Business Daily (Nairobi)
Kui Kinyanjui
13 May 2008
Four months ago, Carolyne Mwaura prepared for a job interview with a leading public relations firm the only way she knew how; by memorising the high points of her CV and internalising the mission and vision of the company she had applied to.
With a unique mix of skills and experience, she was sure she had the job in hand.
So she was mildly shocked when her interviewer said he had just one question for her. When she heard the question, she knew her planning had come to nought.
"How come I get nothing on you when I Google your name?," he asked.
As the Internet becomes more of a staple for the Kenyan worker, employers are using global Web searches as part of their recruitment process. Ms Mwaura says she has since witnessed her boss perform the same test on applicants.
"One girl said she had gone to a highly prestigious school in the United States but had no physical proof. My employer searched for information on her in the university's alumni database, but found no trace, she was consequently not hired," she said.
For employers, the Internet is becoming a reliable source to independently verify whether candidates are really telling the truth about what they place in their CVs.
Local figures are hard to trace, but in a recent survey of executive recruiters by execunet.com, 77 per cent of respondents said they used the Internet to uncover additional information about candidates.
Maggie Muthusi, the human resources manager at the PR firm that Ms Mwaura applied to, said in the last year the firm had hired three out of a seven applicants based on their online profiles. "This signifies that more applicants are waking up to the Internet as an alternative channel to showcase themselves."
Job seekers who have more "presence" online are generally expected to be more believable as the employer can often verify content on an applicant's CV, such as where they went to school or if they really worked for companies they lay claim to, she said.
A third of the managers polled by execunet.com said they would eliminate applicants based on what they found out about them online, saying scandalous photos, political commentary or inappropriate videos found on websites such as Flikr, in blogs or on YouTube would have a negative impact on the candidacy of an applicant.
The good news for job applicants is that there are easy ways to extend their online presence a step further, by building an attractive online CV.
If used properly, blogs - an online journal written by the individual on any topic - can provide employees with the option of creating a more credible web personality by allowing them to discuss at length any topic that is related to their field of expertise.
Blogs allow potential employees the opportunity to express their views on current events or industry issues. Used popularly, a properly written and insightful blog can become a known industry barometer on key issues. Successful local bloggers include the financially savvy Bankelele or Investing In Africa, who have turned their blogs into industry reference sites.
If the blog is to be taken seriously, it is often best to steer clear of potentially divisive topics such as politics or sports and present well-researched information, preferably linked to a specific area of expertise.
The top three most popular blogging services available on the web include WordPress (www.wordpress.com), Blogger (www.blogger.com) and TypePad (www.typepad.com). Blog owners can go a step further by linking their offerings to the best websites in their industry.
Websites such as Slashdot (www.slashdot.org), Gizmodo (www.gizmodo.com) and Digg (www.digg.com) can allow bloggers to increase their traffic ranking among other blog sites by linking to top posts.
Apart from blogs, applicants can also create Web portfolios, which can act as online resumes. This can mean an additional investment for applicants as they will have to acquire their own domain name (i.e. www.carolynemwaura.com).
Experts also advise that employees use free networking websites such as LinkedIn or Facebook to publicise their achievements.
The rising use of social networking sites has created unique opportunities for Internet users to create online CV extensions with over 30 million business professionals now listed on LinkedIn, which is seen as a more serious networking tool.
"The beauty of websites like LinkedIn is that they allow you to get your work buddies to write short references about your history, which can give potential employers more background on you," says Ms Muthusi.
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