Resume?
BORING!!!!
There are people who summarise their CVs through Twitter, in just 140 characters! (Silverman, R.E. & Weber, L., 2013)
According to Social Recruiting Survey Results (Jobvite, 2014), 73% of recruiters have hired candidates through social media. What’s more! 79% of them are hired through LinkedIn!
So do you have a LinkedIn account?
If you don’t, it is not too late to create one now!!
But WAIT!!!
Maybe not now, you can do it after reading this post! You will not regret!
However, if you do have a LinkedIn account, you can always edit your profile after reading this!
It is important for you to create social media profiles to assist you in seeking for a job. However, in order to differentiate yourself among the candidates, you will need to have a creative profile, while keeping it PROFESSIONAL. Yes, that is the word, PROFESSIONAL!
So, how do you keep your profile PROFESSIONAL?
Top on the list, your profile has to be AUTHENTIC!
Authenticity is crucial. If you do not like people to lie to you, do not lie to them too!
Be real, be true to yourself. Market yourself according to what you have. Do not create anything more or lesser than that. Never ever lie on your profile. If you lie, you will definitely be exposed one day. Nothing is private these days. It is definitely NOT cool if you are caught red-handed. Scott Thompson, former Yahoo CEO, is a legit example. He was caught for adding in a computer science degree in his resume when he does not even own one. Therefore, it caused him to lose a job, and his credibility.
In order to develop authenticity in your profile, the key is to be consistent. Always post materials that are in-line with what you actually are. You can still stay professional while being yourself.
Post materials that are necessary and practical. It is always good to keep it simple and clean. You can always post the other unnecessary materials to your other social media accounts. However, do remember to post only positive materials. Every social media profiles of yours are interrelated. You do not want to spoil your reputation.
[Image from Simple Sells’ Tumblr]
Adam Pacitti is an example who fully utilises his material into his “resume”, while making it creative and professional. He turned viral in less than 24 hours! Click here to check out how he did it!
So, it is not that difficult to create an authentic online professional profile! Go and create or edit your profiles NOW!
REFERENCES
Bowes, P. (2013). Botox your CV and online profile. BCC News Business. [Accessed: 3rd December 2014]
Hutchinson, A. (2014). Professional authenticity: Can you be too authentic online? FireBrand Ideas Ignition. Blog. [Accessed: 3rd December 2014]
Hyams, C. (2012). Personal Branding on LinkedIn: 10 Mistakes to Avoid. Jeffbullas.com. [Accessed: 3rd December 2014]
Jobvite. (2014) Social Recruiting Survey Results 2014. Jobvite. PDF. [Accessed: 3rd December 2014]
Jonak, A. (2013). Case Study: Lessons from “Employ Adam” … Simple Sells. Tumblr. [Accessed: 3rd December 2014]
McNaramara, T. (2012). Does your resume match up? FireBrand Ideas Ignition. Blog. [Accessed: 3rd December 2014]
Silverman, R.E. & Weber, L. (2013). The New Resume: It’s 140 Characters. The Wall Street Journal. [Accessed: 3rd December 2014]
ruhuanng 
Hi Ruhuan!
Love your introduction to the post!! And i was shocked that people could actually fit their CV in just 140 words. I always exceed my Twitter limit even when I commit grammar mistakes (oh the horror) in an attempt to shorten it!
I agree that no one should ever lie and claim that they have done something they have not! Lies will always come back and bite them in the back! But what about if someone has lied and claim that they have a certain degree 10 years ago, but have clinch many deals through hard-work and dedication. Do you think that they deserve a second chance? They might have been desperate to land a job but couldn’t afford to pay for school fees then.
Having an authentic account is needed, but what if we have no job experience, awards etc, then how should be market ourselves to be more attractive and authentic at the same time?
Looking forward to your next post! 😀
Yu Ting
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Hi Yu Ting,
Thanks for your comment.
Your questions really kept me pondering. Personally, I feel that it is alright to give the employee a second chance. However, a lie is still a lie. The employer would take precaution and might not trust the employee anymore. Besides, he or she might be branded as a liar, and the taint will follow him or her forever. If the other employees know about that, they would find it unfair too.
To answer the second part of your doubt, I believe that even if we do not have any job experiences, we should never lie. According to Lifehacker’s reply to a question (Dachis, A. 2011), there are many ways where you can build your own experiences to make your resume more attractive.
Therefore, I strongly suggest that no one should ever lie in their resume.
You can take a look at the Career Nook website under the references. They explained how lying can hurt one’s career path.
Hope my answers are able to clear your doubts.
Ruhuan
REFERENCES
Ann, R. (2013). Job Applications: Is It OK to Lie Just a Little About Education on My Resume? Career Nook.
Available: http://www.careernook.com/2013/11/job-applications-is-it-ok-to-to-lie-about-education-on-my-resume/
[Accessed: 4th December 2014]
Dachis, A. (2011). How Do I Get a Job When I Have No Relevant Experience? LifeHacker.
Available: http://lifehacker.com/5720706/how-do-i-get-a-job-when-i-have-no-relevant-experience
[Accessed: 4th December 2014]
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Hey Ruhan,
Thanks for the tips on developing an authentic online profile.
I have read the article on Scott Thompson being discharged from Yahoo! after the discovery of a fake degree on his resume. I can only imagine the shame and embarrassment he had to go through. As a CEO, I’m sure he was respected by many of his employees. Many people would have lost their trust and respect for him after he was caught lying. He would have an extremely hard time building up his credibility again and looking for a job would be really difficult after the incident. This really makes me think twice about lying on my resume and even a job interview. Better not fake it if you don’t have it!
You mentioned that one should only post materials that are necessary and practical. If this is so, how would one add creativity and their own “flair” to their online account?
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Hi Yvonne,
Thanks for taking time to comment.
Yes, I agree with you too, regarding the Yahoo CEO, Scott Thompson. I bet he regretted doing it. After what he had done, he has ruined his own credibility, which will affect his future career path.
As to your question, what I meant for posting materials that are necessary and practical would also include things like their interests, experiences, etc, that might also help them in seeking related job. Many people might have the same interest, or even the same experiences. However, in order to stand out among others, one has to be creative. One of the examples would be the video CV that Edgar has shown us during HRM module, which is available in this link. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9EzNll1U2N8
Everything that he showed in the video is necessary and practical that would help him in expressing his interest and strength.
Hope that my answer is able to clear your queries.
Ruhuan.
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Hi Ruhuan!
I love how you kept this post so simple and easy to understand. The bottom line is to be authentic and consistent as well, which I couldn’t agree more. To lie is an embarrassment when people get to find out the truth and it will turn out ugly, worse for reputation. I agree with what you have said ‘Always post materials that are in-line with what you actually are.’ However, you later on mentioned that we should only post positive materials of ourselves. Because we are humans, and we do have flaws. So should we even mention our weak points or play it out as strengths?
Looking forward to your next post!
Cheers,
Rochelle
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Hi Rochelle,
Thanks for taking your time to read and comment on my post.
As to your question, I believe that everyone has flaws. However, I think that one should always post positive materials that are able to assist us in seeking for job. For example, their interest, experiences, and etc. No doubt that one may not be good at everything. You can mention your weak points, but you have to be able to express it as your strength. However, it has to be practical to the situation. One should never post negative materials such as showing their “wild” life in the social media that would spoil their reputation, unless they are applying for job that requires those characters. Other than that, I think it is alright for people to show their weak side.
Different people have different perspective. You might never know that some of your weak point may be viewed as a plus point to other people.
Hope that my answer is able to clear your queries.
Ruhuan.
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