What to consider before hiring for social media (part 3) – 10 things to avoid
Look at the groups they are a part of? Who do they talk to online? Who are they closely associated with and who do they list in their top friends and what do they do? If they’re part of some crazy militant groups you might want to look else where (unless the topics are in line with your company).
Do they participate in online discussions? Do they author a blog? What kind of content do they talk about and how do they present their ideas? Do they just chew-up and spit-out the same old content seen all over the web or are they trying to push their own understandings and write not just to explain, but to learn?
If you meet with them and they are focused way more on the tools than they are any other part of social media (like listening) then I’d suggest moving on. Chances are they don’t understand the basic principals and won’t help your company grow at all in this area. You want someone who is more focused on goals and tool agnostic strategies than Facebook and Twitter.
Unless you’re hiring for an entry level job with little experience then I would suggest finding someone who has some kind of experience. Look for experience in related fields like customer service, pr, etc. Also, be a bit weary if their resume says they have 5, 6, 7, 8+ years experience in social media. True it’s been around in some form for longer than just the last 2-3 years, but watch for what they’re claiming and be sure it can be verified.
Are they constantly arguing with others online? Do they never seem to be able to admit that they were wrong or see something from another persons perspective? Do they just cause problems instead of solutions? What do they do and what kind of interactions and engagements do they have on their own profiles? Standing your ground and defending your view is one thing, being a jerk or cyber-bully (yes it even happens among adults) is another.
How do they describe themselves? Do they have bad or offensive pictures on their profiles (worse than just having a few beers with the guys)? Do they link to and share offensive content? Are their profiles not even completed? Using pictures that are not them? Are they misrepresenting themselves?
This is the one you really have to be careful about. They may sound like they know what they are talking about, and they may have everything up to snuff on their profiles and everywhere else, but they could still be full of hot air. The only way to know that is to look at them overall. Look to see if they’ve done guest posts on other blogs, look at the comments they leave on blogs, read through their twitter stream, check out who they speak with regularly, etc. and you’ll be able to see what they’re really all about.
This is #3 in a series of 3, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t still subscribe to the blog via RSS or email (top left of the blog). It’s been a pleasure guest posting this week, I hope you enjoyed the content.
image by Beth Rankin
March 12th, 2010 at 10:53 am
[...] is the last day of my week at Utah CEO and to finish out the posts I hit on 10 things to avoid when hiring for social media. This list included the following topics: Obsessed with followers / fans / friends Bad online [...]
March 22nd, 2010 at 5:00 pm
Good post. I would add one more: Be weary of someone who claims a “silver bullet” solution or tool. (On the flip side, companies need to be careful that they aren’t expecting a silver bullet either)
March 23rd, 2010 at 4:01 pm
That’s a very good one, I would agree with that completely