Managing Your Online Image
Dave Fleet recently wrote an interesting post about people feeling obligated to act more professional online than they would in real life. In “Is There Still a Personal/Professional Line?” he brought up some really good questions about companies checking out how people handle themselves online.
- If online content is written with employers in mind, does it really reflect the person?
- Should we disregard online content when recruiting, or is this another way to find the people with the smarts to be professional online?
- Should employers and clients respect the line between professional and personal? Does that line even exist any more?
As a 21 year-old college student who is (hopefully) entering the workplace in just a few months, I have purposely tried to establish a more professional online reputation for myself. However, I don’t feel like I have sacrificed who I am as a person just to make myself look more appealing to the PR professionals who may be reading what I have to say.
Does that make me any less professional? No, I think it just makes me human.
Everyone makes mistakes, has emotions, and enjoys being silly sometimes. If employers and clients can’t accept that, then shame on them.
Even when you’re trying to make yourself look good online, never try to be someone that you’re not. If you really have to try THAT hard to get someone to notice you, then it’s probably not really worth it anyways. You might get that job or client, but what happens when they realize that the person they “met” online isn’t the same person they’re talking with face-to-face?
Personally, I don’t see why you can’t have a professional AND personal presence online at the same time. It might be smart to think about what you write before it’s out there for the world to see, but don’t sacrifice your true self just to be the “professional” you think you’re supposed to be.
4 comments so far
Leave a reply
I completely agree with you! I have been thinking about this alot lately (especially with facebook), and it has come to the point where I feel like it is a sacrafice of personality to conform to the “professional” expectations in social media. Creating a facebook page intially, only for networking with friends and as a form of expression with pictures, wall posts, etc., it doesn’t make sense to completely change everything just for fear that a potential employer might see it. Just like you’ve said, we’re all human. We all experience emotion and lack judgement at times, but there are times we all want to celebrate our good moments and maybe vent about our bad ones,but try to keep it classy and moderate. You can still show your personality and flair with respect and professionalism.
[...] By lfarm226 Ashley has written about an issue I have been thinking about lately. Managing your online image gives a insightful opinion about professionalism in social media. Check it [...]
I think that both your and Dave’s posts are definitely putting into words what LOTS of people struggle with Social Media. I know that this is something that I think about just about every time, I tweet, write a blog post, or even write on one of my friend’s facebook walls.
It is so refreshing to meet professionals and future employers to find out that they are so down to earth and that they too have a life other than just their jobs. I just had an interview yesterday, and the reason why it went so well was that we were human with one another and informal, creating a true connection between us. Even if I don’t get the job I know I will still be in contact with her just as a mentor because we were real with one another, and social media is a strong tool in helping provide those vital human relationship connections that are often missed, that are so essential for success and happiness in this field of work.
[...] 7, 2009 in Blog Comments, PR Connections, Personal Ashley Hall, one of my classmates wrote an interesting post about Dave Fleet’s, on the disconnection most [...]