I remember sometime back when one of my students was refused a job at a PR agency because she did not possess a Blackberry phone. The reason given was, how could she then maintain contacts much needed in the PR profession?
I also noticed the increase of endorsement requests on LinkedIn from current and previous batch students to elaborate on their educational and communication skills.
Thus Blackberry and LinkedIn have become important tools to show that you have arrived as a professional.
Facebook so far seems untouched by prospective employers as otherwise the young budding practitioners would be more alert before posting random status messages and pictures. Or worse be found playing games.
Twitter is still used as a medium to speak out on issues, if you go by the "trending" issues. Again, doesn't seem to be under the scrutiny list.
YouTube could be used for uploading fun videos by students. Are they checked?
These products of technology have quietly entered our lives and somehow have becomes an extension of ourselves which could be under scrutiny by future employers. How many of these tools or more such tools are being used by employers in India to study prospective employees? Do students need to be trained to use this sites more carefully in the future? What are your thoughts?
