It’s no secret that for years HR professionals have been checking up on job applicants’ reputations via such social networking sites as MySpace and Facebook. Ask any hiring manager and I’m sure they’ll be able to share a story about an applicant’s questionable photos or conversations that unknowingly killed their chance of being considered.

But let’s look at the other side of the social coin… Say you’re a small business owner trying to find a new marketing or sales professional. Should an applicant’s number of followers (Twitter), friends (Facebook/MySpace), connections (LinkedIn) or the overall size of their social graph come into play as an evaluation category?

Let’s use an example to think through this. You own a local rep company for various commercial audio/visual products (video projectors, conferencing equipment, etc.). You need to bring on a new salesperson that will call on local businesses. You’ve narrowed down the candidates to two, but their similar levels of experience, credentials and initial interviews have created a bit of a toss up.

You happen to dig into their social networking profiles and notice a significant difference in the overall size of each candidate’s online presence. Candidate A has a very small following and it doesn’t look as though his profiles are up to date, whereas Candidate B appears to be very active online with a huge list of friends and connections.

What can we infer from these two examples?

Candidate A:

• Quality Over Quantity? – Having a small number of connections / friends / followers could mean the person has a stringent selection process and only adds people that he really knows and is associated with – OR – he really has few friends.
• More Traditional Sales Mindset Perhaps? – Salespeople who have been taught nothing but old-school sales techniques may view online social networking as a distraction that is keeping them from their traditional activities (cold calling, knocking on doors). Thus, they spend very little time online.
• Less Tech Savvy - I still run into people everyday that aren’t engaging online due to their perceived lack of technical ability. Is this lack of ability going to create issues if online tools and/or applications are being used internally (hosted CRM, intranets, corporate wikis, etc.)?
• He Just Doesn’t Get It – If a company hasn’t provided the right social media training, it’s certainly possible that the sales person has been approaching the space completely wrong. They may be spamming their connections left and right, squandering any decent following that may have been there at one time.
• Smaller Social Graph, Less Immediate Reach – This one is pretty self explanatory. When it comes time to promote something new, Candidate A may not be able to get you the immediate online buzz and activity of a well-connected salesperson that has embedded himself within your industry’s online community.

Candidate B:

• Strong Networking Skills - A large number of followers/friends/connections could mean he is truly a social butterfly with solid relationship building skills.
• Providing Value / He Get’s It – A large following could mean he is bringing valuable information/insight to the table and engaging with the community, which are textbook methods for growing your presence.
• A Big Ego? – On the flip side, he may simply be going for quantity over quality and really has no desire to engage with his connections. This could be troublesome if he calls upon his network and all you hear is chirping crickets.
• Spending Too Much Time Socializing? – A company would certainly want to evaluate how a candidate’s social presence would translate to business. Someone with 500 Facebook friends but only 10 LinkedIn connections might be a red flag.
• Tech Savvy –It’s probably safe to assume that Candidate B’s large following and heavy social media usage comes with not only a firm grasp of online technology, but also a more present mindset towards today’s selling environment.
• Larger Social Graph – The key benefits here are the potential influence and reach that a candidate may have in an industry or marketplace. Tapping into a candidate’s strong social network could mean significantly more buzz and immediate sales activity for your company.

Personal Branding For Job Seekers

If you have a target industry or marketplace, creating a significant presence within those online spaces could significantly elevate your overall value to an organization. This ties in a lot with the concept of personal branding. Back to the A/V company example…If you’ve been working with A/V equipment for years and you’ve made a point to stake your claim online via your own A/V equipment blog, participation in A/V industry forums, you are “the A/V guy” on Twitter, etc., you might just be a major target for the top companies in your field.

The same goes for localized markets. If you’re a well-connected person (online or otherwise) within your city, those connections will probably help your chances, that is IF the company hiring you is paying attention.

If you’re not doing any of this, well…good luck.

Businesses…Pay Attention!

If your industry or market is such that an online sales/networking presence would be beneficial, then you probably need to make that a consideration in your evaluation process. The best companies today are not accepting resumes. They are taking matters into their own hands and seeking out professionals who are actively building an industry or market-specific presence (online or otherwise).

A Final Tip for Job Seekers

With all this in mind, I’m not instructing you to go out and try to arbitrarily increase your following for the sake of getting a job. I’m just reminding you of another powerful aspect that the social media space brings to the table. Let me put it this way…If you’re a sales or marketing professional looking for a job and you’re not participating in the social media space, you might want to rethink that strategy.