It seems an avalanche of titles has hit the market recently praising the virtues of social media, and in particular, the positive impact it can have for jobseekers. Another such book has hit the shelves today called “Job Searching with Social Media (For Dummies)” by Joshua Waldman.

The author has been kind enough to send me a forward chapter of the book and from what I’ve read, it was impressive and accurate. Early pages are devoted to explaining about your personal brand—a strategy that has become increasingly popular over the past few years. Personal branding (for those new to the concept) is leveraging what makes you unique in the market to become the standout candidate in a pool of many. A strong and authentic personal brand is a match made in heaven with social media where you show the real you every day, in every statement you make, both publicly and privately.

The book, like many in the “Dummies” series is comprehensive and provides tips along the way. Now whether anyone has the amount of time to read a book like this from cover-to-cover is debatable but, from the sample chapter and index I was given, you will not be short of information and obviously, you will be able to zero in on the areas that hold specific interest for you.

In a market where books like these are coming thick and fast, would I recommend it? Well, given the advance materials I’ve seen, yes. The information appears to be solid, researched and accurate… at least at the point where social media stands today. It gives you an opportunity to understand the ‘why’ and the ‘how’ behind the actions you should take when including social media as part of your job search. There is no doubt that social media has become a strong influence in the recruiting and job search arenas and is set to strengthen and grow. Where it will lead us is anyone’s guess, but for jobseekers now, it is clear that the traditional way of finding a job is rapidly becoming a thing of the past. If you don’t know about it, then it’s time to learn — even if you don’t need it right now. It is better to gain familiarity with new(ish) processes early on, than be faced with considerable and inevitable confusion when the world has moved on without you!

This book is relevant and new, but with the growth in social media, one thing is true, one needs to be on the cutting edge, to stay ahead of the game.

Job Searching with Social Media for Dummies is available now from Amazon.com

Remember Scruples?

In case you don’t recall, it was a board game that posed morally challenging questions such as “Would you return money you saw fall from an elderly person’s wallet if you were struggling to feed your family tonight?”

So, let me ask you this:

Imagine being in an interview; all is going well until the interviewer asks, “Do you use social media”?

Do you use social media? It doesn’t sound like a particularly worrisome or tricky question really. Some of the more paranoid among us may get a little prickly as to the relevance of that question in terms of the job being applied for, but generally this question wouldn’t necessarily raise any red flags.

Or does it?

It appears that for some employers, social media is a problem and its use has prompted the end of many a job seeker’s candidacy—one of whom for example, was cited as being a “security risk”.

Knowing this is a possibility, how do you answer that question?

Example 1: Offence is the Best Defence Strategy

“I refuse to give you the details of my online activities as it is irrelevant to this role and against the law to ask”.

So let’s look at this. An interviewer asks a seemingly innocent question for which you have no reason to believe there may or may not be an agenda behind it, and you respond by glaring at the interviewer, folding your arms antagonistically and stubbornly pleading the United States’ fifth amendment.

As a strategy, it’s not much of one.

It comes across defensive and angry; ordinarily not two of the most interview-winning attitudes. For all you know the employer has a social media savvy workplace and actively encourages involvement! The “offence is the best defence” strategy would qualify as the worst answer.

Example 2: The Philosophical Riddle—If I cannot find it, it doesn’t exist Strategy

Non-disclosure is seen as by some as a reasonably risk-free response. They cite that if the employer has Googled your name and hasn’t found anything because your social media activities are blocked from public view, then the “I don’t use social media” response requires the employer to prove that you do.

Clearly this has ethical issues, and could come back to bite you — very seriously — later. Regardless, the if-a-tree-falls-in-the-forest… philosophy is considered by some a low-risk answer that allows you to keep yourself in the running for a job, and keep your Facebook. If your use of Facebook, Twitter, Blogger and Flickr is only shared with friends and family, and you’re not using it to criticise your work, your colleagues or use it at work, then no harm, no foul. Right? Maybe. But no matter how you sugar coat it, you’ve mislead the interviewer and taken a risk with your future.

Example 3: The Half Truth Strategy

How do you feel about half-truths? Are you morally challenged if you cite the most palatable of social media networking such as the LinkedIn profile? After all, it’s likely that the person who is interviewing you has a presence on Linkedin, as it is a place where 34 million business people are represented. Are your scruples challenged if you provide truth by omission?

