Does Your Online Identity Scream Hire Me - Executive Career Brandâ„¢

Does Your Online Identity Scream Hire Me Think your online presence, or lack of it, doesn’t factor much into executive hiring decision-making? Think again. Given two equal candidates, in terms of skill sets, education, work history, and all around good fit for the job, recruiters and hiring professionals are likely to choose the one with the stronger, more vibrant online footprint. According to Boris Epstein, CEO and Founder of BINC, a Professional Search Firm that specializes in the Software Marketplace, in his Mashable post, Do You Pass the Social Media Recruitment Test?: The problem of today completely flipped from the one of yesterday where we went from candidate scarcity and limited information to an overabundance of candidates and even more information available on each one. In today’s world of information overload, talent is literally available by the truckloads. What exactly about your online footprint will tip the scales in your favor? Boris says he would contact the one who: On Has a 100% complete profile. Has genuine recommendations from peers, managers and colleagues. Belongs to more Groups related to their field. Has a photo on their profile. Lists volunteering and other non-paid projects on their profile. Frequently posts status updates. Asks and answers more questions. Links to their employer, blog and other relevant sites. Has more connections. On Twitter Tweets 2-10 times per day. Boasts an appropriate followers/following ratio. Has the biggest network. Balances personal and professional tweets well. Does more than just update. Responds to others and generally gets Twitter. On their blog Writes interesting content about their respective profession and industry. Writes some about their personal life and passions â€" family, friends, hobbies, etc. Does not bad-mouth their current or previous employer. Links to their social networking profiles. Links to their current resume. Publishes new posts on a regular basis. Keeps the content non-controversial. Has a blogroll with link to other interesting blogs. When Googled Does not have digital dirt. Leads discussions and commentary on other social media sites. Leads to their own blog, web profile, or social media profiles. Has a healthy number of search results for their name. Why are these criteria so important? Boris says: Nowadays employers rarely hire just skills and are looking for much more of a complete package â€" skills plus a well-rounded individual that fits well with their team and company. And a person’s social media footprint gives employers (and others) the best insight into your passions, interests, communication styles, work habits, work/life balance and all sorts of other valuable information. The bottom line is obvious. If youre not using social media, get busy. Create  fully fleshed out   and Twitter profiles and leverage them and other platforms fully.  Dont stop even when you get the job. Related posts: Executive Job Search and Blogging: Perfect Together Online Executive Personal Branding: Are You Digitally Distinct? Executive Branding and Your Profile: How to TransformYour Executive Brand, Resume, and Career Biography Into a Winning Profile 00 0