Social Media: Answering All of Life's Questions
Never has one incident singularly highlighted the good, the bad,
and the incredibly ugly components of living in the age of social media than a
situation earlier this month regarding a young engineer, his two job offers,
and his decision to ask the Internet to help him determine which one he should
accept.
The young man, who has not been identified, posted a
question to Quora -- the Q&A social media platform -- to
help him decide between a job offer from the ride-sharing powerhouse Uber and Zenefits, an HR software startup. The man came
up with compelling reasons to work for each company, such as strong management
teams, Zenefits' passionate pursuit of him as a candidate, and believing
strongly in Uber's product and mission. And while he thought he'd be a better
fit for Zenefits, the one con he listed for that company was a lack of brand
recognition.
"My biggest problem with Zenefits is that it isn't a
buzzword like Uber," he writes. "Most people won't know what Zenefits
is (or so I think). I think that this isn't as exciting a brand name to have on
your resume when applying to the likes of Google."
It's a Trap!
Although
it shouldn't be the end all be all, brand recognition is a perfectly legitimate
concern for a young Silicon Valley employee. Listing that as a potential
drawback on Zenefits' tally sheet is perfectly reasonable -- unless you're the
CEO of Zenefits.
Parker
Conrad, CEO of Zenefits and potentially the author's future boss, found the
posting and was not pleased. In a post that has since been deleted, Conrad
responded by saying "We really value people who 'get' what we do and who
'want' to work here, specifically. It's not for everyone, but there are enough
ppl out there who do want to work here that we can afford to be
selective." And with that, he publicly rescinded the man's job offer.
Then
things started to get really crazy.
Many
people online began publicly criticizing Conrad for being oversensitive and
immature in publicly rescinding the job offer simply because the author was
asking people for advice and being honest. That caused Conrad to edit his
response to a toned down version. However, because Quora allows users to see
the original version of edited comments, Conrad became even more of a target
for trying to hide what he originally said. Finally he deleted the post, but
not before taking a PR hit and being known as the CEO who can't take a little
honest criticism. That, in turn, could effect his ability to attract top-notch
employees and ultimately hurt the business.
Next,
not to miss a golden PR opportunity, an Uber employee chimed in and urged the
engineer to come work at his company where employees are valued.
Take the Good But Keep the Bad in Mind
Although messy and
cringe-inducing, it's really a story that perfectly illustrates the times in
which we live.
The engineer's decision to
enlist help in weighing his options and making a pros and cons list is not
unusual or unprecedented. However, the manner in which he did it -- essentially
putting company names and personal information on the Internet and
crowdsourcing an answer -- reflects the new normal. A normal with which many
are clearly not yet comfortable. The engineer underestimated the Internet's
reach and how putting himself out there could impact his hiring chances. Conrad
forgot to count to 10 before posting an angry comment online, which is written
in virtual ink and stays with us forever. And whether it's publicly mulling
over competing job offers, letting others vote on the name of your unborn child,
or livestreaming the contents of your fridge,
this incident further drives home the fact that social media has and will
continue to change the way we communicate and live our lives.
There is plenty of upside to
the digital age, but the pitfalls can haunt you in a Google search forever. So
before you take to the Internet, with personal decisions, make sure you're
ready for the potential fallout.
