This continues a series on advice for new top editors in Digital First Media newsrooms.
I hardly care about a job candidate’s résumé or the clips she sends me. That’s the story she wants me to know. What I’m interested in is the more complete story I can learn about her online.
When you’re hiring journalists, you need to conduct an extensive examination of their digital footprints.
Check social media
Social media use tells you a lot about a journalist. First, if a journalist isn’t even on Twitter or Facebook, that will raise significant concerns about his suitability for a Digital First newsroom. Beyond that, how they use social media will tell you a lot about their journalism. For one thing, social media posts are nearly always unedited. If you want to look at a reporter’s raw copy, Twitter and Facebook are great places to find it.
If you’d like a chance to watch a job candidate in action, look to see whether he has done some livetweeting events and/or crowdsourcing. You will see resourcefulness if she is resourceful. You will see how she relates to the community, whether she is engaging or aloof, arrogant or fun.
I like it when I see a journalist who can show some personality and still behave professionally. Personality is, after all, part of being social.
You can also see in social media whether a journalist is reckless in expressing opinions or disparaging sources (or editors). If you’re interested in learning about a journalist’s attitude, you’re more likely to see the true attitude on social media than in an interview when she’s on her best behavior.
Be sure to check Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn (more on that shortly). But also see what other social tools someone is using. Instagram, Flickr, Tout, Pinterest, Tumblr, YouTube and other tools can show you someone’s visual skills.
In my digital check of a candidate to be an editor of a Digital First newsroom, I first noticed that he hadn’t tweeted much or for a long time. When I went back through his tweets (didn’t take long; he hadn’t tweeted much), I noticed one a few years ago about attending a conference where I happened to be a speaker. I looked back on my slides for that conference and noticed that I gave several examples about the value of Twitter and why a top editor needed to lead the newsroom in Twitter use. This editor wasn’t doing that, so I could be pretty sure he wouldn’t be following my advice if given a second chance. A Facebook post raised another concern about this editor’s leadership.
The editor had interviewed well, but the social media check raised questions to address in a subsequent interview. In answering those questions, I started hearing excuses, and I have little patience for excuses. We kept looking and found a better editor.
Check digital résumés
The résumé that a candidate sends me is just a starting point. I’m more interested in what I can find online about someone’s career. If someone has an About.me page or uses a tool like Intersect, Timetoast or Pinterest to tell about her career, I’m going to check out what’s presented there. In addition to telling me about her career, she’s also showing me something about her digital skills.
LinkedIn is an essential stop in checking out someone’s digital profile. A person who isn’t even on LinkedIn is telling you a lot about his lack of interest in digital tools and networking. The LinkedIn profile also provides detail that the résumé usually doesn’t. (You want people to send you a one-page résumé, but for the most important candidates, you want more information than a single page and LinkedIn is a good place to look for that depth.)
The LinkedIn profile also is helpful for references. The person’s recommendations and endorsements tell you what colleagues think of their skills. If you see someone you know who provided a recommendation, you can contact them to discuss the candidate at greater depth. Or you can contact someone you don’t know who wrote a recommendation with some interesting insight.
In addition, you can check connections to see which people you know also know this candidate. You could call them for references as well.
Check digital clips
A candidate will send you samples of her best work or links to her best work. You want to see that, but you also want to see the routine work. You do this by Googling the candidate’s byline and the name of his or her publication. Use Google News and you’ll see the most recent work: what you’d get if this candidate had been working for you last week.
One of the résumé pages might include links to more work than a candidate sends to a prospective employer. Check those links. Check the dates. Is the candidate’s work improving as he gains experience?
Check the candidate’s blog
A job candidate’s blog is an important place to check. If she doesn’t blog, that may tell you something. If she does, the blog is a place to see unedited copy. It’s a place to see not only digital skills but digital thinking. A blogger who uses links and embeds is demonstrating some understanding of digital culture that will be helpful to success in a Digital First newsroom.
Take notes, ask questions
The digital check isn’t going to dictate hiring decisions. It’s part of a process of at least four parts:
- Résumé and cover letter
- Digital check
- References (both those provided and those you seek out).
- Interview(s)
A weak background check might eliminate a candidate who appeared in the middle of the pack based on résumé and cover letter. But if a candidate looked like a strong candidate based on the résumé and cover letter, don’t jump to conclusions as you conduct your digital check. Take notes about the red flags and inconsistencies you see as you check and discuss them with the candidate and with references. Good answers might show you someone who is learning from mistakes.
Links to help develop a strong digital profile
After posting this, it occurred to me (and a comment here and some on social media indicate as much) that some people reading this will not be new editors, but the journalists they might be considering for jobs. So here are some links that might help journalists seeking jobs to develop strong digital profiles:
Use digital tools to showcase your career and your work
Job-hunting advice for journalists selling skills in the digital market
Tips on landing your next job in digital journalism
Your digital profile tells people a lot
Want to contribute a guest post?
