The first term my students blogged, I was thrilled if they completed the assignment and seemed to enjoy it. A few did (my favorite was Stu Holdren’s blog, Stu’s Clues), but almost no one kept the blog up longer than the end of the quarter. That’s been the case most terms since then.
Of course there are a few (extremely notable) exceptions. Staci Stringer, Jessica Lomelin, Sarah Essary and Beth Evans all come to mind immediately.
But for the most part, the blogs are abandoned after the 7 weeks assignment.
Twitter seems to get a little bit more traction and become part of the students’ routines. But I would be lying if I said it was more than 25% of students that continue using twitter after it’s not required.
There are lots of reasons for letting your blog and twitter profile to go seed. Students (and young professionals) are busy people. But recently a student came to me to help edit her resume for an internship. She listed “social media” in her skills. In her case, she seems like she’s in it for the long haul, but that’s neither here nor there. The point is, it got me thinking about when you should list “social media” on your resume as a skill – especially as a student.
I asked my twitter friends and got a ton of response.
My point wasn’t wording, specifically, but whether someone can claim social media as a skill if they aren’t actively participating (with the assumption the individual would not explicitly reveal that the blog was abandoned or the twitter stream had run dry). I’m going to share the replies here and then follow up with another post and my own thoughts on this subject later this week:
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Comments
9 responses to “Are You Active? Including Social Media on Your Resume”
If you include it on your resume, the employer will more than likely ask about it. So, if it’s on a resume, I would hope you would be active.
If someone asks me about my blog, I can ramble off my latest traffic statistics, number of subscribers, etc. If you just blogged a few times during the semester, that just shows that you can follow directions. But being a blogger just to do it shows initiative.
I agree with Rachel and the many others. If you don’t participate you can’t understand it, but I think it goes beyond participation. Do you know the metrics?
No PR plan is successful with out measurable results. Similarly, no social media effort is successful without results. Using it means just that, you can use it. So can most 12 year-old’s. The bigger question is do you know why and how to use it effectively in more than just one setting. i.e. B2B vs. B2C
Thanks for the shoutout 🙂 and while I didn’t keep going with Stu’s Clues, I did begin a different blog ( http://www.nbanoise.com ). Now my whole job is in social media, so your class definitely struck a chord with me – that’s for sure.
As for including it on your resume, I think it really depends on what job you are applying for. I think it is important to include real examples of your involvement (blog, use of SM in a previous campain/project, etc.)
Jared hit on something… it’s not just about ‘activity’. There needs to be an understanding of application and a demonstration that they recognize the nuances. Even if they don’t fully understand all of the possible pitfalls and opportunities, there has to be at least some recognition of key SM related issues.
Thanks for all your feedback!
The more we get into social media, the more complex the answer to this question gets. When we first started having students blog, just the fact that they blogged was awesome… the bar has been raised and continues to be term after term.
Kelli
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