Get higher fees by using social networks

[supernova]

I got this via my LinkedIn profile, and thought I'd share:

Peter Morgan is the Director of Communications at Rolls Royce - and he is not a fan of social media. Indeed, at a recent corporate communications meeting he largely said it was a waste of time. He was scathing about the potential of social media to alert corporates to problems and he said that social media hadn't affected share prices. Perhaps someone ought to mention "BP" in his ear...? Or the Hudson River airline crash? Perhaps, of course, he might know I am talking about him if he were to use social media - but my guess is he doesn't know I am saying any of this.
In which case he could be in for a shock in the years to come. His next job might not be easily won and when he does get it, the chances are his salary will not be as high as he might like. This is because a new study from the Department of Management at the University of Wisconsin shows that users of social networks are more likely to get a job and when they do get the job they get higher starting salaries than people who do not engage with online social networks.

True, this research has some flaws - it was theoretical, rather than based on actual job applications in real situations. But, nevertheless, it shows the way hiring managers think. When faced with job applications that show a clear use of social networks they said they favoured such candidates over applicants who had no use of social networks. And when it came to salaries they were prepared to pay the social networkers more money than the people who did not use the likes of Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn.

There was a twist in the study; the social networking profiles were written in three ways. One group of profiles were business-like, another were focused on friends and family, while a third group concentrated on the alcoholic exploits of the candidates...! Needless to say, the alcohol-related applicants were rejected - but the other two were treated equally. This squashes the myth that you should separate your social networks into one for friends and another for business. Employers, it seems, are just as happy to take you on if your profile is family related.

http://www.grahamjones.co.uk/blog/social-networking/get-higher-fees-by-using-social-networks.html


Me again. While I can feel my online presence growing, It hasn't resulted in a real job ... yet. Stay tuned.

[DaveJ]

1. Does this involve 'friending' anyone and everyone?

I've got like 7 friends on Facebook and I remove people if they don't reply to messages I send to them. I figure, if they aren't talking to me, they must not really be friends. Others have hundreds of 'friends' but never talk to any of them. Is this just how it works these days? Man, I'm getting old.

[supernova]

2. Not really.

I'm pretty selective. It's the degree to which you feel comfortable. I am extremely introverted, soI have a personal rule that I don't "friend" anyone that I haven't met. Most of my FB friends are DUers, for example. I've gotten to know some local people over on LinkedIn because I've been to a couple of local meetings now. It's an ongoing process.