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Karen Russo recently featured in “Got a Good Business Idea? Here's How You’ll Know” on BusinessNewsDaily.com. Click here to read more.

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What I Know About 'Social' Recruiting

Here's what I know about 'Social' Recruiting:

1. It isn't social until myself or my staff has seen our candidates face-to-face. A candidate can be an absolute rock-star on paper (or LinkedIn or Facebook or Twitter), but if I haven't seen whether the candidate is fully capable of engaging me, making eye contact, firmly shaking my hand or composing their body language... they aren't going to my clients. On the rare occasion I can't meet a candidate, I have taken to Skype; at least I can get an idea of how engaging this candidate is. After all, talking through a keyboard isn't very 'social' at all!
2. My teams use Twitter, Facebook, Niche Blogs, LinkedIn, Hi5 and other social media outlets, but they are also mandated to attend truly 'social' events. This means they frequent outtings by ERE, CAPS, NAPS, Tweet-Ups, Whine N Dine's, Career Fairs, and Community Forums. I can't afford (nor can my recruiters or researchers afford) to forget how to conduct themselves in social settings. People wouldn't believe how many 'social guru's' I've met at conferences or other engagements who couldn't hold my attention in a conversation unless they were inhaling helium balloons and I had humor invested in listening. I'm serious... Do your recruiters AND your researchers a favor... drag them from behind the dust of a keyboard and put them in an open room of talkative, networking socialites.
3. My business DOES make money off of recruiting and sourcing through social media networks, but that doesn't alone, pay my bills. So, yes... I may tweet, update, link, connect, follow, blog, fan or whatever else you do on these sites, but unless it pays for my son's college tuition in whole - you shouldn't expect me to spend my entire day @replying, DMing, thanking mentions or tracking google mentions... Why? Because I make my money by closing deals or securing other companies with research that closes deals... THAT'S what I am good at. THAT'S what pays my bills and THAT'S as much as I know about this whole Social Recruiting trend. Yes, it helps pay a few bills here and there, but it's not my cash cow and it's not where I will spend 90%, 70% or even 50% of my day.

Attitude: Are You Projecting a Positive One?

Over the summer, I went to the Fordcye conference where Executive Recruiters who are at the top of their game come together. In a dreary economy, the conference was energizing and optimistic. It turns out, it was also prescient. Industry leaders felt change was upon us and that there was going to be more activity… finally. Turns out, we are seeing more activity.

Those who seem to be benefiting the most are those with a positive attitude about offering clients a strong business presentation. Industry leaders such as Barb Bruno, Jeff Skrentny, Kathleen Kurke, Mike Ramer, and Jennifer Lambert had spoken about the value of rebranding, social media skills, sourcing, and, yes, upgrading your presentation and attitude.

What’s your attitude these days? If you are a client, do you think you can do it all? Maybe. But maybe you’re also spending more time and money than if you used an experienced executive recruiter. Hiring companies often don’t realize that they loose productivity by trying to do it on their own. In a recent survey of 942 companies by Watson Wyatt, companies claim that the critical skills they are seeking are not being found in this abundant market of candidates. Who is qualifying all these resumes? In many cases, it’s coordinators with just 2-4 years of experience who lack the breadth of knowledge to evaluate senior level resumes. Key word searches are not enough; experienced eyes are a better solution.

Is your follow-up rude and dismissive? Today companies feel it is acceptable to receive a resume without providing a response. If candidates are directly applying to a job posting why are they never being told they have been rejected? When candidates are dismissed without reason, all the work done on employer branding goes right out the door. Executive recruiters know it is happening because HR departments are so understaffed right now, they can’t stay on top of the applicant flow. All the money spent spreading the good word about their company flies right out the door when the process is so neglected.

If 770,000 boomers leave and only 330,000 are available to replace them, we are still technically in a labor crunch - it’s just camouflaged by a prolonged recession. If I were looking for talent, I would be doing it now when people are disgruntled, over-worked, and ready for the next big challenge. You can find the best passive people now; however, clients don't think it is worthwhile to sift through all these active resumes when there are other pressing issues.

What are you doing … as a client (or candidate) to brand yourself and set yourself apart? What is your value proposition? What are your processes? Start thinking and change your attitude. Let me hear what you are doing!

Let me hear from you on what your doing!