“Anyone looking for a job in today’s competitive market without using social media is at a distinct disadvantage.” So says Leonard Witt, the Robert D. Fowler Distinguished Chair in Communication and founder and executive director of the Center for Sustainable Journalism at Kennesaw State University.
Witt points to data from CareerBuilder:
- Social media is one of the top ten hiring trends in 2010.
- One in five employers plan to add social media responsibilities to a current employee’s job description.
- Eight percent plan to hire someone new to focus or partially focus on social media.
I’m definitely seeing signs of these trends in the marketplace:
- An outsourcing company told me their clients are asking for social media training for their employees
- A well-known executive search firm has launched a new division specifically to find social media savvy hires
- They plan to offer social media training to prospective candidates
- A California University is offering a Master’s in Social Media – a Master’s Certificate completed in 8 weeks
- An MBA with a social media focus will be available in the US this fall
Will social media training become the next area where ‘everyone’ is suddenly an expert? I hope not.
As Witt advises in his article: “You want to get quality social media training. Ask someone you trust who uses social media for advice.”
Image Credit: Ralph and Jenny Flickr
