It’s hard to imagine a world without social media. Most of us couldn’t go a day without posting a bad selfie or instagramming the poached egg and avo on toast we had for brunch. But if you look beyond the memes, videos and stalking, there are a lot of things to learn from social media about conducting yourself in the workplace.
Here are five things social media has already taught you about the corporate world.
140 characters or less
Anyone who uses Twitter will have been frustrated by the 140 character rule at one time or another but hidden within the rule is an important life lesson. When an HR manager or recruiter is tasked with the monotonous job of sorting through hundreds of resumes and cover letters, the last thing they want is to go through pages of text just to find your job history. So make sure your resume is to the point and simple to read.
Use your filter
If the range of filters on Snapchat and Instagram have taught us anything, it’s that almost everybody puts their best face forward on social media — by posting only the photos they deem worthy enough for others to see. So why not use your filter in the real world? When getting ready for an interview, remember that the way you present yourself is just as important as the quality of what you have to say. Just don’t go in there looking like you belong in an 80s Polaroid.
Like for a like?
We’re all guilty of promising to like or share someone’s post if they promise to return the favour. In the social media world it seems a little sad, but once you enter the work force you will quickly learn how important it is to grow and maintain a network of people who can help you throughout your career. The next time you get the chance to help somebody who needs it, take it — they’ll likely return the favour in the future. And as they say in the classics, you can never have enough friends.
Ain't nothing wrong with a group chat
All of us have at least one group chat on the go. Some of us use it to plan a catch-up, others use it to share information, like recipes or Pokémon Go tips. Regardless of how they’re used, a group chat is essentially a tool for being social, exchanging information on the go and keeping up relationships. So the next time you’re invited to a work function or an after-hours activity, use it as an opportunity to network and build relationships with your peers.
Share, share, share!
Sharing our lives through social media has become the norm. By simply going through a person’s Facebook page or Instagram profile you can find out what their interests are, what they’re passionate about and, depending on their security settings, almost anything else about them. Sharing is just as important in a working environment. A department can’t rely on the knowledge of one person and every person in a team has a different set of strengths and weaknesses. So share what you know with your team — it takes a combined effort to achieve the greatest of goals.
These are only some of the positive social media lessons you can apply to your new career. Make sure you look at our next post for a few of the not-so-positive lessons we can take from social media.