Job Skills: Facebooking and Tweeting?

“Skills: MSOffice, Facebook, Twitter”
“Additional Interests: Social networking, Mets fan, and Steven Spielbergmovies.”
“Objective: To become a skilled writer in the social media domain”

These are excerpts from some of the resumes that came my waythis summer in response to an internship posting. Resumes have always beenconsidered the cornerstone of a job search but choosing what you put in and howyou term it is equally important. So when did Facebook and Twitter becomeskills important enough to emphasize on a resume?

As publishers of the highly-acclaimed Vault Guide to Top Internships,we at Vault regard internships as an important civic duty. With moreprofessionals looking at internships to keep earning that paycheck, we have formany months now written and blogged about this evolving trend as well as itsmultifaceted aspects. Our team of interns has been instrumental to our effortsthis year in completing projects, brainstorming new ideas and contributing tothe launch of our new website.

Earlier this year, Caroline Ceniza-Levine, cofounder ofSixFigureStart and Vault blogger discussed how employers look at social media.According to her interaction with recruiters, social media signifies qualityand allows them to parse candidates qualitatively. She even cited the CEO ofstaffing agency Adecco as a frequent tweeter. Given that, surely it's fair gamefor the candidates I excerpt above to list Facebook and Twitter as importantskills?

No, it's not.

Yes, it may have become an acknowledged fact that usingLinkedIn, Twitter, etc. for conducting your job search and networking elevatesyour hiring chances considerably.  And, yes, there is also an unwritten rule that HR personnelnavigate through these channels to help weed out the best (or worst) candidatesfrom the stack of resumes. However, to list Tweetingas a skill is still not okay. If you used Facebook to land your present job,it’s okay to mention that in the interview to show your networking skills. Butit is not okay to list it as your foremost skill on a resume.

At present Generation Y resumes probably don’t come across theaverage executive's desk as often as they do for candidates for positionshigher up the ladder—yet. (Intern and entry-level hiring tends not to besomething that many executives play a direct role in.)  Eventually though, as this newestgeneration gains experience in the workforce and begins its corporate climb, GenY resumes will begin appearing on the desks and computer screens of the mostimportant people in an organization. How likely are they, then, to consider “an excellent Facebooker” or a “highly skilled Tweeter,” fortop positions at their company, unless the role specifically requires thoseskills?