External Communication Audit Essay

Social media applications are being used every day by people all over the world. These applications such as Facebook and LinkedIn are even used by employers to generate potential personnel. These two sites both provide businesses with information they need to better their impression of the applicant. As kids in college look for jobs some don’t understand that what you post can hurt you in an interview process. â€Å"56 percent of employers said that they were likely to check out the social media presence of potential employees† (Protalinski). This statistic shows that it really does hurt you if you have inappropriate pictures on your social media sites. Overview: Facebook – Social media has been around for a long time and in 2004 the world was introduced to Facebook. It was created by Mark Zuckerburg along with the help of a few of his college friends who also attended Harvard. At first it was only available to Harvard students and moved to a few other college campuses. This was not just a website for people to meet and communicate over the internet; it was also a chance to get a closer look at businesses. In 2007, there were more than 100,000 business pages allowing companies to attract potential customers and tell them about themselves. Facebook took off and in 2011 over 350 million users accessed Facebook through their mobile phones. LinkedIn – LinkedIn was founded in December 2002 by Reid Hoffman and launched in May 2003. LinkedIn is considered a business-oriented social media service that allows you to add business connections to your contacts, find potential jobs, search companies, and even add a resume. This type of socia l media is benefited by not having the ability to add inappropriate photos to hurt your chances in an interview. Having a more resume format allows potential employers to view your past work, applied skills, and education. Project Goal: Facebook – When you apply for a job most companies now-a-days will do a  background check on you before giving you the job. This means they can look at your Facebook page at any moment. Whether that’s because you have embarrassing photos or if you have posted comments that the company views negatively. Many people lose their jobs over a Facebook issue; Caitlin Davis was the youngest NFL cheerleader for the New England Patriots and in 2008 after a picture of her was posted to Facebook she was fired just six days later. The photo was of a guy passed out after a Halloween party and Caitlin was holding a marker, acting like she was drawing on him. This is just one example of how Facebook can be damaging to your career. It also is not just about pictures Facebook allows you to post comments and those too can be more damaging than any photo. Once you post a comment it is out on the internet anyone can see it and must of the time people are insensitive to others and can be very cruel on Facebook. I have read numerous fights between people where they are being completely rude and crude to other people’s feelings. Facebook give its users the ability to like bands, companies, and social figures. Going through interview employers can look at these likes, which means if you have liked any inappropriate figures they can be viewed. An example would be an underage student liking the pages or alcohol companies or illegal drugs can hurt them in an interview. LinkedIn – LinkedIn gives people the ability to set up a professional social media site that helps them create a professional network. Creating and establishing a successful network can help immensely in finding a job. Through the LinkedIn profile you can connect with other professionals and it will show them your interest. Having applied skills in certain fields will give you an advantage when employers are looking over applicant. LinkedIn allows your connections to endorse these skills, which means they have been proven of those skills. Many employers look at references of an applicant and LinkedIn allows connections to post a reference statement, this eases this process. Only being able to upload one main profile picture reduces the risk of having any inappropriate pictures. Conclusion – The better social media site for a business setting is LinkedIn. With a resume formatted profile it allows potential employers to better understand their applicant or even search for employees. More recruiters  look at LinkedIn to hire people than any other social media site. A point that we want to emphasize is that people, especially college kids need to clean up and watch what they post on Facebook. Employers will view your profile content whether you let them or not. LinkedIn is more popular in the business world and students should start to build this profile and network as they prepare to graduate. References Bersin, J. (2012, May 21). Facebook vs. LinkedIn – What’s the Difference?. Forbes. Retrieved April 26, 2014, from http://www.forbes.com/sites/joshbersin/2012/05/21/facebook-vs-linkedin-whats-the-difference/ Facebook vs LinkedIn. (n.d.). – Difference and Comparison. Retrieved April 26, 2014, from http://www.diffen.com/difference/Facebook_vs_LinkedIn Protalinski, E. (n.d.). 56% of employers check applicants’ Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter | ZDNet. ZDNet. Retrieved April 26, 2014, from http://www.zdnet.com/blog/facebook/56-of-employers-check-applicants-facebook-linkedin-twitter/7446