A regular employment update from Kinetic Recruitment.
Pre-recession, these sites were around but really not "in your face" as far as I was concerned. I imagine that since recession hit, they have flourished and grown as businesses have strived to expand their networks and stay in touch with their clients in any innovative way possible.
What do I personally think of them? I don't if I can help it. I'll be honest, I dislike them. But in today's networking world, I grudgingly accept that they have a function. The reason I dislike them is because I feel that they are a total invasion of my privacy. I admit that I am in the minority and most people I know are on Facebook, even if it's just to "stay in touch" with long lost friends.
The worst thing about these sites as an employer is that they are so time consuming. Before I was in the know and had Facebook blocked at work, the IT logs of staff on Facebook was nearly 100 per cent of their working day! As an active social networker, you are constantly checking for updates, how many "twits" are twittering you and so on... it doesn't stop!
I am sure over the past year with candidates thinking outside the square in a bid to market themselves effectively in a tight job market, these sites have given them the feeling that they are going the extra mile and it could be making a difference, networking - even in the traditional sense - is often undervalued in the business world.
So what's the rest of the plus side? I have asked a lot of people as I struggle to understand the obsession with FB, Twitter etc. My receptionist told me a friend of hers met a guy at a party on Friday night last week. Their friends were friends of friends, a complicated connection which meant that although they swapped numbers and talked for half an hour she walked away knowing nothing more than his name and with no possibility of digging for more information from mutual acquaintances.
Enter Facebook - the boy in question had been on FB for eighteen months during which time he had uploaded numerous photos, attended events, joined groups, become a fan of various bands, updated his status and everything else you could possibly do. And to top it off, his profile was public.
For those of you who feel the same way I do about FB and are not in the know, this means that anyone who has a FB account can access his information and see everything that he does while logged in. Do you see what I mean about privacy invasion? How is this okay?
People using these sites get so used to the concept of people being able to see what they are up to at all times, it doesn't seem necessary to hide anything anymore. Everybody wants to be somebody and this is the best way to star in your very own ongoing virtual reality.
From a business point of view, we have LinkedIn on which I have a profile. I see jobs advertised extensively from overseas and for some roles, broadening your market to include candidates with a different phone code is definitely opening the pool and target market to include all the best options.
At the end of the day, social networking is all about COMMECTION (a combination of communication and connection). Gen C (Commection) is the first Generation to which we can all choose to belong - it is not defined by your date of birth but more by your total and utter buy-in to the instant updates and ongoing knowledge of what everyone else in your vast virtual circle is doing at any moment of the day.
Like it or not, I know and understand that these sites will develop further and be a big part of all of our futures. It's not for me, but in your own time (not the company's!) have a look and make your own mind up. Just remember - everyone is watching!
* Kate Ross is director of Kinetic Recruitment and school leaver career search company whr24u.
