Improve Your Social Resume

Technology plays a major role in our lives, so it is essentially, even critical, to use it as a tool to complement our offline activities. While having a proper paper resume is key, recruiters are increasingly going the extra mile to determine if an individual is a right fit for the company based on their social resume.

Social resume is a combination of online profiles under an individual’s moniker, and can consist of multiple platforms, such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Depending on the privacy settings, it is easy to find out and determine the personalities behind such profiles with a few clicks. It helps to put a face to the cover letter, and without even having an actual interview, filter out the candidates from their online lifestyle. Whether the employer is looking to headhunt or confirm credentials, one can definitely benefit from having a strong and positive online presence from these tips.

STEER AWAY FROM CONTROVERSIAL TOPICS

While many of us like to separate our personal and working lives, it is easy to mix both of them once they are online. Any public information shared on social networking platforms becomes accessible by anyone, and can paint a whole different picture of the candidate. Although the skill set requirement is met, sharing or posting about such negative practices may be a huge disadvantage. Generally, recruiters dislike behavior that deal with illegal drugs, sexual content, spelling errors, and regular alcohol consumption. If this is part of an individual’s lifestyle, consider a private profile because it can also negatively affect the company’s brand image in the long run.

BE CREATIVE WITH INFORMATION PRESENTATION

There is an information overload online, and one of the ways to beat this is to present such important information creatively. This can help to narrow down the information to focus on certain core aspects or skills, and leaves the employer with a good impression. One of the ways to achieve is to go the extra mile and design your resume, such as presenting the information in pie charts or a landscape graph. These help to form an information landscape that is readily accessible by the recruiters. Another way is to alter the content to suit each company specifically, so that it becomes an unique appeal and memorable design to get into their good books.

HAVE A PROFESSIONAL ONLINE AVATAR OR PROFILE PICTURE

It goes without saying that a good photograph can make all the difference with the attention and likes, but maintaining a professional online avatar or profile image is equally as important, especially for individuals looking to make a good first impression. Photographs with skimpy outfits or questionable activities should generally be avoided as it can cloud the potential of the resume. Instead, consider investing in a professional business photoshoot so that your best appearance is put forward for the company's’ consideration. Other than having proper business attire, a good smile and strong posture will help to convey the individual’s suitability with the company.

The Do's and Dont's Of Getting To Know A New Colleague

When someone new arrives at the office, the first thought that goes through everyone’s mind will either fall under the “who is this” category or the “how well can I work with this person” camp.

An everyday office unit can be hard to penetrate, especially if it is a highly organised and closely-knitted one, where everyone works together as a single corporate organism. Take a moment to step into the newbie’s shoes, and understand what is considered appropriate (and inappropriate) when it comes to welcoming another.

DO's

Do take time to “break the ice” and find out more about them. There is nothing more uplifting than the feeling of being accepted and acknowledged by others, especially during the first week. Take this time to also assert who has the potential for growth in the company. Invite the new colleague out with the usual work crew, and as the rules state: the newbie always foots the bill.

Do establish a sense of company culture and/or rules from the start. This is helpful if the company upholds a strong sense of individualistic culture — new colleagues have new ideologies that may or may not add value to the company. It is also easier to fix the ground rules before something happens, and they have to be changed.

DONT's

Don’t confront them directly. Direct confrontations during the first week can seem like a personal attack, or unfriendly warning, to the new colleague. It can also escalate if the newbie retaliates the confrontation with an aggressive front — creating an impression that can be irreversible. This can create a downhill slide of relations in the office, where the primary misunderstanding can never be cleared for a better working relationship.

Don’t spread stories about their personality or personal lifestyle. It is hardly surprising that the newbie is recognised in the same field previously, but avoid using these past impressions to form a present judgement. People constantly change, and it is not fair to benchmark a person by looking back, instead of going forward to create a new impression that is concrete to the person today.

Don’t take advantage of their newbie status in the company. This can backfire very quickly once the newbie catches on, and the tension will never really go away. Sending him/her to get a cup of juice is fine, but getting 10 cups of juice throughout the day is an abuse of power. There is never a restart button once things sour, so instead of trying to take advantage, aim to work together and share the workload.