If you’re another Digital First editor (or a leader or former leader in another organization) and would like to propose a guest post as part of the series, email me at sbuttry (at) digitalfirstmedia (dot) com and we’ll discuss. Sue Burzynski Bullard provided such a post on organizational tools. Nancy March wrote about balancing work and personal life. Dan Rowinski wrote about mobile opportunities.
I’m not interested in a post of general leadership tips. I’d rather have a post on a particular leadership topic. Feel free to suggest a post that might address a topic I’ve already covered, but from a different perspective. I welcome posts that disagree with my advice. I will invite a few editors I respect to write posts.
Earlier posts with advice for editors
Hiring is an opportunity to upgrade your newsroom
Time is precious; manage it carefully
The digital audience values quality photos
Lead your newsroom in pursuing mobile opportunities
Blog about your newsroom’s transformation
You’re a role model; be a good one, like Dave Witke
Do what you say you’ll do — by being organized
Lead and stimulate discussions of ethics
Stand for accuracy and accountability
Deliver criticism with a challenge
How do your daily budgets reflect multi-platform planning needs?
What new beats would help newsrooms cover local news better?
Why editors should be active on Twitter
The Buttry version of social media best practices for editors
How the crowd can save your career
Leading your staff into the Twitterverse
Mentors don’t always see their seeds blossom
Upcoming topics
Here are topics I am planning on covering in this series (the order is uncertain). The pace of these posts has slowed, but I’ll still try to post something weekly. What other topics should I cover?
- Interviewing
- Firing
- Data
- Developing new leaders
- Diversity
- Teamwork
- Hiring
- Fun
As a recent grad trying to get into digital journalism, this is incredibly helpful. It’s always nice to see how the other side of the process works!
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Excellent advice for everyone, whether they’re new in the field or not. Thanks.
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[…] Advice for editors: Check a job candidate’s digital profile (stevebuttry.wordpress.com) […]
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[…] proposito di social network. Non trascuri la sua presenza attiva su twitter e facebook. Se ancora non ce l’ha apra una sua pagina nella quale un “editor” possa vedere i suoi lavori […]
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[…] and take a close look at her work – both the clips she sent you and others you found in your own research. As questions occur to you in researching the candidate, take notes and ask those questions during […]
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[…] the companies themselves to feed the ever growing loop? Whenever I read articles from people like Steve Buttry not only encouraging proper social media use, but demanding it as requirement to getting hired, I […]
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[…] Check a job candidate’s digital profile […]
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[…] Check a job candidate’s digital profile […]
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This was a great post. I’ve been encouraging people (of ALL ages) to be on social media for professional reasons. Too often I find that teachers/professors scare students away by drilling fear into them that just a very presence on social media will affect employment. This couldn’t be more of the opposite when it comes careers in the communications industry, from media to PR and so on. GREAT post. Will be sharing!
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Should we include links to our various (Twitter, FB, LinkedIn, G+, etc…) profiles on our resume?
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I do. I think your resume should include lots of links, so the digital version is essentially a portal to your career and your work. But make it something that reads well on its own, because some people will print it out and read it, making the links useless for them.
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[…] Check a job candidate’s digital profile […]
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[…] Advice for editors: Check a job candidate’s digital profile […]
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[…] Check a job candidate’s digital profile […]
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[…] Check a job candidate’s digital profile […]
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[…] Check a job candidate’s digital profile […]
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[…] Check a job candidate’s digital profile […]
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[…] Check a job candidate’s digital profile […]
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[…] Check a job candidate’s digital profile […]
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[…] Check a job candidate’s digital profile […]
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[…] Check a job candidate’s digital profile […]
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[…] Check a job candidate’s digital profile […]
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[…] editors in our company and elsewhere. The most-read post in the series, with more than 3,000 views, advised editors to check the digital profiles of job candidates. One of my favorite posts in the series addressed the importance of being a role model and […]
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[…] Check a job candidate’s digital profile […]
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[…] Advice for editors: Check a job candidate’s digital profile […]
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[…] Check a job candidate’s digital profile […]
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[…] 2009 post (so some of it is probably outdated) on maintaining your digital profile and a 2013 post advising editors on checking the digital profiles of job candidates. Either or both might have some helpful steps for you to […]
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[…] I blogged in 2009 about building and tending your digital profile and in 2012 about using digital tools to showcase your career and your work. Perhaps my most important advice from those posts: Google yourself so you will see yourself as prospective bosses see you (in a 2013 post, I advised editors to check job candidates’ digital profiles). […]
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