MBA Students - Why a digital footprint matters today ?

Ever searched yourself on Google?  Every internet activity of yours leaves your trail or traces behind. These are known as Digital Footprints. Data traces of facebook, youtube, emails, twitter, blog posts, image and video uploads, phone calls and chats are your digital footprints. According to a recent career builder survey, almost 60 percent of employers screen their job candidates using their digital footprints. So, the crux is – as an MBA graduate your digital footprint certainly matters.

Latest Trends from the Recruitment Scene

These days, HR managers usually review candidates’ social media profiles to get a holistic view of the candidate and to weed out candidates that don’t match up. Another article on recruitment stated that about 44%  of the successful candidates were those who conveyed a professional image, 40% were those who came across as well-rounded individuals with a wide range of interests and 36% were those who displayed great communication skills.

Going by trends, 2016 will see more HR tools being loaded with social media integration. Recruiters will be using job boards and hiring tools that boast smart integrations with social media sites and professional networks. For example – workable is a job board that works seamlessly with social media. A chrome browser is a smart recruitment tool. There are chrome extensions that enables recruiters to import prospective candidates from LinkedIn, Facebook Job tab, Twitter, Behance, and Github.

MBA graduates, looking for a career in HR domain must take a look into the chrome tools available. Generic understanding of these tools  might come very handy during interview and while you work. Be advised to refer sourcing monk, a good website that lists down some best ‘open-source’ tools for recruiting.  Also, stumbled upon yet another website, http://recruitingtools.com/chrome-extensions/  and found some very good recruitment tools listed out.

MBA Graduate:  How to develop digital footprint?

In this digital world, there is a very thin line between the real and the virtual. Business graduates must learn to manage their own digital footprints. An online “portfolio” is a must to showcase your work, best accomplishments, and the things that makes you proud. Facebook, a common social media platform and you must be having an account there. Recruiters cannot overlook facebook as it has about 1.70 million monthly active users as on date. So when you shout out, post , comment or share or like ensure that it reflects a positive digital identity. The image below says it all;

Image Courtesy: http://www.granvillecsd.org/webpages/lgrandjean/using_the_internet.cfm?subpage=635376

In Conclusion

Social media has expanded to instagram, pinterest, dribbble and many more new channels.  Recruiters, if not all, but 90% of them google a candidate before contacting them. In closing, run through few points that will help you to boost your online presence:

LinkedIn: Stays and grows to be a very important channel for job seekers.Known as network of professionals- some 90% of companies view LinkedIn profile before further processing. So, ensure that your LinkedIn profile is well updated and is much more than a digital resume. Showcase your expertise with a link to your blog, website, or projects such that it enhances your career. Interact and engage with peers in your domain by discussing, posting domain updates, or sharing content from industry leaders. A way to show that you are not dead and still open to learning.

Google+:: Same as above applies to google+ as well. You can post informative contents or, participate in a hangout or follow your domain peers.

Facebook: Before everything else, your facebook profile must be ironed out. Revisit tagged photos,  status updates, photos, albums, or comments. If you don’t find them professional, delete them. Ensure that nobody posts anything to your wall without your permission – there are privacy settings that can help you do that.

Twitter:  Though not very common, but its fast catching up in India. Visit some twitter accounts relevant to your domain. This would give you a fair idea on how your twitter- image should be like. Then, just build your network and engage. Be yourself, dont over do, don’t look cosmetic or overly professional. Twitter is a must to keep up with latest trends in your network/domain, showcase a professional image and even search jobs in your preferred area using hash-tags.