At the start of the topic, my understanding of an authentic online professional profile was one which is true and unique to a particular individual. Further ideas regarding this topic can be seen below.
Picture sources at the end.
However, from reading Davina’s blog, I understood that an authentic online professional profile can be developed across a range of platforms, not simply on those intended for professional reasons, but those created on social media sites aswell. Facebook and Twitter are key examples of this. Therefore, I can understand that my own- authentic Facebook profile, below, may be screened by employers, as this social website in origin is now part of my overall authentic online professional profile. Consequently, I have adjusted my privacy settings so employers cannot see posts I have been tagged in by friends.
After reading Tobie’s blog, I acknowledged from maintaining active authentic online professional profiles, you are more likely to find the right job with your preferred employer. Furthermore, Tobie made me realise employers are using social media platforms in their recruitment efforts more than ever before, with 26% and 14% of employers using Facebook and Twitter to hire an employee respectively. Therefore my Twitter usage must increase, as I am merely a digital resident on this platform. I also inferred that social media is used by recruiters to examine whether candidates possess the cultural fit suiting the organisation, reinforcing the importance of why I edited my privacy settings on Facebook!
Overall, from engaging with peers, I have understood that an authentic online professional profile is developed across all online social platforms, regardless of whether the platform is unprofessional in origin. Additional changes in my understanding can be seen in the poster below.
Arun Chagar 