I'll be honest I have no idea what kind of work is involved in doing a research project where an actual book is required, I have no need for phone books, or an address book, or a reminder calendar..My Facebook reminds me (on my Blackberry) when my 700 closest friends birthdays are coming up and what events I will be attending ... Twitter tells me what my friends are doing and where they are, I have no need for a camera because the camera on my Blackberry has more mega pixels than my actual camera- and after all I am only taking pictures to load them onto my Facebook site so my family and friends can see what I am doing and where I have been. I really have no need for my cell phone mins. because I can email and text from my phone with ease- why talk to one person at a time when you can chat it up with multiple people at any one time....
Social media sites and gadgets have changed the way the world works period. Millions of Americans would crumble without their Blackberry and constant access to their Twitter and Facebook sites. Social media is the way the world is doing business these days, using social networking sites that two years ago where considered to be for personal use only, are now considered to be common knowledge. Knowing how to use the sites to gain exposure and generate a profit is considered to be a mandatory skill by companies around the globe.
As a college senior graduating in a matter of days, the job market that I am entering into has no comparison. Every moment of everyday I am on a job interview- my Facebook, Twitter and blog are all a part of my resume and my digital makeup. Our once considered personal sites are no longer that- they are anything but personal. With one quick Google search I can be found in 27 different search results- the good, bad and the ugly can be revealed to future employers whether I like it or not.
This week I was in New Orleans for a job interview, I was speaking with one of my potential future bosses one afternoon when I asked how she was hired by the company. She went on to tell me that she had lived most of her life in NY and had moved to FL to get married. She had no intention of looking for a job in FL and was very content being a mom and a wife. One afternoon she received a phone call from her current employer saying that they had seen her resume on Linkdin and was interested in meeting with her for an interview..SHE HAD NOT EVEN APPLIED FOR THIS JOB! She went in a few weeks later for an interview and was hired on the spot...all because of her Linkdin profile!
Case and point: Every second of every day we are in job interviews. What we post, what we comment on, what we say and who were friends with are all reflections of who we are as potential employees.
By: Maggie Strassel
A Spring 2010 (hopeful) graduate
Mstrassel@flagler.edu
