Analysis Of Rhethorical Appeals In Hartley’s “creative Ways To Get Noticed By Employers On Social Media”

Social media is useless, and a waste of time. One woman, author Deanna Hartley, wrote “Creative ways to get noticed by employers on social media,” published in 2017 in CareerBuilder, and she argues that some job seekers are leveraging social media to their benefit to catch the attention of potential employers. Hartley begins building her credibility by listing statistics on how often employers are peeking into social media accounts. She sites reputable sources, and begins giving an emotional appeal. She continues this throughout her entire argument, and ultimately ends with giving another emotional tip explaining the fine line of being diligent vs. creepy when writing a follow up thank-you note.

In her article, Harltey sets the stage by explaining a specific scenario in which an employee could get in trouble when posting “racial remarks” or unhygienic pictures” while on the job. Hartley then explains specific ways on how to avoid the given scenario. She says that if you do it right, social media could work in your favor. Hartley then begins to give bias tips on how she thinks using social media in a positive light could help secure the dream job. She says that “social media is an extension of your brand.” Possible solutions to this problem, Hartley suggests, is to clean up all profiles. She says to also make them private when doing this so that employers are only able to see certain things that will appeal to them, such as, specific skills and keywords that will make your profile easily searchable. Throughout the article, Hartley uses sufficient sources that enhance her credibility and appeal to ethos as well as build her argument. Some of the sources include, Facebook, Google AdWords, Twitter and LinkedIn. By citing these sources the reader can tell that Hartley’s credibility is increased because all of these web engines having something to do with social media. She also uses her own personal experience when explaining the ins and outs of how to social media when applying for a job which makes the reader trust that she understands what she is talking about.

In addition to her ethos appeal, Hartley uses a powerful logos appeal that state facts about her personal life and how she used these tips to land a specific job. She describes a situation where one of these tips could be beneficial and says “While it’s great to connect with Ron from the last networking event you went to, be proactive and seek out professionals in your field.” This statement supports the fact that while being social at a networking event may be beneficial, it is also important to seek advice from somewhere else other than a social event. Hartley continues with “Did you know that 60 percent of employers are peeking into candidates’ social media profiles?” Furthering her argument that more than half of employers are seeking out potential employees social media profiles, which is important when trying to land that dream job. These statistics are some that logically support her claim that maintaining a professional manner on social media could be the difference in landing a job or being jobless. Following her emotional appeal, throughout Hartley’s article she is seen using a strong vocabulary in order to get her point across making an appeal to pathos. Her article is full of emotional bias phrases, however in her first tip alone there are few that stand out. Phrases such as, “Whether or not you like it, social media is an extension of your personal brand.”

“So clean up your Facebook or make it private.” She also says, “Being over-the-top dramatic is not always necessary to catch an employer’s attention.” In listing these tips, she is very straightforward and to the point, leaving the reader not to question what the author could have meant by her tips. Her goal is to make the reader think about what steps are needed in order to attain a future job. She also uses words such as “creativity”, “non-traditional”, “proactive” Adding to the emotion of how much work it takes to secure a job. Another emotion Hartley emphasizes is the concept of making connections: “While it’s great to connect..”, “Establish connections with individuals…”, “Not only will it help you connect.” The word connect helps unify the importance of getting to know those in the field in which you would like to join. These words are an appeal to pathos and the reader’s sense of ambition that is searching for a job. Whether that be in person or through social networking.

Throughout the entire article, Hartley does not change her tone in her appeal to pathos. She makes it very clear that these are the steps that need to happen in order to have a successful job hunt or how to appeal to an employer who make be seeking you. For example, toward the end of her article she states, “What you find out about a company or hiring manager online can help you find topics that sit well with the hiring manager so you can personalize conversations or even thank-you notes.” This quote goes back to the pathos appeal in that she wants to make a connection with someone. By making a personal connection, an employer could be more interested because there is already a certain connection. I believe that Harley wanted the reader to understand the importance of making a personal connection.

Hartley’s article is almost as if a close friend needed advice on how to secure a job and Harley’s first idea was to make a list of how to be successful in landing a job. She first states how and what to clean up, and then discusses how to make personal connections in person once the job has been secured. For example, Hartley uses tips such as, “Don’t be afraid to ask for advice”, “Produce a snapchat channel that can highlight your creativity.”, Retweet and share relevant posts.” The tips that Hartley gives in her article will not solve world hunger, but they are things that could be easily overlooked when applying for a job. Also, for someone who is new to the workforce and uses social media regularly, Harley’s tips are beneficial in how to be successful. Furthermore, Harley’s last tip ties in her argument in hopes that once an employer has sought out the job seeker, it is important to stay relevant, and proactive about certain and specific topics.