Reid Hoffman | CFO Coach

Fistful of Talent had a blog post last week entitled “LinkedIn Profiles – More Accurate than Resumes … Sad but True.” This quote came from Reid Hoffman, founder of Linked In, in a presentation made at the first Social Recruiting Summit in 2009 …

… people won't lie in public via LinkedIn. With that in mind, the core elements at play in most LinkedIn profiles – the titles, the dates, etc. – are always going to be more accurate than the resume.

I’m hopeful that in this age of transparency, candidates have learned those hard lessons!

Telling is Jessica Lee’s statement that “if you're truly looking for ‘what's up’ with a candidate, you need to rely on the LinkedIn profile.”

Web 2.0 as a recruiting strategy …

–is trending north. If you aren’t where recruiters are looking, you won’t be found. And no visibility can negatively impact credibility.

–forces transparency. Unless you are, perhaps, a well-entrenched politician, you cannot lie and get away with it. It is too easy today to dispel any misstatements, exaggerations, or untruths.

–allows even stronger positioning as a coveted high-value target. You can be “in the game” long before you “need” to be playing the game.

–fosters the candidate’s ability to position himself from his strengths, values, passions, and interests rather than forcing him to be all things to all people .

When CFOs choose to work with me, they have no choice but to create profiles on Linked In … it’s part of their success factor. And what is showing up on Linked In is exactly the same branded message a company, CEO, or Board member will find in his other marketing collateral.

Transparency + Integrity is Critical!

Todd Raphael offers insights following the recent Social Recruiting Conference at Google headquarters and a conversation with Linked In founder, Reid Hoffman. It’s an insightful article, and CFOs can certainly learn a thing or two about how recruiters are using social media to recruit.

One of the industries that Hoffman mentions as needing to be an early adopter of social media in order to avoid being at a competitive disadvantage is venture capital. He goes on to say,

“If your business is based on talking to people you don’t know, you have to be very competent with these tools….”

I agree, and, taken to the next level, managing your career is all about talking to people … many of whom you don’t know, yet … who can help you achieve your career goals. Social media is a tool for doing just that.

One of my colleagues recently mentioned a reticence on the part of her clients to build a strong online identity (digital footprint). She asked me about my finance executive clients and whether they were questioning this social media phenomenon. When clients work with me, they come in knowing that building a visible online presence is a key piece of an overall career management / job search strategy. If they don’t want to or are unwilling to do so, then I’m not the right person to work with them.

I want my clients to be successful. Getting there requires them to embrace social media as a key strategy to achieving their goals. Read the article, and then get on board!