For my company to be successful building it up from the ground up I would need people who are just as dedicated to making it a success as I am. Resumes and cover letters can only tell you so much about a person. They may tell you some of their better achievements and their ability to use spell check, but they don't tell you who each applicant is as a person. Thankfully nowadays though, most people make whole web pages devoted to who they are as a person.
It would be beneficial to go through all of the applicants web pages and any use of social networking sites such as facebook and twitter. While sometimes I feel that corporations may take their judgment of applicants based off of social networking sites a little too far when looking into their personal life, it can still be beneficial to seeing what kind of worker they will be. I don't want my employees to be soulless automatons and have no social life, but if someone is not a good person to be around or have in the work place, that is usually quite salient from things they may say on such sites.
As my company will work exclusively and closely with universities it would be beneficial for my company to take on many interns during the summer, and even perhaps during the semester by being close to a university campus. It will be most beneficial to look at their use of socially networking sites, perhaps even more than the normal job applicants as they most likely use them a lot more than the older generation. And if their positions are going to be helpful in any way we can not have interns that are going to be unreliable or destructive in the workplace. Their facebook will tell me more about them in 5 seconds than their cover letter ever will.
You said it all. I couldn't agree with you more. If you think about what you put up on your social networking sites, you know that it says a lot about your personality and your likability. However, I will add to your reasoning and say that communication is the most useful/important skill in any trade. Being able to visually see what and how this person acts and communicates can say a lot about them and how they will adapt to the real world. Let's face it, communication and connections mean a whole lot in the business world.
ReplyDeleteI love that you said, "Their facebook will tell me more about them in five seconds than their cover letter ever will," because it is more true than we think. On the other hand, many people live different lives at home and at work, thus content on these social networking sites should not be taken out of proportion.