The Social Media Recruiter Job Description

If I were in need of talent and just starting a company one of my first hires would not be a regular recruiter. It would be a Social Media Recruiter.

I believe over the next few years many companies will be doing the same. When it comes to recruiting in social media, it is very much a human driven strategy. Its takes an actual person, not technology to do it.

There was a lot of talk at the Social Recruiting conference last month about the 'tools' but they are only part of the equation. It takes special skills to do this and I wanted to write this post with some guidelines for the Job description of a social media recruiter. I think if your company is going to venture into this arena to recruit, start small with 1 person and let them teach the rest.

First I have to point out 2 people who come to mind as excellent examples of what I consider true Social Media Recruiters. Chris Hoyt from AT&T and Kerry Noone from Sodexo. These two individuals are among the most prolific bloggers/tweeters/facebookers I have ever seen and you would do well by following them and learning through osmosis. They have almost single-handedly strengthened each of their companies employment brands through their efforts.

So lets define the role. If you have anything to add, please comment:

SOCIAL MEDIA RECRUITER

A person who engages with and sources job candidates through online social networking tools and technology, while representing and promoting an employers brand.

POSITION GOALS

To establish & maintain relationships online to help proactivly fill the talent pipeline.

DAILY TASKS

* Use Twitter to promote new jobs and communicate the positives of working for company.
* Use Twitter to answer follower questions about working for, or applying to jobs.
* Maintain Facebook fan page by writing/posting content such as links, videos and pictures of workplace.
* Manage Facebook ads for specific job postings.
* Write content for company recruiting blog on topics such as job search advice, best practices for applying, whats it like to work there, etc.
* Source candidates through online tools such as LinkedIn, ZoomInfo, Twitter, etc.

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Chris Russell is the founder and Chief Jobcaster at Jobs in Pods, the only podcast that lets employers talk about their jobs and tell job seekers what its like to work there.

Comment by Eric Osterman on December 15, 2009 at 11:55am: Chris,

What an outstanding post! With the rise of social media becoming such an important part of building the talent pipeline it would be wise for organizations to have someone dedicated to monitoring and maintaining all aspects of their social media presence. Great job on this one.

Comment by Abby Cranston Dalzell on December 15, 2009 at 12:01pm: Great message Chris. As a corporate recruiter I have been on my own leading the activities for HR (and have had some great success), so it's reassuring to know that it's a good first step. My issue....How can I get the buy-in of Corporate Marketing and get involved in the overall strategy? Any iodeas?

Comment by Sarang Brahme on December 15, 2009 at 1:00pm: Chris,

A though provoking article without a doubt. It's a great concept; however it would be relatively difficult to get buy in from management; as they will say that it's a normal job recruiter should do with some learning and practice - as a good recruiter should be able to change his strategy as per where candidates are based. Secondly, wouldn't this restrict the entire resource pool to be used by only specific people - rather than all recruiter?

I liked the idea though; however would like to throw these things in.

Comment by Chris Russell on December 15, 2009 at 2:17pm: @Sarangh yes i wanted to provoke thought, eventually 5-10 years from now it will part of every recruiters' duties.

Comment by Chris Russell on December 15, 2009 at 2:21pm: @abby, show 'em stats like if Facebook Was A Country, It Would Be The World’s 4th Largest....it has hundreds of millions of people on it...asks your boss if his kids are on facebook, if they are its time to fish where the fish are...see some of my evidence here

Comment by Charles Van Heerden on December 15, 2009 at 4:33pm: Hi Chris, great description of the new age recruiter. The shift may be faster than we all think. Creating a specific role is an excellent catalyst and taking the lead.

Comment by Jon gundersgaard on December 15, 2009 at 8:03pm: Chris,

Great article of basics. This description is going to change almost daily for a long time.

Comment by Slouch on December 15, 2009 at 10:51pm: I think though if your money comes from making placements, the social recruiting system you describe is something not aggressive enough. It takes a lot of work to build and maintain and will not work as well as targeting 100 people to call based on the fact they work at companies you know your client will want to see people from. Because of LinkedIn, there is no shortage of people to call for your clients.

Chris Hoyt who you mention and I know very well always tells me that he is lucky that his company supports his creativity. He's a smart guy.

I think it's a good description for the right kind of company. I'm just typing out loud.

Comment by Thomas Lohmann on December 16, 2009 at 10:51am: Hi Chris, working for a software company facing technical requirements for Social Network Integration on a daily basis, I am glad to see so many people agreeing with the fact that first of all it takes HUMAN labour, CREATIVITY and TIME to achieve the inevitable. I admire the work Kerry Noone and Sodexco does in this area - technology cannot replace this but only support.