Twitter Top 50 Recruiters - What exactly is it telling us?

The Recruiters Lounge has The Top 50 Recruiters on Twitter

OK. Sounds interesting. But when you check out the majority of who's following whom - you'll see it's mostly the same crowd (of us - I'll admit I am also guilty) of RECRUITERS following each other.....SO it begs the question -- The Top 50 doing what? ? ? ?

So while I think the general idea is interesting - when you dig just a pinch below the surface - there is not much there. 50 recruiters who have the highest number of other recruiters following them all reading the same things from the same people.

What a breakthrough.........

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Permalink Reply by pam claughton on January 28, 2009 at 10:48am

Paul,

Great post! I think people are quick to dismiss Twitter. I know I was at first. I didn't get the value and it seemed silly to mention what you had for lunch (though I am probably one of the few people who is actually interested in that, foodie that I am. :)

My lightbulb moment with Twitter was when a few candidates reached out to me and mentioned that they'd read my twitter posts and even mentioned a really early post where I mentioned sharing a sundae with my Grandfather at the local 99 restaurant.

That impressed me for a few reasons. One, it made me realize they read all the way to the bottom of my posts to get that early one. But, most importantly, they liked what they read, and it made me seem like a 'real person' rather than just another recruiter. I think Twitter can make us more approachable, more personal and for that reason alone, for me, it's well worth it.

It's a balancing act though. I also agree w/Jerry that it can be distracting. If I really need to heads down focus, I turn Twhirl off so I can't be seduced by the fascinating links and breaking news that would take me away from working.

:) Pam

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Permalink Reply by Slouch on January 28, 2009 at 10:57am

The solution is very simple. If you don't find the people you follow on twitter interesting, unfollow them. Twitter is a great opt out system. The world is filled with good reasons not to make more recruiting calls.

If Jim really wanted to pick the best recruiter on twitter he would have picked them out of a hat.

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Permalink Reply by Paul DeBettignies on January 28, 2009 at 11:05am

Let me try and explain better one of my comments. Having been only focused on IT for 11+ years and only in Minneapolis I do not have a problem with enough qualified candidates on most searches. My issue is being a one man band of a search firm I cannot contact them as fast as I can by phone as with Twitter.

I have done some simple tests by just using email and just using Twitter to ask for referrals on a particular search. I have found that Twitter is more effective. Because over the period of the last year I have become trusted that followers do the ReTweet or “RT”. There is a factor of 2X to 3X of referrals through Twitter than by email.

Do I do both in most cases? Absolutely. Add in the phone too. My “reach” has become much larger because I use multiple tools.

Jerry, I agree with the worry about distractions. You likely have noticed that when I post a link I give the source and title. That way I do not send people to something they would rather not spend time on. I rarely click in something if I do not know what it is.

I get this question quite a bit, if I am promoting Twitter as a tool like I am do I dilute my presence or am I crowding myself out. So far, no. I believe there are around 70 Recruiters/HR colleagues in my area on Twitter. I think less than 10 “use” it. I go so far as RT’ing my colleagues jobs that they are promoting. Now that may seem counter intuitive but I am part of a community here and if I can help float someone’s boat I will and do.

I am not trying to put myself out there as an expert or the cool guy because I am on a list. What I am trying to do is give examples of how it can work for others. There does seem to be a lot of questions, uncertainties, concerns and some plain old “I do not get it” from recruiters. The way I do it may not work for others and there may be things one can take from what I am doing, tweak it, and make it better.

And if you do, send me a note so I can learn something.

Pam, just saw your note. I do not use any of the cool tools. I use the web site and only hit refresh when I am “ready” to. Hearing a “ding” would have me running to see who said what. Think Pavlov’s dog, that would be me but hopefully without the drool.

I did the same with my email a couple of years ago. I used to have it send/receive every minute but now have it at 5 minutes. I spend less time checking messages only to find Spam or other non work related stuff.

