Recruiter Bill Vick was shining in the CFO–Career–Forum this week. He offered a fast–paced and compelling argument for why you, Mr. Finance Executive, should leverage social networking as a key part of an overall branding strategy.
My favorite statement from Bill was this … “You are who Google says you are,” followed by “You are your brand.” And he’s right. And that trend is going to become even more important in the future.
According to Execunet’s "Dealing With Your Digital Dirt" report, the number of recruiters who use search engines to uncover information about candidate is up almost 10% over 2005 figures. Additionally, the number of recruiters who said they have eliminated a candidate because of information they found on the Internet is up 17% over that same time period.
Leveraging the power of Linked In was a big part of Bill’s social networking insight, and his tip at the end was worth the price of admission. I hope you caught it!
My long–time readers will recognize Bill’s philosphy as being one I have been preaching for quite awhile … having a visible online brand positions you as the clear and compelling choice and is a vital long–term career management strategy.
Hi Cindy, I would like to see some of the facts behind the recruiters who eliminated people because of “digital dirt”. I don’t believe it.
They might discover that the person does not have the kind of experience they want. That’s different.
I have been hearing these kinds of facts for years, but my source for these statistics was taken directly from the Execunet Digital Dirt report. You might pull the report … and follow up with Execunet if you still have questions.
The “dirt” that “could” get someone eliminated might be falsifying education and/or credentials, being an outspoken (with posts that are perceived as rude or offensive) of a political sensitive position, participating in discussions where companies and bosses are being dissed,or being involved in some kind of scandal that made it into the news.
Before Google became such a popular tool for recruiters, where you posted and what you said didn’t matter too much. Now, it does! A branded, visible online presence is critical.