I was recently asked if I would be willing to speak at my old college Alma Mater, Bentley University, by a gentleman I got to know via Twitter who I found out is Bruce Weinberg, the Chair of the Bentley University Marketing Department.   The presentation was not about commercial real estate or environmental business best practices; it was about Social Media, Web 3.0, and building a personal brand.   Even though my schedule was and is completely overloaded, I decided to make time for this opportunity for a number of reasons, but one in particular that I am a big believer in - reverse mentoring.   I have included a link to an article titled Moving Forward with Reverse Mentoring that does a good job explaining how many companies and universities are using it.   To me, it is an extremely important as a business professional to keep up with and ahead of new trends.   

When I walked in, the assignments were being passed out and they included setting up a LinkedIn profile as well as setting up a Twitter account to name a few.  As you might imagine, all of the students were using Facebook.  In fact, that was the way that just about everyone communicated with friends, fellow students, and family.    And for the majority of them, it is their method of communication - not email.   They were told their personal brand on the web was not a requirement to land their dream job, but it would be extremely helpful and could be the difference when going up against another candidate given the importance of social influence and networking in today's business world where everyone lives on the web.  The group was very engaged and excited to learn about how companies were effectively using social media and the web to move their business forward. 

As I reflected after visiting the class, one thing became very clear.  Whereas we, as hiring agents, managers, and business owners can learn about the new talent we are considering as employees by using the web, they have access to pre-screen us in ways that we never had to deal with when we were their age.   We had to put together a resume with some references and went out on interviews.    In hindsight, we probably had it easy.

However, students now have access to information - things that I think you would agree would have been of value if you ever had a job you regretted taking or didn't like the boss.  I know, that has probably never happened, right?    Any new hire can now look us up, check out our web profiles, social networks and affiliations, experiences, and interests prior to taking a job working for us.    They can also check our company's online reputation.   Have you thought about that as part of your hiring processes? 

And, since students have lived in social networks for years by the time they graduate, I think it is a pretty safe assumption that they will be turned off working with peers, employers, and boss who do not participate or believe in them.  If we have no social presence and are perceived as old school, it will dramatically impact our ability to attract the next generation of talent, whether you are an environmental professional, lender, attorney - profession does not matter.

We will serve as valuable mentors in the development of a young professional entering the workforce.  And, they will in turn, help mentor us.  Good business is a win-win.

Business and hiring has evolved to the web in many ways.   Have you?