I feel that this week’s topic of authentic online professional profiles lead on nicely from last weeks as it went into more depth about a particular online identity that someone might choose to have and the best way to portray that. It was interesting to see that Linkedin was mentioned in nearly every other blog which shows how prevalent it is when marketing people.
When starting on this topic I was unaware of the extent online profiles were used during employment processes and reading others blogs as well of my research helped me understand why. There was a point I read about in Nik’s blog that I thought was important about fact that your available social profiles count towards an authentic professional profile. This is because a social profile such as Twitter, if contrasting with a professional Linkedin account can bring down the overall authenticity of a professional profile; another reason why privacy settings are so important.
I made a comment on Emma’s Blog discussing the implications of online personality tests during employment processes and whether the shift into an online world can fully overtake the need for face to face interviews. We both agreed that until meeting someone it is very difficult to get an authentic view of what they are like as answers to personality tests can be easily swayed to suit the interest of employers.
I also commented on Tobie’s Blog questioning the impact of a professional blog to improve employability. While I strongly agree it would add to an application it can be a time consuming profile for an employer to make a judgement on whether the author of the blog is fit for a job. Upon reflection though, I feel it depends on what industry a job hunter is in as one that relies heavily on visual aspects (e.g. media), a blog could easily display a portfolio.
Chris Syder's Blog (USOM2033) 