Social Media Recruiting Works? Prove It.

I am working on two searches that have turned out to be somewhat of a purple squirrel and shouldn't be..I thought. Having advertised the positions, direct called, asked for personal referrals etc. etc. Still no viable candidates that are of interest to my client. Now, they have changed the job requirements mid search which caused some whiplash. But here's my thought. To all you who believe that social media recruiting is the holy grail..show me the candidates. If you can find candidates for these two positions using only social media, no posting ads, no direct calls, if you have one in the data base he/she has to be the result of social media recruiting, i'll split with you.

These will not make you rich, but on the surface they won't seem to be that difficult so if you want to give it a try, let's see if your medicine works. If it works we'll post about how you did it and give you the opportunity to show us how you did it.

Here's the job description:

Position: Staff Level Operations Manager - Wholesale Distribution

Location: Atlanta, Georgia - Here's the catch. Must be within 20 minutes commute time from the Lawrenceville, Georgia area. Prefer not to relo.

Salary Range: 50 to 60K. No bonus potential. 401K, Medical insurance effective after 90 days and expensive for family coverage first year. Fee is 20% of base, split paid upon receipt of check from company. 90 day replacement guarantee.

Deg. Supply Chain Management, Logistics, Business with supply chain management or other four year degree with Supply Chain/wholesale distribution experience..

Functional Responsibility: Supervise a team of 20 -25 hourly associates in a fast paced , automated pick, pack ship environment. Flexible for second shift or weekend shift work. Position is one of 12 Ops Managers at this level reporting to the AGM and GM. Experience with SAP, Red Prairie, High Jump or Manhattan WMS PkMS.

What the client wants. Min. of 3-4 years management experience in the wholesale distribution warehouse facility of any of the big box DC's ie; Target, K-Mart, Toys R. Us, Best Buy, etc. Can not consider candidates coming directily from Wal Mart distribution. Manufacturing background not a fit.

Retail not a fit. Stable job record. Heavy on the stable job record. Good reasons for change.

If you can find candidates using social media only i will be impressed. Questions, comments, my email address is prosearch@suddenlinkmail.com. Or post it here. We have looked at a lot of candidates for these positions. If we already have them from ads or direct recruiting will let you know immediately. I want to see if social media is really a tool that will produce candidates who are not findable using other recruiting processes. Wanna play?

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Paul Alfred on October 29, 2010 at 12:32am

Actually Sandra - the fact that you started this blog is an actual form of Social Media -If we can get collaborators in on this little live experiment with input on other SM tools - then perhaps we can track progress like in a Chemistry or Physics experiment --Social Media in Action with a real business case... SM Folks can add input what's good here we could learn the strengths and constraints of SM outside of traditional headhunting or its power in combination with traditional skills ...

Sandra perhaps you will become a new advocate after all with respect to Social Media as it`s applied to the Recruiting Profession :-)

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Permalink Reply by Kathy Thompson on October 29, 2010 at 9:02am

I want to hear from the Tweeters and Facebookers too!! I used LI but I have not jumped into the other SM's. So please...you guru's out there...show us how!

If you can make twitter work for recruiting there are thousands of us who want to know how. :)

So far it's linkedin only. Thanks for joining the discussion. I think it's interesting too. Desperation breeds desperate measures. :)

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Permalink Reply by Sandra McCartt on October 29, 2010 at 11:32am

Paul -That was my thought also as to RBC being social media. It seems that Linkedin is the drug of choice for both TPR's and corporate recruiters. I am looking for the other tools as you mention that anyone can provide with some candidate results. I have made several high level placements from linkedin connections but have not had any success with anything else.

Katrina -This role is proving to be somewhat difficult this go around. In the past i have filled this identical role in five diffferent distribution centers for this client with no problem. We have reviewed over 400 resumes as a result of job board postings and direct recruiting with five candidates being presented and either phone interviewed or on site interviews. I am not seeing the quality of candidate that i have seen . Internal recruiter has reviewed almost 100 resumes with the same result.

Kathy - Me too, where are the gurus? Building their Brand somewhere or going to network events or twittering about what they had for lunch or writing blogs about talent communities i guess.

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Permalink Reply by Maria DiLisio on October 29, 2010 at 12:26pm

All this talk about what is and isn't social media made me do some research...I just wrote a blog post about it, complete with wikipedia definitions - check it out....

Sandra McCartt said:

Trust me Paul it' is not filled. There are two positions open that i have been working on for three weeks and have hit the wall. I love this hiring manager, he is a class act so i have abandoned several other searches with salary ranges about three times this high to fill these spots. I have recruited for this company for 30 years so this is not the time to blow it.

thanks for the Linkedin tips. Actually i have done a bunch of what you suggested but not as focused as you have suggested. My little partner here seems to be running the traps hard. Paul , you and your time commitments. Where are you when i need all your sexy search skills? :) We are to the phone stage. It's a tag team match at this point.

Anyone who thinks twitter is an answer care to give this a whirl and report back.

