Written by: Eric Handler
Social Media and Recruiting
A brief overview of social media recruiting tools, strategy and resources
Social media has had an impact on executive search. It’s made searching for talent more efficient by creating a new active channel to communicate projects and engage future prospects in conversation. Social media has added another powerful tool to the recruiter’s arsenal, but it’s not a replacement for the recruiting process. Here are some of our thoughts on recruiting in the age of social media.
Social media impacts more aspects of the recruiting process than the job boards because it cuts through the clutter classically found on job boards by actually facilitating conversation. This conversation has allowed us all to move from searching crowds to asking friends. But if improperly applied, social media can create just as much clutter in the recruiting process as the job boards.
“As of February, 2012, LinkedIn operates the world’s largest professional network on the Internet with more than 150 million members in over 200 countries and territories.”
Social media is an excellent tool for identifying candidates and spreading the word about junior and middle management job openings, but may not provide the discretion necessary in senior leadership searches. In these instances social media provides recruiters an active channel to quickly build a qualified candidate pool and out bound social recruiting communications can help generate awareness. But the screening and assessment services that skilled search consultants provide are still a necessity to ensure cultural fit.
In this quarter’s Handler Report we will provide a brief overview of social media recruiting strategy considerations and a snapshot of some of the top social media platforms. Our firm will always embrace new tools that can improve the speed, efficiency and quality of our searches. But we will always remain focused on the value we bring to the table in assessing relevant skills, experience and cultural fit.
