SOCIAL media; defined by Wikipedia as "interactive web platforms via which individuals and communities share, co-create, discuss, and modify user-generated content" and defined by most parents as "a waste of time".
Up until a few months ago, it's safe to say I agreed with the latter of the two definitions. However, I have recently embarked upon a job-hunting journey that's changed my mind and may just change yours.
Various social media sites have lent a "hypothetical" hand in both my searches and successes towards landing a job and without them I certainly wouldn't be writing this article today.
After finishing school with three decent A-levels and a place at my preferred university to study my ideal course, I decided this simply wasn't the right path for me. Instead, I started aimlessly applying for jobs and after a while, landed an interview for an apprenticeship at one of the top media companies in the country. Not too shabby, if I may say so myself!
So, with a presentation to prepare, I anxiously started getting organised. Nervous was an understatement and under-prepared was the sorry truth.
With so many unanswered questions, I e-mailed the company and got no reply; so after a few days I decided to search for the HR team on a well-known social networking site. Bingo! Found them, asked them, got answers from them and actually got to know them.
This connection filled me with a confidence boost like no other. I knew what to expect from the day, I felt prepared and confident for my presentation and I even knew what my interviewer looked like (stalker, I know).
But anything that relieves the stress, suspense and sleepless nights leading up to an important interview is a good thing, right? Absolutely! Although I didn't get the job, it was between one other person and myself, and I'm so sure that my confidence and preparation had a huge part to play in that … thanks to social media.
Many people complain that this technological connection people have and make is an impersonal relationship where people are almost faceless. The bond we have is with a screen, a keypad and some speakers, not a face, a voice and some eyes. However, thanks to social networking I managed to give a faceless person a face and an intimidating, authority figure a personality.
This link was what made my emotions change from nervous to excited and on edge to comfortable. At the end of the day, everyone's human. It just took a bit of social networking for me to realise this.
Nevertheless, social networking must have got these negative connotations from somewhere. Is it the endless hours some kids spend on it when they should be doing their homework? Is it people abusing their indirect access to individual's lives? Or is it the ever-increasing size of humans that places blame on being sat in front of a computer screen for hours on end?
The answer, I believe, is all of the above. No wonder certain sites get slandered as "a waste of time" when they're not getting used for the right reasons. The amount of jobs I have applied for after seeing them advertised on social networking sites is more than I can count on both hands. Other people should be seizing these unique opportunities due to the day and age we live in. Not sitting on "Nosybook" seeing how your daughter's cousin's little sister spent her Friday night!
My point is not to dispute the pessimistic opinions of the general public on such sites – like I say, I used to agree. It's more a case of changing the way people use these sites, enabling a more pro-active approach to the phenomenon that is social media.
One important thing to remember is that once something is out there anyone can access it. Yep, even if you're account is set to private a prospective employer can still see those pictures of you and your friends stumbling out of a nightclub flashing your underwear. So be warned … use it, don't abuse it.