It is a study that goes against the tide of received ideas. According to researcher Andrew Whinston of McCombs University in Texas, executives who consistently promote themselves on Twitter land better jobs and better pay than those who don’t.
Self-promotion is sometimes effective
The scientist explains as follows: “People who actively self-promote on Twitter benefit. They get a return in time. We’ve found that the idea of self-promotion is indeed a valid concept, and that it’s worth spending some time and effort promoting yourself on Twitter. »
To demonstrate his theory, Andrew Whinston and his team sifted through data related to the compensation of chief executives, chief marketing officers, chief information officers and chief product and innovation officers employed by the 500 companies. of the Standard & Poor’s index between 2010 and 2013. This information was cross-referenced with their personal publications on the social network.
There are, however, notable exceptions to this rule. Thus, some problematic posts may be seen by hiring managers who scour the Internet for information about a candidate. The general public also sometimes tends to judge executives too arrogant if they boast about their performance too ostentatiously online.
Anyway, this study could give ideas to some junior workers who want to obtain better professional prospects. It is still necessary, as we pointed out above, to find relevant content to post.
“Take the trouble to think before posting”
It is interesting to note that last January, we came back to a poll which seemed to give the opposite feeling. Indeed, the cybersecurity company Kaspersky has conducted a survey on this subject in the United Kingdom.
It shows that 32% of respondents said they were embarrassed by their online publications during a job interview. 38% also believed that if their future employers could see what they posted on their accounts, they would have no chance of being hired.
It’s unfortunate, but human judgment on others is often made in just a few seconds, and in this context, a statement that is too controversial or irrelevant can prove to be prohibitive in the professional context.
David Emm, senior security researcher at Kaspersky, also sent valuable advice to Internet users: “It can be tempting to share something online because it seems like a good idea at the time, but it’s always worth taking a moment to think about how this post will be perceived by others, especially those who could become your employers or colleagues. »
