Undoubtedly, the internet is an integral part of our daily lives and we use it in every aspect of our lives. Social Media is an important and growing part of the internet, both in our personal and professional life. But what is Social Media?
Social Media are online communities for the purpose of communication and interaction of its members. Their goal is to create and exchange information, ideas and opinions between people with common interests without hindering the geographical distance or time difference of its members. In contrast, social media offers instant, fast and massive dissemination of information through images, videos and articles. The most popular Social Media are LinkedIn for interaction between professionals and companies, Facebook for communication between friends and acquaintances, Instagram for viewing images and videos and Twitter for exchanging short messages. Although Linkedin is a purely professional social media tool, this does not mean that other Social Media are not used for business purposes by companies and professionals. But how is this achieved?
Initially, companies, which have realized the resonance and impact of social media, use them to inform and promote the company and the products / services they provide, but also for direct communication with professionals and customers. In addition, they often post job ads on them (LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter) when they want to hire workforce. Specifically on Facebook, they advertise their job ads for a fee, so that there is a greater impact and even more dissemination of the job, beyond the people, who follow their page. Consequently, for people, who are looking for or wanting to change jobs, Social Media is a useful tool for finding work and taking advantage of job opportunities.
Then, through social media, it is possible to trace information of a company, so that a candidate can be prepared, when called for a job interview. On Social Media (LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram) one can learn about the departments of the company, the products / services / actions / projects it provides, the CV of the people, where they work in it, and its corporate culture. In this way, on the one hand, he/she will have the information, where needed, for the interview and on the other hand, he will find out whether the business culture matches his / her own work culture.
On the other hand, companies do the same. When they receive a resume from a person, they look for it on social media, so that they can first find out, if the information in their resume is true and accurate and then to form an initial image of the person’s personality. It is noteworthy that, according to a survey by CareerBuilder (2017), 70% of HR managers evaluate the overall presence of the candidate on Social Media, while 57% do not interview candidates, where they do not find online. Also, 1 in 3, has rejected a candidate due to the content, where he/she has posted on his/her social media.
For this reason, it is good for people to take care of their digital image. By this, we mean not to state false information about themselves, whether it is their formal qualifications (e.g. degrees, experience) or their personal information (e.g. age), to use their real name and not a nickname (especially on LinkedIn and email), to be active in posting posts and not to remember, that they have profiles on them once every two months, not to have profiles on all Social Media, but on those that they really use, and finally to be careful, so that their posts express their personality, views and feelings, if not in a professional, at least in an elegant way. On the other hand, professionals can enhance their digital image by showcasing their skills and highlighting their achievements. For example, a photographer may post artistic photos on Instagram as a sample of his / her portfolio, while a sales clerk may post on LinkedIn the certificate he / she received in Digital Marketing as another job qualification.
Last but not least, social media, as its name implies, contributes significantly to the networking of professionals with companies or with other professionals. This can be achieved by locating and following companies (LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram), which are of professional interest to individuals, so that they are immediately informed about news and business developments (e.g. creating a new product), locate and connect with professionals – keys (LinkedIn), where they work in companies in their professional field (e.g. Human Resources Manager in a hotel unit), to identify and join a group of their professional interests (LinkedIn, Facebook), so that through posts and discussions, on the one hand to meet other professionals and on the other hand to promote their services and finally following professionals in their field (LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram), who are an inspiration and a model for them. It is worth emphasizing that, in order to be effective, all this needs to be done by professionals, whether they are in active or inactive working condition.
From the above, it is understood that Social Media offers a direct and reciprocal professional relationship between companies and professionals, but, also, professionals between them, which, if utilized in the best possible way by both parties, then, only fruits can thrive.
This article contains copyright. Reproduction of all or part of this article may be done with the consent of the author or with reference to the website www.marialykousi.gr. The first publication was made at www.psychology.gr on 04/20/2021.