In a previous blog I discussed the importance of social networking. Utilizing web 2.0 services gives recruiters the tools to source deeper than ever before, and the ability to find specialized passive candidates. This is only 50% of the equation. To fully implement the effectiveness of Facebook and Myspace it is essential to set up a "Careers Page". Creating the Careers Page offers you as a Recruiter the ability to maintain your own company job site; one that is easily adaptable and very targeted. I will give two examples of how my Social Networking Career Pages have come in handy and then explain how to set them up.

1. I was working to fill a remote project with a candidate living on the East Coast, I am on the West Coast at our Companies' headquarters. This candidate and I had spoken on the phone several times and had met a representative of our company back east for a few hours during the interview process. Offer stage was rapidly approaching and I needed to lock the candidate down. I received a phone call, "Can you tell me about your companies culture before I accept this offer, I have never been to your headquarters and only met one person in real life" said the candidate. How do you explain culture to someone when they can never see, hear or touch it? I immediately coached my candidate how to sign up for Facebook and directed them to my Career Page. Once on the Career Page my candidate could see pictures of post work events such as bar-b-q's, bowling parties, and golf tournaments featuring members of our company. There were white papers written by our consultants detailing some of the cutting edge projects they were working on asking for feedback. An open form discussions of ideas and suggestions through out the company. Through that easy step my candidate was able to put a face to a voice, a feeling to a company and a place to call home. The candidate quickly accepted the offer a few days later and is still happily employed with us.

2. Working for a "boutique" company allows me to be creative in how I spread the word regarding my open positions. I post (for free) all of our open positions on Facebook and MySpace. The opportunity to post a position for free should never be turned down. The more traction you have the greater chance you have of hitting your target. I am currently working to fill an extremely Sr. Level Sales role. It is not my forte and requires me to post the position on sales niche sites I am not necessarily frequenting often. I also posted the position on my Social Networking Career Pages and with in a few days I got an email from an interested candidate who exceeded my requirements. The person told me they were passively looking for a new position, did not want to post their resume online for fear their current employer would see it and thus is not on Monster, Dice, etc so would not have seen my job posting had it not been for Social Networking. We are currently still in the process of speaking with this candidate and hope to develop a mutually beneficial relationship, all formed from the Career Page.

Here is how to set up a Career Page:

Facebook:

1. From the main page click on "groups" in the upper left hand corner
2. Click on "create a new group"
3. Generate information for "group info" for category I recommend leaving the group open
4. Generate information for "customize" I recommend taking sole responsibility in terms of who can post and add things to the page
5. Generate information for "members"
6. Put the final touches and polish up your page, source for potential members and send them invitations

Myspace:

1. From the main page click on "more" drop down on the upper bar, select "groups"
2. Click "create a group"
3. Fill in appropriate information and click "create group"
4. Put the final touches and polish up your page, source for potential members and send them invitations

It is important to monitor your Career Pages daily, update immediately as jobs open and close and answer any questions members might have. The advantage of these pages are to add a personal touch and increase your scope. I hope these tips help others open up to a new audience and find them as useful as I do.