This is a recent post on the American Communication Association forum:
A note for consideration by individuals who are still in college and/or are
considering professional employment that requires verbal and written
communication…make sure that you are using this forum and other opportunities to hone your skills and present your information in a positive and professional manner. I am speaking as a communications professional who has 25 years of business and supervisory experience.
I am compelled to write this now upon review of the recent posts pertaining to
the “spam” subject (as well as previous posts over the last few months that I
considered to be in poor taste), which, as some of you may be aware, effectively
drove one of the members of this group away because of the total lack of
professionalism by one of the posters. A person who participates in this forum
has high expectations, and after reviews of posts that appeared to be
agenda-laden or that were derived “completely out of left field,” my present
impression of ACA is that there is tremendous potential for a valuable forum,
but I acknowledge that the recent incident was disappointing to me. I was very
unhappy that a person with good intentions was pushed out by a poster whose
communication style was marginal and, at best, inappropriate. I’m not on a
crusade over this, but my expectation for an academic forum has a relatively
high bar.
My question for anyone that treats this as a forum for shouting or unwarranted
attacks–what you hope to gain as you seek employment once you leave school?
Are you frequently compelled to lash out in your writing, or do you stop and
think before you begin to express yourself? Now is the time to practice (and
observe) others in their writing styles and learn how to excel as a
communicator.
A new wrinkle today is how you approach social networks, as well. How often
have we seen things posted by persons on Facebook or Twitter that seriously
affect or hamper the chances of someone gaining desirable employment? From my experience, many individuals who leave college are ill prepared to secure
employment because they are naive to the ways of the world and the highly
competitive nature of obtaining a position in corporate America. HR
professionals actually will Google your name to see what they can find about you as an applicant.
This is a long post, and thank you, in advance, for allowing me to get this off
my chest…it’s been brewing for a while. What I would like to see more of on
this forum, as a communication professional, is the encouragement of those who
are trying to learn more about business and professional communication, and the
importance of honing one’s skills for preparation in the real world. All of this
must be pursued and accomplished with respect and to the highest level of
professionalism. I trust that those interested in upholding the purpose of this
organization and this group will see the relevance and importance of this issue
for the benefit of all of its participants.
Melvin Gaines 