Calling all twitteratti, calling all talent community gurus,

Maybe we need to really define what Social Media is anyway. What is social media, is it splits on RBC, is this not social media, what other than Linkedin (which some of us seem to feel is sorta not what the gurus mean when they talke social media) do you consider social media?

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Permalink Reply by Sandra McCartt on November 2, 2010 at 1:44pm

Questions here.

Linkedin seems to be the only source so far. What does anyone see as the difference between people who have a profile on linkedin indicating they are interested in career opportunities as opposed to a candidate who has their resume on a job board? Would it be "willing to listen as opposed to actively looking"?

If recruiters are proudly not sending job board candidates because internal recruiters can find them. Why are linkedin candidates better when internal recruiters can also find them ...for free...when job board candidates require either paying for postings or paying for database access?

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Permalink Reply by pam claughton on November 3, 2010 at 4:41pm

Sandra McCartt said:

Questions here.

Linkedin seems to be the only source so far. What does anyone see as the difference between people who have a profile on linkedin indicating they are interested in career opportunities as opposed to a candidate who has their resume on a job board? Would it be "willing to listen as opposed to actively looking"?

If recruiters are proudly not sending job board candidates because internal recruiters can find them. Why are linkedin candidates better when internal recruiters can also find them ...for free...when job board candidates require either paying for postings or paying for database access?

Because on LinkedIn, they are not necessarily 'candidates'. They are simply profiles. Also, I think the natural default on LinkedIn is to have 'career opportunities' checked, so it doesn't necessarily mean the individual is really open or remotely 'looking'. I think the key difference though is that even if they are 'open', they are not 'looking' in the same way that a candidate on a job board is. So, you need to recruit them, call them up and see if they are open and if so possibly a candidate for your search. It's a big difference.

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Permalink Reply by Jerry Albright on November 3, 2010 at 4:44pm

Good point Pam. Also I'll add I think agency/3rd party recruiters take a few more liberties with how they approach Linkedin candidates. On more than one occasion I've bended the rules on connecting with people. I don't see internal recruiters/corporate being that loose with it.

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Permalink Reply by Sandra McCartt on November 3, 2010 at 5:04pm

Interesting. I have never had a candidate i contacted through linked in who had the career opportunities indication tell me they were not looking. Have had some decline the position or the location. But placed them later in other positions after we made contact.

Brought that up because one of the earlier responders mentioned she had saved agency fees by using linkedin internally. Some of my clients have internal recruiters who use linkedin also. We don't use the job board data base but do post jobs on some of the boards. Many of the candidates i get that way do not have a linkedin profile or have their resume on the job board just check out the postings. Some have not been actively looking just saw something that peaked their curiousity.

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Permalink Reply by Nick Lagos on November 3, 2010 at 10:15pm

LinkedIn supports blatant narcissism under the guise of “networking”, with the added illusion of exclusivity and independence. While job-boards by definition, connote ones desperate need for employment and therefore, dependence… (eeek!).

If you’re a candidate posting your resume on a job-board, swallow your pride, after all you’re looking for a job (and as you aptly put it, may be willing to “pay” to be listed among the needy (shades of TheLadders and the like)).

Some recruiters (corporate and 3rd party) find comfort in that type of arrangement. That’s an easy prospect call.

Not quite the same if ones a member of LinkedIn. Displaying you’re profile there may just be … preening! After all, as I recall when setting up a LinkedIn profile, default is “opened to all” (job inquiries included).

Unlike job-boards, professionals can therefore garner the support of even the firms they work for (networking and advertising for the betterment of the firm, oh and by the way, the CEO is also in LinkedIn; not likely to find him on a job-board… unless…).

So, is this professional just “marketing” or are they “a desperate “candidate”? Not so easy to tell. Some recruiters (corporate and 3rd party) aren’t so comfortable with that type of arrangement. That’s a real recruiting call.

This “difference” I believe gets to the very core differentiating “sourcing” from recruiting, which from the beginning of “recruiting time”, differentiates successful recruiters, from the rest.

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Sandra McCartt said:

Interesting. I have never had a candidate i contacted through linked in who had the career opportunities indication tell me they were not looking. Have had some decline the position or the location. But placed them later in other positions after we made contact.

Brought that up because one of the earlier responders mentioned she had saved agency fees by using linkedin internally. Some of my clients have internal recruiters who use linkedin also. We don't use the job board data base but do post jobs on some of the boards. Many of the candidates i get that way do not have a linkedin profile or have their resume on the job board just check out the postings. Some have not been actively looking just saw something that peaked their curiousity.

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Permalink Reply by Sandra McCartt on November 3, 2010 at 11:36pm

Put some thought into that one didn't you Nick.

Are you saying that if a person gets a candidate from a job board they are a sourcer not a recruiter because all job board candidates even the paid boards like The Ladders candidates are desperate? But if they get a candidate from linkedin they might be a sourcer or a recruiter depending on whether the candidate on linkedin is a narcissist , marketing or secretly desperate ergo; a successful recruiter is the one who can tell the difference?

