By TAYLOR HOFF<\/p>\n
The popular website\u00a0LinkedIn<\/i>\u00a0is designed to help people in the professional world establish their profile and search for future employees they can trust and who obtain needed credentials. This is a website where reaching out to others is encouraged and either you get the job, or not, no harm in trying.<\/p>\n
However, if you\u2019re reaching out to Kelly Blazek, there is in fact harm in trying.<\/p>\n
Last week, Kelly Blazek, a woman named Cleveland\u2019s \u201cCommunicator of the Year\u201d for her popular online job bank for marketing professionals, realized the importance of playing it safe on social media \u2013 the hard way.<\/p>\n
Ever since e-mail, Facebook, Twitter, and social media became popular high schoolers, college kids, and young adults were warned of the consequences these websites could have on your future. Making sure no questionable activity surfaces to potential future employers. However, once you get the job, it doesn\u2019t mean you can let down your guard and inappropriately use social media.<\/p>\n
When 26-year-old Diana Mekota added Blazek, she received quite the backlash.<\/p>\n
After e-mailing her a professional note stating only her experiences and positive job seeking attitude, Mekota was expecting an e-mail of subtle rejection, an e-mail of acceptance, or no e-mail at all. What she got was unexpected by all.<\/p>\n
Only hours after Mekota sent her original e-mail, she received an e-mail detailing how her \u201cinvite to connect is inappropriate, beneficial only to you, and tacky.\u201d She continued on, \u201cwow, I cannot wait to let every 26-year-old job-seeker mine my top-tier marketing connections to help them land a job.\u201d<\/p>\n
Within days the e-mail went viral. Surfacing on websites such as\u00a0Buzzfeed<\/i>, known for their humor and poking fun at outrageous situations.<\/p>\n
Also within days, other people began coming out of the works claiming to have received similar e-mails from Blazek. In one of the e-mails she signed off \u00a0\u201cDone with this conversation, and you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Blazek\u2019s responses have created quite the frenzy in the media and she has since publicly apologized to all that she offended and deleted several forms of social media.<\/p>\n
Although unfortunate to all involved, and potentially Blazek\u2019s career, she has definitely made an example of herself. She proven it\u2019s not only important to have a clean and reputable online appearance when seeking a job, but unquestionably important to maintain that appearance even when you\u2019ve received your dream job and hold titles such as \u201cCommunicator of the Year.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By TAYLOR HOFF The popular website\u00a0LinkedIn\u00a0is designed to help people in the professional world establish their profile and search for future employees they can trust and who obtain needed credentials. This is a website where reaching out to others is … Continue reading