Briefing Paper.

Introduction
This report will outline the background, current issues, implications and a conclusion
of the relevance of a digital profile as an employability tool and to finish it of there
will be recommendations on how to resolve the current issues.
Background
Digital profiling is an online profile set up allowing your employers to view information
about you, an example of digital profiling is LinkedIn which is used by more than 187
million people in over 200 countries. According to Joanne Tombrakos LinkedIn is a
way that people are able to expand their networks and connections with different
employers and businesses around the different countries.
With digital profiling you are able to make yourself stand out and set a good
impression to the employers by showing them information on who you are as a
person, what you have done in the past and the skills and knowledge you have
gained from that, and moreover you are able to tell them what you would like to do
in the future, by doing this you are able to tell the employers about you the way you
want to tell them without having them stop you and ask questions around a certain
part because as they read on they will understand more about you. This makes
employing individuals easier and saves a lot more time.
Employability is the skills and knowledge which a person has to make them
applicable for the job position, employability skills are now considered essential
qualifications for most of the job positions.
Branding yourself also plays a huge part in whether or not an organisation wants to
employ you or not. Your image on your digital profile plays a small part but it
immediately warms up any situation and puts down the roots of a trusting
relationship Fishman. On your digital profile you would want to have a professional
image.
Your social media such as Twitter, Facebook etc. Are the pages employers try to find
first thing as it shows who you are as a person in more depth, it shows how you
interact with people online, especially if the job role includes you interacting with
customers, which shows the employers whether or not you are worth employing for
the job position or not.
Also when telling the employers about yourself on your digital profile you dont want
to oversell yourself as employers may end up thinking the individual is trying too hard
and making them think whether the digital profile states the true information on the
individual or whether its stated to boost their chances on the employment.
Current Issues
There are current issues in relation with digital profiling some of which are that
people may lose their jobs due to their activity on their social media pages, for
example they may have written something about the company itself which could
bring the company a bad name.

People also lose out on job opportunities due to posts that other people post about
the individual making the employer think twice, whether the post the individual was
tagged in was a joke.
With social media sites there is information you want everyone to see and there is
information you dont want people to see and cant take down as it was posted by
other individuals which you are tagged in, which can be seen by other people who
you dont have on your social media page even if your page is completely private.
There are people who use social media pages and are not aware of what the
consequences to it could be and some of these people want to be employed and
are wondering why they are unable to get employed and have not realised that
some of the things on their social media is holding them back from being employed.
Implications
If universities offered students more support with career advice than the 48% of
undergraduates would consider their personal branding when they are thinking of
getting employed. Also graduates would have a greater chance in job hunting if
they were to use social networks such as LinkedIn as it would build their image more
and this way it could build up their contacts so they are able to find a job which is
the most appropriate to them. Finally according to Robert Half if employers wish to
attra6tct the best talent they could pay their employees generously, as 32% said pay
was the primary motivator of them staying in the job. Also offering them flexible
benefits, around 62%-70% of companies are offering flexible benefits as it attracts the
best talents. Moreover allowing employees to have flexible working, 29% said having
the opportunity to work flexibly is the main motivator as some have children they
need to look after. And finally offering progression opportunities, as 42% of people
said its an important factor in having a job satisfaction.
Around 62% of employers now communicate with potential candidates online
before they carry out a face to face interview with them, they do this so they are
able to get first-hand information on the candidate, and also so they can narrow
down the number of candidates they want to do a face to face interview with, as
this save a lot more time.
As much as CVs were important to employers to find the perfect candidate for their
company, they are more interested in how the candidate presents themselves, for
example in the BBC news article it states that the recruitment technology firm
electronic insight doesnt even bother to look at your skills and experiences when
analysing CVs on behalf of clients Marc Mapes the firms chief innovation offices
says we just look what people write and how they structure their sentences. This
just shows that CVs dont play a big part in the employment process as well as digital
profiles do.
In the Forbes article Susan Adams states some of the skills which are required by
employers, which is to be able to work in a team, they look for this as most jobs
involve individuals to work in a team to complete job tasks rather than on their own,
also for the individual to communicate verbally with people inside and outside of
the company, so that they are able to understand what is expected from the
company and to help solve any issues customers could be having, also the ability to

sell, this is so that if the company has its key performance indicators (KPI) then the
individual must be able to sell it to the best without any problems. These are also
some of the skills which graduates need to learn.
There are many advantages of personal branding on an individuals digital profile
which are that you are able to put yourself out there for the employers to see who
the person is as an individual, also with personal branding the individual is able to tell
the employer who they are and what they are able to give to the company if they
were to be employed, moreover they are able to show to the employer what they
have done and the skills and knowledge they have been able to gain from their
previous experiences.
There are also many disadvantages to personal branding on an individuals digital
profile, which are that if your social networking pages show employers some
information the individual may not want them to see then they may not get
employed by some companies, meaning that it could take some time for the
individual to actually find a job which they would like to work in. also if the individual
was to start over branding themselves then the employer may lose interest and the
same would go for if the individual didnt tell the full story and left it incomplete, as
this would show the employer that the individual is not interested as much.
There are a few things which makes a graduate more employable is their CV
although it is not as relevant in the current days, it still shows the employers what skills
and knowledge they have gained from previous jobs, it also shows the employers
the individuals education history, a CV still helps employers make a decision on
whether or not the individual is fit for the company.
Another thing which makes a graduate more employable is their cover letter, as with
this you are able to stand out from other potential candidates who have not got a
cover letter, which states what the individual knows about the company and why
they would be fit for the job.
Also social media as this allows employers to get an insight on what the individual is
like and what they get up to in their free time. And along with this maybe a personal
website about the individual themselves as not many people would have these to
tell the employer more about them in depth.
Recommendations and conclusion
It is clear that digital profiles are seen by employers as a means that they are able to
get more information on an individual than they would be able to in an interview, as
the individual would state more information about themselves on their digital profile
then they would be able to say in an interview.
Universities can help graduates improve their digital profiles by offering them one to
one support on how to create them and moreover what needs to be included in
the digital profile, also looking over the graduates profile and seeing what can be
changed or improved.
In conclusion a digital profile is a better way for employers to communicate with
their potential candidates and ask them questions on certain information which they

have stated, and digital profiles could become a better way of employing
individuals.
References

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