If that is the hypothesis are we defining ourselves and our success or lack of same by where we catch the fish instead of whether we bring home something for dinner?

Take it one more step ,if a candidate is generated on Twitter or from a so called talent community where do they fall on the scale of 1 being desperate and 10 being narcissist and if someone is using twitter or setting up a talent community are they sourcers or recruiters?

In my mind if i go out hunting for something for dinner tonight, i might shoot it as it ran away, find it caught in a trap or hide and wait for it to mosey by. Nobody at my house would care or even ask, unless the thing had been dead long enough that jerky was the only option to eat it.

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Permalink Reply by Paul Alfred on November 4, 2010 at 12:33am

Wooo Nick ... That is harsh so how do you interpret the Old School headhunter trained to work with a phone who has evolved with the times now finding themselves utilizing tools like LinkedIn which by the way was never intended to be a Recruiting Tool if you read the founders original purpose - so what if Sandra ( Who is definitely placed in the Headhunter category) wants to utilize linkedIn to find passive candidates -its another tool to add to her pool of candidates headhunted or not ...

So a Successful Recruiter is suddenly dropped to the ranks of unsuccessful surfer because they decide to add other tools to their arsenal....? I would hope the assumption is made that Professionals who post their profile on linkedin did so because they have a network of like professionals they want to share connect and keep in touch with. LinkedIn has also evolved and serves many more purposes to include use by Recruiters ...

Why would you judge how Recruiters approach these " Passive Candidates" on LinkedIn because until you approach them its assumed they are not on the market and can't even be classified as candidates in my book- (Even with the Open for Opportunities option on). This is where LinkedIn differs from a Job Board.

I think you need to find a new definition for the term Surfer - one which would include the term Job Board ....

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Permalink Reply by Nick Lagos on November 4, 2010 at 10:52am

Sandra - Would be an awfully shallow and misguided statement to make if I said pulling from job-boards made one a sourcer, not a recruiter. Editorial license however allows a degree of “black and white” for comparative analysis but NEVER in our business are things dare I say, that… “Black and White”.

References to narcissists vs. desperate individuals in my response again, are meant to juxtapose opposite ends of the same spectrum (humanity pool). Only a fool would in literal terms assess all on LinkedIn as narcissists, or those who choose to post on JB’s desperate…please!

But simply put and in answer to your original question “What does anyone see as the difference between people who have a profile on LinkedIn…”

Professionals on LinkedIn cannot be painted with the same “broad brush” as those found on JB’s (inert prejudicial judgment). Whether it’s perception or reality, LinkedIn allows a much deeper insight into the professional then does a JB (how many connections do they have and who are they connected to, what groups are they on and what’s their standing in the group (do they participate, “did they start it?”), how succinctly have they straddled the line between “marketing”, and just “cutting and pasting a “classic” resume into their profile? Can you as a recruiter “sell” your value proposition to them, and will they buy it (connect with you), potentially opening you up to everyone they know (not just a few carefully selected references on a resume))? All this (and maybe a few I missed), help to distinguish the difference between an active participant on LinkedIn, and someone who just posts their resume on a JB.

Yes it’s ultimately about their “technical” skills and fit for your position, and yes, many skilled professionals use JB’s (at present but I believe its waning (anyone out there have stats to prove or disprove my assumption?)) but to deny the importance of “social skills” (physical or logical) is folly in today’s socially-hyper networked society. I readily grant, perhaps in some industries and at some levels it doesn’t matter as much, but one would have to be sensory inept to not see the explosion of social networking globally and frankly, candidates who “don’t get it”, don’t score highly with the clients I serve.

And, can my clients find them on LinkedIn, sure they can (and some do), but can they do the 29 other things it takes to “catch the fish” including “close them”… That’s why they keep me around :)

If you’re looking for dramatic differences (with a capital “D”) between candidates available on each platform, maybe not, but as recruiters, we live in the land of “subtitle” differences which for many in our business, is all it takes.

Wonderful post Sandra! You’re inspiring us all to THINK! (ouch!)

Sandra McCartt said:

Put some thought into that one didn't you Nick.

Are you saying that if a person gets a candidate from a job board they are a sourcer not a recruiter because all job board candidates even the paid boards like The Ladders candidates are desperate? But if they get a candidate from linkedin they might be a sourcer or a recruiter depending on whether the candidate on linkedin is a narcissist , marketing or secretly desperate ergo; a successful recruiter is the one who can tell the difference?

If that is the hypothesis are we defining ourselves and our success or lack of same by where we catch the fish instead of whether we bring home something for dinner?

Take it one more step ,if a candidate is generated on Twitter or from a so called talent community where do they fall on the scale of 1 being desperate and 10 being narcissist and if someone is using twitter or setting up a talent community are they sourcers or recruiters?

In my mind if i go out hunting for something for dinner tonight, i might shoot it as it ran away, find it caught in a trap or hide and wait for it to mosey by. Nobody at my house would care or even ask, unless the thing had been dead long enough that jerky was the only option to eat it.