from nothing.

3. Impress employers with soft skills

Everyone has virtues that he or she excels in that employers find attractive. Do not discount attributes and virtues such as, patience, tact, and customer service. Interviews are tests exposing weaknesses such as patience, or handling conflict. Other soft skills such as communication, courtesy, flexibility, integrity, and interpersonal skills are still gold and stands out in a crowded field of candidates.

4. Impress employers with initiatives saving cost and time

You have heard numbers on your résumé catch the eye of the reader and demonstrates your accomplishments. Employers want to see step-by-step actions that made project goals attainable. Furthermore, explaining clearly project strength and weaknesses are a plus demonstrating your understanding of how your steps impacted cost/time results.

5. Impress employers with observations and evaluations

While interviewing candidates when I was a manager, we gave a short explanation of how our department worked. After the explanation we asked the candidate learned from the explanation. Whether or not the candidate learned from our spiel, we can successfully assess the candidate’s ability to assimilate blocks of information given in short period. This told us a lot about the candidates learning ability and whether he or she was the right fit for our call center area.

What do you think impresses employers? Please share in the comments section below.