Social Networking Impact on Recruitment
Social media and networking on its own is an interesting topic and can be debated for any extended length of time, but where social media gets pointed is when you apply it on a vertical by vertical basis (generalist classifieds, automotive, real estate, and employment). Specifically today, we’re particularly interested in recruitment and the ever-growing social media impact in the employment vertical.
It was two years ago when we started to show publishers how easy it was to search for jobs on Twitter, using their keyword search functionality. At that point, no one took us seriously, as they felt that form of a job search was unorganized and not utilitarian enough for users to jump ship. Today’s online recruitment numbers however, show that both job seekers and recruiters, feel otherwise.
JCSI asks recruiters where they plan to spend their advertising dollars this year.
The obvious benefits of social networking sites for both the recruiter and job seeker, leads us to understand that publishers should start to build their recruitment strategies with an element of social media worked in. Not only is it an affordable way to increase awareness for a clients recruitment campaign, but it also aligns with what labour statistics are saying are the most demanded jobs (media, entertainment, IT professionals) and where candidates for these jobs will likely gather.
Bureau of Labor Statistics, December 2009
Given the clear positioning for social media in recruitment, it is no surprise that we are seeing more and more players emerge. Below is a list of some ’social job boards’ that publishers should be aware of.
LinkedIn Jobs – LinkedIn not only provides the standard job search functionality, but it stands out for recruiters because is it inherently seen as a professional networking site where individuals, in a benign fashion, willingly post their resumes and potential references (LinkedIn Profile and connections). This gives a completely new meaning to the coveted ‘resume bank’ that recruiters hold so dear. LinkedIn also provides a FireFox add on to make their job search portal portable, regardless of browser session.
TwitJobSearch – this job board is brought to you by a group out of London called WorkDigital. They’ve taken their aggregate formula from their other standalone Web sites and applied it to Twitter posts. TwitJobSearch peruses Twitter for job related posts, based on what the job seeker inputs.
JobShouts – this is an online job board and recruitment tool that allows recruiters to post their ad once and automatically syndicate it to Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and other social networks. On the other side, JobShouts has also made it easy for job seekers to participate, by allowing them sign in or register using a barrage of online media site alias’.
JobShouts is a free service for recruiters, but they do make mention that they may be changing their business model to include paid-for enhanced listings
Facebook – the standard job posting can be found in the marketplace section of Facebook and recruiters have been actively using the site in a similar fashion to LinkedIn, as they review user profiles to find suitable candidates.
To a lesser extent, there are traditional online job boards that have created more social entities to compliment their baseline structure: Indeed’s MyWorkster and Jobster, with their integrated networking services.
As a cautionary note, social networking sites should not be seen as the be all and end all answer for recruiters. Even though these sites land unprecedented traffic numbers, recruiters should be cautious and recognize that it is not every job type that belongs on a social site. I do feel however, that depending on the job you are recruiting for, you will want to have an element of social media included in your recruitment strategy. There is no denying that if the job function aligns with media, marketing or information technology, you will probably find your ideal candidate on a social networking site. The other obvious gain through recruiting on social sites, for the right type of job, is that the candidate found on a social networking site, is already showing signs of living in the online space. Social networking sites for some job seekers is just as good, if not better than, trekking around an organized industry site that speaks to your graduate degree.
