HEADLINES from Business Mentors, Inc.

What is HEADLINES?

HEADLINE: WHAT’S ON “YOUR WALL”?

One of the most exciting parts about being in the career management field is that I have an opportunity to watch changes in how the career market operates almost daily. It’s a dynamic place, and the methods that individuals use to search for jobs are in constant flux. However, the ways that companies go about screening and checking the backgrounds of job candidates is undergoing a similar level of change.

Brett came to me for assistance in making sure his career was on track several years ago. He was proud of the fact that he had gotten out of college, landed a position in a well-known firm, and he felt that he was doing a great job of building a strong professional foundation. I encouraged him to stay with his company for a period of time so that he could show “bench strength” in his area of expertise.

GUESS WHAT I FOUND?

I encouraged Brett, as I do all clients, to keep his resume up-to-date, make sure his LinkedIn information was current and suggested that he speak with potential employers or recruiters to access his value in the marketplace from time to time. Having a conversation or an interview with another firm didn’t necessarily mean that he is going to leave his position. In following my advice, Brett uncovered a great new opportunity where he could assume a leadership role in a smaller organization with more responsibility. He saw this as an exciting challenge where he could gain new skill sets and move up the corporate ladder even faster.

LIKE? SOMEONE DIDN’T “LIKE”

Brett received a very lucrative offer. We countered back on several items, and the company responded positively. It was clear that they wanted him on board. He was looking at an 18% salary increase, an annual bonus amount that was 15% higher than his previous employer and a serious sign-on bonus. Just before he was planning to resign from his current employer, however, he received a call from his potential employer’s Human Resources Chief. His offer had been withdrawn. It appears that certain background checks revealed some unfortunate information.

Brett was active on social networking sites, and he didn’t always think through either remarks or photos that he posted. His new organization had a rather conservative outlook, and they were not impressed by comments about a “party weekend” or pictures of Brett holding a plastic cup with his arms around his buddies which was tagged a “night of partying”. The Human Resources Chief said that they would be pursuing other candidates who were more “serious about their careers”. Brett was devastated!

COUNSEL FROM THE COACH

Beware of social networking forums! Too often, job candidates think that their professional lives are separate from their personal lives. These candidates are not realizing that, today, a significant number of employers use social networking forums for background checks.

Some key things to keep in mind are:

1. Remember that sites such as Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, YouTube, etc., are all potential targets for examination by prospective employers.

2. Don’t be fooled by LinkedIn, known as a leading professional networking site. It is still a social networking site, and affiliations or membership in associations or organizations, comments in a profile by the candidate or testimonials by individuals about the candidate can be enough to compromise the candidate’s hiring status in the eyes of the employer.

3. Purge the social networking sites, on which you are listed, of questionable information: crude remarks, questionable conversations, inappropriate photos, affiliations, etc. Get rid of that photo with you “red-eyed” and out “partying with friends”, watch out for the photos you “tagged” of your girlfriends on that “girls weekend out”, scratch the comments about drugs or drinking, kill the jokes or profanity that might be funny to you but could have other interpretations for a potential employer.

4. Google yourself and find out what links reference you. The employers are going through this exercise, and it is better that you beat them to the punch so that you can shut down anything that could be perceived as “negative press” before they see it.

After Brett had some time to heal, he dusted himself off and got back into the game of search. Or, as we say in the Facebook world, “when Brett got poked, he poked back”. We took the time to peruse all of his social media sites for potential “minefields”. Shortly after this incident, Brett began interviewing again and was getting offers. In fact, he just started with a new company a month ago, since nothing negative came up on his background check.

So, think about it. When you put information out there on social media sites, it’s available for the ENTIRE world to see. Make sure you have an untarnished social media presence. Put information out there that shows you are an intelligent human being, interested in a variety of topics, and proud to feature your professional/personal accomplishments on line.

Invest in Yourself,

Al Stewart

President/Owner

Business Mentors, Inc. is a career management organization that was founded in 1995 by Al Stewart, a former corporate executive with background in the transportation and communications industries with such industry leaders as Eastern Airlines, AT&T, GTE and Sprint and an educational background in Adult Education. His firm, Business Mentors, Inc., offers a broad range of services focused on successful management of professional careers including: Career Exploration, Career Transition, Career Outplacement, Becoming an Entrepreneur, Executive Development and International Transition. With a powerful record of success using counseling, consulting and motivation of over 3500 executives in the past ten years, the firm founded the executive coaching movement and continues to enhance its reputation as one of the leading and most highly regarded career management firms in the country. For more information about our services or questions regarding how we can assist you, please consult our website: www.business-mentors.com Or, you can choose to email us at alstewart@business-mentors.com or call our offices (Atlanta, Fort Lauderdale or Paris, France) at our global number: 404.644.8618. Our associates are available in person at one of our three offices or via teleconference worldwide.

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