The Online Advantage

Last week, I talked about the importance of presenting yourself well online. However, I mostly covered the question regarding employers and how much of your personal info online should be available to them. This week, I want to talk about the following: how individuals who have more of an online presence (not just Facebook/Twitter) increase their chances of getting a job.
Originally, I thought an online presence could impact a person negatively. But then two weeks ago, I had an interview for a summer internship. As you may have guessed, I was put at an advantage becuase I had an online presence and was knowledgeable of social media ...I got the job!!!! I started to realize that an online presence did not necessarily mean Facebook or Twitter (while those are still good sites to become familiar with). I realized that it meant blogs, LinkedIn, Flickr, vlogs, podcasts, personal websites, etc. Nowadays, so much is done online that it is really important that a company hires someone who can research and work both off and online. Also, an employer has a better chance of becoming familiar with who you are and what kind of work you do by the online presence you have created. This way you can spend time during an interview expanding on your strengths and background, since a company already has a taste for who you are. Furthermore, if a company likes what you are online, then a company will probably like you in person as well. I definitely thinks this creates an advantage for someone over someone who does not have an online presence and just sends in a resume for an employeer to look at.
Lastly, as I mentioned above, social media is becoming even more critical to all organizations. There is a difference between being knowledgeable about social media or being knowledgeable about social media and actually utilizing social media. Do you think an employer is interested in someone who can just spit out facts about social media or actually has experience with it. Therefore, if you have Facebook and Twitter-great start! However, I highly encourage that you start exploring other social media applications and get your name out there! I promise, it will pay off!