Re: Are you good enough?

Do you think social media plays a huge part in the hiring process?

This is going to sound familiar: I think it depends on the company. A tech company like Google or one of the social media companies will probably want you to have a significant presence and probably also a large platform. Other companies who are hiring people specifically for social media will probably want that, too. I know of a couple people who found certain niches, focusing their social media accounts on specific things, where that has gotten them jobs in that industry.

I think for creatives (this includes designers and writers), you almost have to have something. It doesn't necessarily have to be unified social media accounts--maybe just a portfolio-type website--but it does help to be able to have a place people can go if they see your work published. A lot of writers will put their sites or their twitter/blog names in their bios so people who like a poem or story printed in one magazine can find out where else to look for them. There are plenty of creative who've had a one-topic Tumblr that's gained a following and then they've gotten a book out of it. Whether that attracts any recruiters...

I think Kim's probably right when it comes to most employers, especially smaller places. I imagine they check social media accounts to determine if there's someone on their short list who won't represent them as they'd prefer. Having been a public school teacher and university lecturer, I try to keep my social media somewhat tame and/or friends-only if it's personal (I have a special privacy setting for former students for facebook, for example). While I'm not so much a fan of employers telling their employees how to behave online, I understand where it comes from--remember when we talked about all employees being brand ambassadors? But I guess I look at that this way: if a company or its hiring manager has a problem with something that I say online (and like I said, I tend to be pretty aware of what I'm saying and how visible it is), I probably don't want to work for that company anyway.

What sites do you focus on for social media and networking?

I'm on LinkedIn for networking at this point--it's somewhat outdated, though, like my resume. I post to Twitter, but it overwhelms me, so my feed is probably mostly Instagram because they're linked. Twitter just seems like listening to every television channel at once to me, so it kind of makes me crazy. I like the idea of it, but I can only spend a few minutes looking at it before I have to do something else. My facebook is set to be pretty private, like I said, so it's more for friends and not for networking. I have a Tumblr, too, but haven't been on it in a looooooong time. It wasn't specific, which I think is kind of a problem--Tumblrs tend to work best when you have a single focus, and I don't think I'm clever enough to come up with something new (this is kind of my problem with blogging, in general--I don't want to be just another wordpress blog...). Related: I started a blog a couple of times, but probably only posted twice.

I know that I should be using sites for networking, and I should be writing blog posts and trying to pick up a following--name recognition can help with writing and with freelance design even if it doesn't get you noticed by some big company's recruiting system. I just ultimately come back to the same problem--what do I have to say that's so different from all the other voices out there? And I have very little desire to let myself get into navel-gazing. It's a pitfall for writers.

Thoughts on the article

I looked at the writer's site: michaelpeggs.com. What I take from his article, and what I take from his site, is that you kind of have to do what makes the most sense for you and for where you want to be and the job that you want. I used to watch What Not to Wear all. the. time., and the thing that made that show cool is that Stacy and Clinton used to make people really think about who they are, what they do, how they present themselves to the world, and how to make that presentation match them as a person. I think that's good advice here--set up your brand to match the person you are, the job you want, and the way you want your audience to see you. (It's no different than any design project, really--what message are you sending to your audience?) If you're into social media, go all out. If your job needs social media, go all out. If you're just not that into social media, and you're not that interested in working for Google, and you'd rather start up a business with your friend who IS good at social media, then no worries.