What Role Will Social Media Play in Tomorrow’s Job Search? Hiring? Firing?
Social media is constantly evolving, providing more and more opportunities for its users. Nowadays, it is unheard of for companies to not have social media accounts. In order to reach a larger target audience, gain customer loyalty, and receive feedback from consumers, it is necessary for them to be active on these mediums. These new platforms have made it more convenient and easier for companies to promote themselves to attract new talent. With the help of websites such as Indeed.ca, it has never been easier to apply for jobs. In the past, I have personally been able to find a job through this website, proving its effectiveness and emphasizing its demand in the market. In addition, this has made networking faster and accessible to everyone, as we are all connected in this global village.
So how will this play in tomorrow’s job search? The answer’s already out there, or more specifically, on your newsfeed. The integration of advertisements have made the process of online job searching easier for both the employers and for those who are looking. Soon enough, more and more companies will start to use their social media platforms to look for suitable candidates. News travels fast when there are millions of users at your fingertips.
Which leads us to the next step — the hiring process. Creating an online presence has become a useful tool for most, especially bloggers. They are able to use their online following to their advantage to appeal to companies for PR purposes. That’s not all, some are fortunate enough to partner with these companies for more than just PR samples, as they can be hired to become part of the marketing team.
An example would be YouTube beauty blogger, Ingrid Nilson, who has become the “glam-bassador” for the drugstore makeup brand, Covergirl. She is able to use her platform to promote any of the new launches in depth, which is an effective marketing tool as people tend to trust the reviews of people they look up to.
Although some people intentionally build up their online presence for these purposes, others are not aware of the consequences this comes with. The social norms have changed drastically and most people are aware of this. In order for the company to have a good reputation, they must appeal to a majority of people by offering good products or services, as well as representing something bigger. Morals are valued by many individuals, enough for them to lose interest in companies that don’t represent what they stand for. For example, some people feel very strongly about makeup companies that use animal testing for their products that they make the effort to support companies that are cruelty free.
If the reputation of a company is damaged by certain employee’s views, then this can jeopardize their business as a whole. For example, if someone working for a company that has been vocal about their distaste for racism constantly uses racial slurs on Twitter, this could damage the image of the company. People could misunderstand that that person is a representative of the company, which could then raise questions about their morals. To avoid confusion and negative publicity, most companies would feel the need to fire the racist employee if this was brought to their attention. This has happened many times already in the past, and will not stop anytime in the future.
Overall, I believe the role that social media already plays in today’s job search, hiring and firing processes will only become more prominent and integrated.
