There is a lot of talk about if, when, which, and how to use social media tools - whether you are recruiting or searching for a job. I have been an avid user of many of these tools as a part of my toolkit -- and I have used them in my role as a Corporate Recruiter, Consultant, and even a Candidate.

As a Corporate Recruiter, I made a choice to make myself accessible to potential candidates via these tools. I know many shudder at that thought, however I have been surprised that more candidates have not taken advantage of having a direct line to a recruiter. Many apply, but haven't taken that next step. Maybe because they don't know or or don't think to go to that next level?

I would strongly encourage those who are in a job search to utilize social media as part of their toolkit. Susan Strayer (@DailyCareerTips) keeps a list of in-house recruiters that are on Twitter for candidates who are interested in a direct line to a company. She has invited those of us on this list to guest post on her Kaleidoblog and share with job seekers how we are using Social Media. I took her up on the opportunity in a post entitled, "Why I Recruit - And You Should Career Search - Using Social Media".

There have been some good posts so far and I am looking forward to seeing more to see how others are utilizing these tools. If you are an in-house Recruiter who would like to be added to Susan's list, I would encourage you to reach out to her. The list is not long and that also surprises me a little.

I know many recruiters are out on Twitter but not necessarily representing their company. I saw an interesting tweet not too long ago from Chris Hoyt, @theRecruiterGuy, about a job seeker who told him if a recruiter were serious about using social media to recruit, they would put their phone number out there. And he did. I thought it was cool, so I did too. I wonder how many have done something like this or if you think its crazy to be that accessible?

If we aren't already, let's connect on Twitter (@havrilla). You can also find me on LinkedIn.