The 5 Elements of Digital Leadership
We have all been distracted by the news of how colleges and businesses are increasingly viewing social media to assess their applicants. Yet the true rationale underlying this practice often gets drowned out by dramatic mistakes and negative outcomes (see the story of the Harvard 10).
For those of us who have been watching closely, digital leadership has emerged as a key distinguishing factor among applicants for select college admissions, scholarship grants, internships and employer recruitment.
A robust digital presence reflecting a student’s activities, accomplishments, interests, and community and/or family service creates actionable data upon which schools and scholarship committees can make informed decisions. We need to move away from the Kaplan approach of quantifying the percentage of admissions officers who might randomly check an applicant’s social media towards the proactive approach of expressly inviting schools to view our digital presence in support of our application.
If someone sends us a link of any kind, it doesn’t have to be from some company or some organization, if it seems relevant to making the best possible case for that person’s admission, we will certainly take a look at it. William R. Fitzsimmons, Harvard’s Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid
Similar trends are developing on the employment front. According to a recent Forbes article, 35% of employers are less likely to interview applicants they can’t find online and 44% of hiring managers found information online that caused them to hire a candidate. According to another report, among the primary reasons employers hired a candidate based on their social media profiles were candidate’s background information supported their professional qualifications (38%), great communication skills (37%), a professional image (36%), and creativity (35%). These reports and others like it show the growing importance of demonstrating digital leadership in the context of career opportunities.
“For job seekers, the persuasive cover letter and germane resume have long been the way to get a foot in the door, and more recently, HR directors will rummage through Google to make sure nothing negative turns up. But now, the extent to which individuals have established a strong and compelling online presence is having an impact on who gets the interview and job.” Knowledge@Wharton
Confidently offering your social media for inspection to colleges and employers conveys digital leadership. Comprised of 5 essential elements, digital leadership includes: digital literacy, digital presence, digital voice, digital integrity and digital portfolio.
Digital Literacy: Do you understand the fundamental social media rules of permanence, discoverability and audience reach? Do you appreciate the vital information you are providing for public consumption with each post, comment and interaction? Are you proficient in essential digital skills? Are you a good digital citizen?
Digital Presence: Are you easy to find online by name or do you hide behind an alias? Have you established your unique digital identity within Google? Do your user names demonstrate maturity and good judgment? Are your user names and profile photos consistent across platforms? Are you discoverable on the major social media networks such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram?
Digital Voice: Does your social media presence demonstrate a point of view, a perspective, an opinion? Do you proactively engage with and contribute to online communities? Do you support meaningful causes? Are you charitable and empathetic? Are you a leader? A team player?
Digital Integrity: Are you authentic? Does your social media presence align with the skills, interests and activities highlighted on your college application, college essay, resume, and personal statement? Are your social media profiles consistent with one another and do they accurately tell your story across platforms? Are your likes, follows and shares reflective of your own good character?
Digital Portfolio: What will colleges and employers be able to learn about you by examining your social media? Will they be able to assess your writing, creativity, professionalism, problem-solving and analytical skills? Will they be able to evaluate your actual work product? Your most marketable skills? Your resilience? Your blog posts?
Social media provides an actionable window into your life and, for a multitude of reasons, colleges and employers are wisely using social media to recruit digital leaders to join their campuses and offices. Like all other skills of import, digital leadership is a learned skill.
Social Assurity offers social media educational courseware and other services to enable you to learn how to become a digital leader for a competitive edge in college and grad school admissions, scholarship grants and career pursuits.
