We are all agog about Facebook, atwitter about Twitter, and lusting after LinkedIn. Social networking is the new revolution, and as executive job seekers you have to be engaged in conversation, building your network of contacts to help support your next career move. Which is why I found it surprising that so few C-level executives are engaged in social networking.
I ran across an interesting blog post not long ago from Fresh Networks entitled “Are Fortune 100 CEOs social media slackers?” Apparently, CEOs of the Fortune 100 just aren’t engaging in the online conversation. Some interesting social networking findings about Fortune 100 CEOs:
- Only 2 have Twitter accounts
- Warren Buffet has 1,983 followers
- 13 CEOs have LinkedIn accounts
- 4 have only one connection
- 3 have more than 10 connections – all in technology
- 81 percent don’t have a Facebook page
- Only 2 have more than 10 Facebook friends
- The CEO of Exxon Mobile has no friends
- 75% of Fortune 100 CEOs have Wikipedia entries (and a third of them are wrong)
- Not one Fortune 100 CEO maintains a blog
I suspect this trend extends beyond the Fortune 100. Many older executives find it challenging to adapt to the new online world of social networking, and they are busy dealing with what they do understand, which is running their businesses.
So does this mean that you should scale back your social networking efforts because you won’t get the attention of the CEO? Absolutely not! More than ever, these senior executives rely on their executive team to stay current with the latest trends, including social networking, so they don’t have to. Continuing to promote your personal brand online and building your network of contacts is still your best way to get introduced to corporate decision-makers. And your demonstrated ability to leverage social networking is a marketable skill that CEOs will appreciate, even if they aren’t part of the online conversation.
If you still feel intimidated by social networking, our Experts Connection teleseminar series offers some solid advice on how to use social media to drive your career. This Wednesday we are hosting Twitter for Executives with Joel Comm, author of Twitter Power,, and we will be hosting teleseminars on LinkedIn and Facebook this fall. And Thursday we are hosting our first Experts Connection session for recruiters, LinkedIn for Executive Recruiters, with James Durbin, headhunter specializing in social media for the Durbin Group. I urge you to check them out.
