Knuckle-Rapping Time

In the three years I've been writing this blog, I've spent quite a lot of time encouraging students to be professional in their communications. Whether it be through email, social media or indeed voicemail, it is important to be courteous, and also self-aware that the profile you create for yourself is how recruitment professionals will make initial judgement. I've also tried to deliver a website and twitter account that is both informative and light-hearted and for the most part I think I've managed to achieve that. However it is a fine line to tread and it is quite easy to overstep the mark, which is what I did yesterday.

I won't go into full detail, but a couple of tweets sent with good intentions resulted in a spot of bother for a well-known internship provider. What might be considered banter on a one to one level, takes on a different dimension in the corporate world. A couple of my off-the-cuff remarks were not taken too kindly by the wider organisation and the net result has been that a recruiter who I have nothing but admiration for has had to extinguish metaphorical fires. Needless to say the offending tweets and associated messages have been deleted to alleviate further embarrassment.

So this is a lesson for me as much as my readership. As well as ensuring that you maintain a positive professional profile, take a moment to think before you tweet as your words could bear consequences for others.