Showing posts with label LinkedIn. Show all posts

Should an Author's Resume/CV Be on His/Her #HR blog?

by Matthew Stollak on Tuesday, July 9, 2013

Short post, and inside baseball.  

I was taken to task by a reader regarding my use of LinkedIn to examine the educational background of the HuffPost Top 100 Most Social HR Experts on Twitter.  Her argument is that LinkedIn is a glitchy marketing tool, that shouldn't be confused with a resume.  

 So, it got me wondering...if not LinkedIn, where can I find the evidence of the expertise and background of the HR leaders of today?

Combing the list and perusing the many HR blogs and personal websites out there, one of the things I have noticed is how few have the author's resume (or a link to one) detailing employment history, skills, educational background, etc. There might be a bio, some background info, and a link to LinkedIn to connect, but rarely is there information demonstrating their bonafides.

Why might that be?
  • Despite the reader's contention above, has LinkedIn replaced the traditional resume for most, and individuals should be directed there to see the details?
  • Personal preference?
  • The author hasn't updated the resume in quite awhile? 
With that in mind, should an author's resume be part of the blog (mine's at the top)?  Would knowing such information enhance the credibility of the author's blog? Does it matter?

Leave your thoughts below.

On Googling Candidates and Laurie Ruettimann (@lruettimann)

by Matthew Stollak on Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Earlier this month, Laurie Ruettimann wrote a nice piece for TLNT.com entitled, "Are You Googling Job Candidates? When You Do, Everyone Loses."

As always her advice was spot on, but it really hit home today when I arrived at work and received an e-mail from a former student who had run into a troubling situation where the personal and professional often crosses - romance and work.

 This former student was romantically involved with someone outside of work.  However, the ex was none too pleased that my student was involved with his/her former flame, and began to engage in some despicable behavior. To wit, attempting to hack into my student's Facebook and Twitter accounts.    

However, the straw that broke the camel's back this morning was discovering a duplicate LinkedIn account created with my former student's name and location, with a false profession (think bank robber or prostitute).  Now, when someone does a LinkedIn search for that former student's name, not only does his/her real account show up, but the fake account shows up as well with a false title and false interests (i.e., defacing public property or sleeping around).

Given that this student is trying to establish him/herself in a new position and growing his/her network, this is extremely troubling.  His/her colleagues may want to connect on LinkedIn, and could come across this less than flattering profile.  Or, he/she may want to start looking for a new position, and future employers could look up my student and dismiss him/her based on this profile.

So, as always, listen to Laurie - be careful out there when googling candidates....you may come across a false profile or two.

 Note:  The scenario has been changed to protect the innocent.  Don't bother searching my LinkedIn connections - this former student is not among them.