Here is my contribution to a recent article on imediaconnection.com, on the quality of the social media workforce and a few other issues related to social media. I know that most of you won’t see it there, so I’m sharing it with you here. You can read the entire post here: Is a social media bubble ready to burst? My portion is on the second page, and here it is in its entirety:
“The quality of the social media workforce is a direct reflection on the hiring managers, who in many cases have no idea what skills are needed for this emerging role,” says Angela Connor, social media manager at Capstrat. “When the role isn’t clearly understood or well-defined, hiring mistakes are unavoidable. There’s a growing list of people with titles like social media strategist who have never developed any kinds of strategies in their entire career. They know enough about social media to talk themselves into a position that has no real objectives or success metrics and three months in, everyone is miserable.”
According to Connor, a big part of what’s driving social media to staff up with a less-than-qualified workforce is the misguided belief that millennials are somehow social media ninjas by birth. The result, Connor says, is that agencies and brands place more responsibility in the hands of their interns than they should.
But Connor isn’t fully convinced that blind faith in millennials means there’s a bubble. Or, at least, she’s not fully convinced that the bubble will burst with devastating effect. According to Connor, the first generation of social media workers (those who began working in the field when nobody was talking about social media) are moving up in the world, and that’s a good thing. “If these individuals stay true to what they know, maintain a high-level view of both social media and its potential, and continue to be students of the craft, they will set the bar high and make a real difference,” Connor says.
What are your thoughts on my take?
7 comments
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July 7, 2010 at 8:52 am
Lisa Sullivan
As a person who spent nearly 15 months looking for the perfect position with a social media base, I fully agree with your take on hiring managers not clearly understanding or defining the roles they wish to fill. I can’t tell you how many resumes & cover letters I sent out on behalf of such positions (because that was the only way to apply) only to shake my head in wonderment wishing there was an opportunity to showcase what I do know & how that expertise can benefit that particular company or organization. I can recall only one position that required a video/blog entry to it. Everything else was cover letter & resume. Really? How is that really going to tell you that the person’s credentials you are looking at are worth a face-to-face sit down interview?
On a side note, thankfully, the position I did find also required a writing sample AND thankfully, they happened to already be following me on Twitter, etc. as well so they knew of my presence & expertise in the space. However, not every company looking to hire is that in tune with all things social media. I got lucky!
I also agree that the Millennial generation, while online 24/7 (it seems), aren’t always the best example of social media strategists. There are a few exceptions. Take Morgan Siem (@MorganSiem and @MediaTwo_Social on Twitter), Social Media Strategist at Media Two here in Raleigh. That 20-something young lady knows her stuff! She is constantly learning & applying and I have absolutely no doubt that she will outshine so many of her peers because of the example she sets.
Of course, Morgan’s just one I can think of right now. Not quite sure that the REST of the generation sees the value in continual learning & applying in order to be knowledgeable in their craft. That remains to be seen.
GREAT post, Angela!
July 7, 2010 at 8:54 am
Maggie McGary
I think you’re 100% right. The majority of companies don’t know the first thing about social media so how can they make good hiring decisions for something they don’t know about? The most common mistakes I see happening are either companies wanting to hire unpaid interns to do strategy–not just post pre-crafted messages to Facebook and Twitter–or companies creating vp or director of social media positions and hiring people who have no experience at all doing social media. Those are then the people who are frantically messaging social media consultants asking for help because they have no idea what they’re doing–yet since the people who hired them don’t know the first thing about what success looks like they’re just happy to be able to say “we have a director of social media” and everyone is happy….for now, at least.
July 7, 2010 at 8:57 am
Angela Connor
Lisa: I can recall discussing some of this with you in great detail during your job search, when we’d see each other out and about at events. I do know there are some super-outstanding millenials who know their stuff. It’s just this crazy belief that just *because* of their age, they know it all, when in fact, no one does. I bet it’s even offensive to some of them in the workplace if the assumption is made that they want to be involved in that aspect of the company due to their age. It sounds like you did get lucky with your new gig. I think you should write more about the whole interviewing process. I was intrigued by some of your stories. Thanks for taking the time to comments.
July 7, 2010 at 10:37 am
Angela Connor
Maggie. Truer words were never spoken, my friend. And you’re right…for now. Let’s be sure to revisit this conversation in a year. Thanks for the comment.
July 7, 2010 at 7:09 pm
Jay Dolan
Thank you for not assuming us Millennials aren’t born cyborgs with innate understandings of all social media. Every day, I take time to read, write, and learn more about what I’m doing online. I’ve learned what works for me as a blogger, but ask me to make a viral video and I’ll wither.
There’s more to being a social media worker than being on Facebook for 6 years!
July 8, 2010 at 3:39 pm
Lisa Sullivan
Angela…your insight (and your ear) during my job search was so incredibly welcomed. I don’t know that I can thank you enough!
I did write a little ditty about “The 7Ps to Surviving Unemployment” that you might enjoy – http://quintessentialfeline.wordpress.com/2010/06/17/the-7ps-surviving-unemployment/. It’s not quite about the interviewing process as a whole but rather it’s the whole experience. I caution you, it’s a long post so before you get ready to read it, grab a beverage!
Jay…exactly! So nice to see you continue to learn & grow in the medium but I’m sure by now you’re a Facebook expert.
July 20, 2010 at 11:51 am
Karl Sakas
You’re right — it’s about being savvy at social media, but it’s also about understanding marketing and community.
If I were interviewing for a social media position, my first question would be about their business goals: “What are you trying to accomplish?”