JD, you should know that while at a presentation the other day I did a competition of the best LinkedIn profiles. I said I would award a prize for the best one. Most of the attendees took up the challenge and did a fantastic job and have awesome new profiles to show off.

Anyone who did an update went into a hat for 2 court side Timberwolves tickets. Your name in a hat is growing in the States.

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Permalink Reply by Joshua Letourneau on January 28, 2009 at 11:10am

Hey, RBC Homeslices . . . a Friend of mine gave me a ring and let me know something hilarious. Check this out:

THE TOP-50 LIST HAS CHANGED! :)

Tons of Recruiters/Sourcers put 'Recruiter' in their profile as a result of this . . . and guess what, the ENTIRE LIST is different than 24 hrs ago.

Now, who wants to debate that the id, self-actualization, and popularity aren't factors here? The shift in the list speaks volumes . . .

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Permalink Reply by Paul DeBettignies on January 28, 2009 at 12:47pm

I have received a couple of messages about how to find people to follow and thought I would post the reply here.

There are a lot of search engine like sites, Wiki’s with lists, social media sites and more. This is where I start:

http://www.twellow.com
http://www.twitterholic.com
http://citytweets.net/

Also do a search on Twitter or a Google search, something like site:twitter.com marketing minneapolis

Enter key words for your industry, location, niche, etc. If you are not getting a number of results that excite you then maybe a reason not to mess with Twitter that much.

My experience is that if you are recruiting marketing, sales, IT, recruiters, HR and social media I suggest Twitter is a must place to be. But that’s just me.

As Twitter continues to grow we will see more lawyers, doctors etc. just by playing the numbers. There are senior exeutives and CEO's but usually of start up and small companies. I would suggest that Twitter is also a place to find clients not just candidates.

A side note, we had a similar blog post a few weeks back about the rank of Minneapolis Twitter users based on followers. About an hour into the conversation someone pointed out this was a Minneapolis list and not a St. Paul list, those across the river were not included.

So no, this is not necessarily a guru list (myself included) but I do suggest if you are thinking about using Twitter create an account and follow some on the list to see how they use it. So often we create a strategy for something, have analysis/paralysis about it when all you need to do is watch someone else to see if it is for you.

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Permalink Reply by Dennis Smith on January 28, 2009 at 1:09pm

Jerry - thanks for getting this out there .... you have a knack for bringing people out of the woodwork.

I'm going to reference this post in my presentation tomorrow at the DallasHR PEG meeting (where I'm presenting on Recruiting 'n Twitter). And you, my friend, will get the credit for stirring the masses.

Any particular 'hat picture' you want me to put in the presentation to show the Dallas recruiting world who you are and what the handsome devil looks like?

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Permalink Reply by Jerry Albright on January 28, 2009 at 1:35pm

Dennis Smith said:

Jerry - thanks for getting this out there .... you have a knack for bringing people out of the woodwork.

I'm going to reference this post in my presentation tomorrow at the DallasHR PEG meeting (where I'm presenting on Recruiting 'n Twitter). And you, my friend, will get the credit for stirring the masses.

Any particular 'hat picture' you want me to put in the presentation to show the Dallas recruiting world who you are and what the handsome devil looks like?

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Permalink Reply by Dennis Smith on January 28, 2009 at 2:33pm

You got it, dude! In fact, if anybody looks at that pic, it'll probably scare 'em out of following you. Reminds me of a character from the movie Fargo : )

Jerry Albright said:

Dennis Smith said:
Jerry - thanks for getting this out there .... you have a knack for bringing people out of the woodwork.

I'm going to reference this post in my presentation tomorrow at the DallasHR PEG meeting (where I'm presenting on Recruiting 'n Twitter). And you, my friend, will get the credit for stirring the masses.

Any particular 'hat picture' you want me to put in the presentation to show the Dallas recruiting world who you are and what the handsome devil looks like?