Example 4: The Truth, the Whole Truth Strategy

Here we come to the person with complete integrity who says, “Part of the job application process is stating the truth. If they have asked, you should remain truthful throughout the process even on insignificant things.”

So you smile, look your interviewer in the eye and say “I use social media to stay connected with friends and family. My Facebook is private and not for public viewing, nor is it work related”. This is undoubtedly the most mature, concise and internet savvy response. You remain uncompromised and feel good about yourself.

After the interview.

After the interview, you return home excited. The job is for you; you have the skills and strengths and the interview went like a dream. You told the whole truth and your integrity is intact.

And then the telephone rings from the agency.  As much as you are a great candidate, unfortunately the employer considers you a security risk and they won’t be taking your application any further.

What do you do at your next interview?

Moral dilemmas. You never know when you’re going to be faced with one.

Jacqui first met her teacher Mrs Brown in her high school graduation year. She doesn’t exactly know what happened, what was said, or why Amelia Brown took such a dislike to her.

But, Mrs Brown seemed hell bent on finding fault with Jacqui’s attitude, her school work and her appearance.

Eventually, Jacqui’s parents stepped in and complained when Jacqui failed Mrs Brown’s class; the only fail in a parade of “A” grade passes. Following an investigation by the principal, Mrs Brown was forced to back down, apologise to Jacqui and amend her course mark to a more realistic “B+”.

The next two months until final graduation, proceeded uneventfully. Jacqui and Mrs Brown were civil to each other, extraordinarily polite and smiled when they passed in the corridor. But neither forgot. Neither forgave.

Time went on. Jacqui graduated, finished a short course in advanced administration and before long, was looking for a job. She was on her way in life and she’d never felt better, more hopeful, or optimistic.

Two week’s later, Jacqui was offered a job at one of the most prestigious beauty salons in the region as the “Director of First Impressions”, greeting clients of the salon, ensuring their comfort, and managing the marketing for special promotions on the company’s database.

Jacqui was excited beyond belief! She simply had to tell her friends immediately!

Sitting down at the computer, she updated her Facebook status.

Got a job at VIP Beauty! WOO HOO!!!” she wrote.

As an afterthought, she giggled as she added

Bite Me Mrs Brown!”

Jacqui’s first day of work was a flurry of excitement, at least until 3:00pm when the owner of the store pulled her aside. She looked serious. “Mrs Amelia Brown just called me and urged us to fire you”, she said as Jacqui felt almost dizzy with shock. “She said” continued the store owner, “That you’re a troublemaker, that you’ve caused conflict before, and she said that you’d been in trouble at school, although she wasn’t specific. Mrs Brown has threatened that she will never use this salon herself and will encourage all her friends to boycott us here unless we let you go.”

Jacqui’s knees went weak, as she attempted to undo the damage. Truthfully, she explained the situation, without embellishment and as she concluded, the store owner nodded. “It seems you have an enemy there Jacqui”, she said. “I  see no need to take this any further.”

The store manager’s words were comforting, but Jacqui’s relief was short lived.

Over the next two weeks, Mrs Brown called the Franchise Regional Manager and every beauty salon in the area to warn what would befall them if they hired Jacqui. After 20 calls by the end of the second week, the Franchise Regional Manager refused to entertain Mrs Brown’s obsession a minute longer. The store manager liked Jacqui, was pleased with her work, but the annoyance shown by the regional manager who urged action, and the barrage of telephone calls from Mrs Brown, were becoming problematic. Jacqui understood the company’s eventual decision to let her go and she bore no ill will towards them. It was just too much drama for a small store to bear.

Jacqui searched her mind. How had all this gone so wrong? How had Mrs Brown even found out about her new job?

“BITE ME MRS BROWN!”

Suddenly those words came flooding back to her. The Facebook status update! Of course!

Immediately Jacqui rechecked her privacy settings. Seems several changes had been made to Facebook’s account settings since she had first set up her page, but Jacqui hadn’t bothered to check what they were or how they worked. They barely rated as far as she was concerned.

She now knows better.

Jacqui’s throw-away line on Facebook, found by, or referred to Mrs Brown by a mischievous friend, enraged the vindictive teacher, reignited her workplace humiliation, and strengthened her resolve for revenge. Jacqui, although innocently, inadvertently fanned the flames by neglecting online discretion and embarrassing an obsessive person publicly.

