According to Alexa.com, Google (#1) and Facebook (#2) are the two most popular sites on the Internet. For companies actively engaged in recruiting talent via the Internet, it is important to consider, what are the defining qualities of these sites that make them so attractive to Internet users? Once defined, how can companies seeking to hire best-in-class talent leverage this information to better recruit with prospective candidates?



Instant, Well-Organized…

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While considering how best to categorize Social Recruiting, I began to consider, “Is this new trend: revolutionary or evolutionary?” For some, using social media tools for recruiting is simply a natural evolution. Whereas, other believe that it is a revolutionary change.



Revolution

From sharing job postings with your network to finding prospective candidates on Twitter to blogging about the job search, proponents of revolution argue that while recruiting has…

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When thinking about the benefits of Social Recruiting, I think one of the most compelling is the positive effect on controlling the quality of candidates that enter the talent funnel. As a development engineer, one of the fundamental lessons I learned is “Garbage In, Garbage Out”. It didn’t matter what software tools I applied to make sense of the input data, if one of my collection channels was faulty; the entire experiment would have to be scrapped. This example is not to suggest that…

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While examining the pros/cons of using social media tools for recruiting, I've often seen arguments highlighting the cost of these tools as a determining factor in adoption. Currently, many of the most popular social media tools like Facebook and Twitter do not charge for using their services. In comparison to recruiting via job boards or third-party recruiter, the lack of direct financial expenditure for Social Recruiting seems compelling. Just because the services are free right now,…

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Traditionally, the CEO has played the role of company evangelist. In fact, having a single company representative was perfect for a broadcast, one-way method of information dissemination. However, with the rise of social media and the corresponding call for authenticity, having the CEO assume the role of evangelist is no longer necessary or even desirable. Just as most consumers are mistrustful of direct advertising, there is also an increasing likelihood that statements from your CEO may be…

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Remember the first phase of the Social Web. During this time, anonymous comments with questionable intent and veracity were littered throughout the landscape of our Internet experience. In some cases, these comments cast enough doubt to prevent patronizing an establishment, purchasing a product, or applying for a job at a company. With the current evolution of the Social Web, comments are easily traceable to online profiles from Facebook, Twitter, Google, and LinkedIn. The ability to connect…

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Generation Y has had many descriptors placed upon them: digital natives, entitled, world-changers, ambitious, lazy, and impatient. These descriptors, the changing nature of the employment contract, and the lack of quality information about an organization prior to hire suggests that many companies may be in for trouble with the group that naturally shares online with breathtaking speed.



We’ve already seen examples of the damage that employees can do to a company brand using the Social… Continue

In this blog post, I’d like to run an experiment in Crowdsourcing ideas for the Future of Recruiting. If this experiment is to be successful, it will require participation from members of the community. So, let’s get started!



The current model of recruiting was designed under a completely different set of assumptions….limited/non-existent technology, employment for life vs. free agency, regional/national employment vs. global, outsourcing, and limited metrics. Instead of being…

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In the past few weeks, the famous 1995 Newsweek article by Clifford Stoll entitled, “The Internet? Bah!” has again made an electronic loop around the Internet. In this popular article, Stoll discussed all the reasons why the Internet would FAIL to reach its overhyped potential. Many of the key examples used in the article have not only proven to be feasible online, but are thriving examples of the… Continue

I’ve been watching the massive growth of Facebook just like everyone else. From a small idea in a Harvard dorm room to over 400 million global users, Facebook is huge. As a Facebook user for the past several years, I’ve successfully dealt with some interesting friend requests. First, people from high school that I used to be friends with but by graduation we were no longer speaking. Accepted, we’re all adults now. Then, my ex-girlfriends asked to be my friend. Declined, too hard to explain to… Continue

During a speech on February 23, 2010 at the Brookings Institution Paul Otellini, the CEO of Intel, announced a $3.5 billion dollar initiative to invest in U.S. based growth-industries and create 10,500 jobs for recent college graduates. Otellini estimates that the payroll for these college graduate jobs, including benefits, will be over $1 billion…

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Internet users are leveraging social media for a wide variety of purposes. From complaining about being bumped off a Southwest flight to providing real-time natural disaster reporting, the social web is increasingly changing the way we communicate with each other online. This shift has important implications for the way companies and candidates will connect during job recruiting.



Over the next several years, I believe the social web will become increasingly useful for companies and… Continue

If your company is focused on hiring entry-level employees, being active on Facebook is an essential element of your overall recruiting strategy. Looking at Facebook demographic data from Quantcast.com, one sees that 18-34 year olds are well-represented on this social networking site. One way to leverage Facebook is to connect with this demographic through the use of a… Continue

Over the past few weeks, the most talked about topic in social media has been the introduction of Google Buzz. Some users love it for its game-changing interactive potential,…

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