How "muddy" is your Social Media Footprint?

So it is 2015 and it has been over 12 years since social media was born with Facebook, Twitter and Linked standing out as the early adopters. Allot of growth has taken place since then with the number of people "on-line" reaching well into the billions. This growth has created tremendous change in how companies promote themselves online and how the social media sites have remodeled their business to keep up with the growth and to realize new revenue streams.

The recruitment industry initially embraced social media but is now bipolar on its merits. Some industry leaders reject social media and call it a poor sourcing tool. In some cases its true with only a small percentage of certain industries embracing social media for business use.

For personal use there are less barriers and it's really only different generations who social media for different purposes and with varying frequency. Even though It's not always the best place to go for recruiting, it should be part of a balanced recruiting plan. Sourcing, branding, job advertising are all necessary to bring in a regular flow of the best candidates for your business. Outside of this is the ability to connect your company or brand to individuals either already employed by the company or looking to join.

This brings up the discussion around candidates and social media "footprints". We all know someone in our social media circles who will post just about anything on line. Usually less than favorable party pictures, but sometimes they go beyond. I know some recruiters who always check the "footprint" of candidates who are being screened for a particular client or internal opening. Their feedback was "it has saved them from considerable embarrassment several times." I don't advocate lurking into peoples private lives, but if you are on social media, consider it public.

I consider social media as a good source of information. Information is power. Use it, but use it wisely.