Should I be including links to my social media pages on my resume?

There is no denying that social media has arrived. The question now is, how do we use it to our advantage. Recently, I met with some students looking to enter the workforce and we were having a discussion about how to properly market your knowledge, experience, education, etc. One of the students asked me if I thought it was appropriate for them to include their social media pages or links on the resumes. This question caught me a little off guard and started a long and drawn-out thought process.

First, I thought about accessing a social media link from a staffing industry perspective. As a staffing professional, I cannot say that I would use social media to screen an employee. Since we generally recruit for qualified candidates but don’t have a specific job description we are targeting, checking social media pages probably wouldn’t be effective. Would I learn things about that person that may not come out in a job interview – yes. Would it help me when trying to place that individual in the right environment – probably. Would it deter me from hiring someone if they had good experience and good skills – probably not.

Second, I put myself in the shoes of a corporate recruiter who had a distinctive job description for which they were hiring. If you know what you’re looking for or what you’re hoping to avoid, it’s easier to use those social media sites to your advantage. When you’re recruiting not only for a specific position or an environment, it may help to enter those sites to be sure the person would be a good fit.

Third, I looked at the question from a candidate’s perspective. Personally, I don’t have anything on my Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn Profile that I would be worried about a potential employer seeing. In fact, my LinkedIn Profile is almost exactly the same as my resume. What these pages show that my resume does not, is my involvement in the world of technology. I think it would be great for an employer to see that I’m tweeting with HR professionals, asking questions and getting helpful answers. I also post pertinent information from webinars that I’ve attended to those pages for others to see. If employers took a look at what I’m doing as an HR professional, I don’t think they’d be disappointed.

I don’t think the question is, “should I put the social media links on my resume.” I think the right question should be, “do I want potential employers to see what I do when I’m out in that world.” If the answer is yes – go ahead and put it on your resume. I don’t think social media should be like opening the door to a whole new person that they wouldn’t have met in the interview or on paper. Your social media sites should compliment what you’ve done or what you’re looking to do.