No matter how hard we try, we can’t run away from the change that is coming. It was all well until the pandemic shifted things closer and the changes that would have come in 10 years, appeared in 9 months bringing with it some panic and reality shock that we may not be that skilled and/or prepared for the digital age.
A lecturer once gave this advice to me and my course mates at University, “Build your digital footprint.” That simple quote carries a lot of heavy weight as I am constantly asking myself how organizations/individuals will be more confident in hiring me if they Googled me.
As a Human Resources professional, I learned during my guest lectures with senior executives in global companies like GSK (GlaxoSmithKline) and Siemens that a lot of hiring managers look at a potential candidate’s online presence before sending an offer letter or rejecting ones application.
Gone are the days where the only qualification you need to get a good role is your first class degree.
This is not to dampen the effects of a good first class as it attracts a lot of competition your way,
However, it may not be enough in our current economic and digital climate. We need more than being the best students in class… We need to show how good we are outside our classrooms because it’s not about you anymore but about the relationships you have with people. This is where having an online presence comes in.
Organizations are looking for more humans and less robots [even though we need more digital skills to move them forward. There are lots of conferences and seminars [online and onsite] going on about improving the culture of organizations. Many companies are investing lots of finance on equipping their teams with soft skills (e.g. teamwork, speaking, listening etc.) that you may think is innate and common.
Having a social media presence whether you are on LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Tiktok and many more shows us as humans.
To cut the long story short, we need to prove we are humans capable of living harmoniously with other humans. This could be a very confusing and annoying thing because you would think that having flesh and blood is enough for one to know we exist.
It’s not! At least, not anymore.
Although gaining profit is still one of the top organizational goals, leaders are finding a more sustainable way to make their workers enjoy work. You are allowed to laugh but browse at least ten job vacancies and you will read about how so and so organization is a fun place to work.
Thanks to research from psychologists, human resources and work coaches, we are getting more educated on why breaking your backs may not necessarily translate to being productive at work.
It’s all about balance and finding smarter ways to work and it all begins with developing your digital footprint and showing that, ‘Hey! I may be a really good programmer but I don’t spend my whole day in my mom’s basement. See, I also go to the gym which shows how I take my health seriously.
Over here, I am hanging out with my friends on Christmas day… Oh! What about the time I travelled to my hometown to visit family and even joined the community youth group to help raise funds for the children who are recovering from drug use.”
It’s not too late to use social media to your advantage. As you grow, you need to remember to have fun because whether you like it or not, you will get Googled and the only way to be proud about your online presence is by getting to work and controlling the narrative yourself.
(c) I Must Talk | Linda Ezenwammadu | IG: o.gelinda
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