Update: Twelve month’s later, Jacqui lives and works in Australia after deciding to get away from her home country and let Mrs Brown’s anger cool.

When securing her current job, she refrained this time from saying “Bite me, Mrs Brown!”

(even though she thought it!)

“I don’t want to see their resumes before I see their Facebook. AND don’t give me that privacy stuff; get over yourself, nobody is stalking you!

These are the words of a small business owner I was chatting with recently and the catalyst that prompted this article.

This young, dynamic entrepreneur is no doubt tapping into a workforce of young professionals who will complement her energetic style and align themselves with the vibrant, customer-care environment she extols. By going straight to social media and researching potential job candidates, she is looking for the authentic person that to her, is more “real” than the glossy content of a resume where people present their most professional, public face to employers.

After our chat, I felt uneasy. A jobseeker’s online footprint can be hard (if not impossible) to erase and there are many, many employees who have lost jobs or interviews when a rudimentary search on Google reveals some questionable behaviours, images, interests or unguarded moments.

Trying to sustain a consistent, personal brand 24 x 7 can be difficult enough for a business professional with years of experience, let alone a young person who perhaps is yet to understand the long-term ramifications of a hastily posted photo or anger-filled rant. Even if this was uppermost in the mind of the jobseeker, sometimes friends can reveal information or images best left to personal get-togethers than a public wall. Deleting and untagging photos to sustain a professional brand could become an ongoing chore if life was such an open book.

What would you do if getting a job relied on your life being available for view by just anyone?

What if you were desperate to get a job with this exciting business? Would you sacrifice privacy to get the job? What if the conditions of the job meant you were to maintain an unlocked Facebook page so if you were home sick from work, your Facebook status could be checked?

To get a feel for such an experience, I went to the business owner’s personal Facebook. She practises what she preaches; her life is an open book. I can see her friends, her leisure-time activities, the type of music she likes, and her philosophy of life. Oh.. and now we’re ‘friends’ so I can write on her wall.

But now I’m a customer and a friend. Has that blurred the boundaries and how do I feel about that? To be truthful, I admit to being a little disappointed. On the telephone she’s friendly, in charge and professional. Her follow-up emails are bright and breezy, her marketing is the best I’ve seen for a while (certainly in her industry). In my mind I have a good feel for her brand: smart, professional, customer-service focused and an expert in her field. It all goes slightly awry when she has a private life that sounds perfectly normal but to which I would not normally be exposed.

The lines are being blurred right across social media and of course it is routine for recruiters and employers to look online to find out what they can about the “real” person behind the resume on their desks.

The difference is when it becomes the primary and initial source of information and forces the jobseeker to reveal all to even be considered for a job.

Then the lines between employer, employees, friend and influential snoop become unfocused and somewhat uneasy.

I love technology. Love everything about it and a good deal of the time as soon as I find out about some new service or software I’m playing with it minutes later. Sometimes though you need to think before you launch yourself online; especially when it comes to publicly available information about you.

Today I learned about Twitres. It looks like a really cool service. They are on Twitter if you feel like following @Twitres

My initial reaction was “Wow! How cool! I can’t wait to share this with my clients!” You can upload your resume and get feedback from the world. The immediacy of it all excited me. And, then I had a thought. From a privacy perspective is this what you want as a jobseeker?

There is of course, the problem with identity theft. Here you are giving your name, address, telephone, and all your work details to the world. Would it really be all that hard for a complete stranger to use this information to obtain birth certificates, a new driver’s licence, or re-route your credit card account to a new address?

When you send a resume to a recruiter or employer, only a few select people see it. Do you really want all this information to be spread around the world? I’m not entirely sure this is a great idea, but I do suggest this as a minimum. Remove your contact details to just include an email address. Give people intent on ID theft a bit more work to do rather than wrapping “project you” up with a nice bow on top.

My second privacy concern is your current employer. Most jobseekers tend to want to keep their job hunt a secret from their current employers. I’m not sure uploading a resume for the world to see is really going to help with that! Your resume may also include information that is company confidential. Would your employer appreciate knowing that budgets, sales figures and internal control issues are floating around for the world to see?

I still think the idea is clever and innovative. It just needs to be balanced with a cool head. Think before uploading to this or any online service. Think who could be seeing it, what they may do with the information and whether your propensity for broadcasting confidential data could be viewed as a negative by people in your industry.

Be job smart and protect yourself.