What is the True Role of Social Media in Hiring

What is the True Role of Social Media in Hiring The rise of the internet, and particularly the rapidly-growing popularity of social media, has transformed the way employers and job seekers communicate and more recently, the way the recruitment process works in general. In the past, sourcing candidates with the right qualifications, experience and cultural fit was a complicated and time consuming process, which is why employers generally turned to independent recruitment agencies for professional help.  More recently we have seen a shift towards ‘in-house’ recruiters (who I must add, are generally very professional and effective in sourcing talent) who, with the rise of social media can tap into a global pool of potential candidates with just a few clicks of their mouse.  Whilst this evolution has benefited many employers with their hiring during a period of global downturn and job shortage, I am not so sure it is a sustainable or effective sourcing method medium term. The downside to this approach is that the use of social media networking for job seekers is done primarily by ‘active’ candidates who are, for one reason or another ‘in the market’ looking for a new role. It is widely regarded that the best candidates are generally ‘passive’ job seekers and are unlikely to put themselves or their profile in the public domain. Regardless of being in a candidate rich market, high calibre and professional employees can be just as tough to find today, if not tougher than they have been in the past.  With thousands of resumes flooding the market, it often requires a deep and specialist understanding of your sector, business, and more importantly, the intricacies of your vacant role, along with years of recruiting experience to find that one employee who can truly add value to your company. While social media makes it easy to find a thousand, dare I say it, mediocre candidates in one day, locating the perfect match for your unique business needs is still a job best left to a professional, specialist recruitment agency. Besides the size and quality of the applicant pool, what has changed in recent years is the way people advertise their skills and the way they network with potential employers and other industry professionals.  Building a career and job hunting are now a lot more complex than sending the same resume to prospective employers via snail mail, or even via email. For example, LinkedIn, the social media channel developed specifically for professional networking, now has over 200 million members from all over the globe. While LinkedIn is leading the way in professional communication and business development, other social media giants like Facebook and Twitter are not far behind.  In fact, back in November of 2012 Facebook launched a new US based job board feature that gives recruiters the ability to connect to users who are looking for work in their local area.  While Twitter is less conducive to professional networking since it restricts posts to a limiting 140 characters, it can still be tremendously useful for locating local talent. By advertising open positions to followers and searching the user database with keywords that are related to your business, Twitter can be the perfect tool for supplementing other social media channels. In the practical sense, that means any recruiter can use a searchable database to pull hundreds of candidates with resumes and skills that seem ideal for any open position within your company. But, what reads perfectly on paper doesn’t always translate the same way when you meet and interview the candidate. The difference between recruiters who use social media to locate active candidates, and independent professional recruiters, is that the latter are trained to find passive candidates who not only have the background you are looking for, but who also have the most potential to grow within your company and fit in with your employee culture and team dynamic. While it seems like a no-brainer in today’s economic climate, there is an inherent problem with relying on social media and the Internet in general to find your perfect candidates quickly.  It’s simply not a sustainable strategy in terms of future growth as the pool of highly-skilled, professional and specialist candidates will inevitably shrink as domestic and international economies rebound further, jobless rates will fall meaning more vacant roles become available, making finding the best possible employee be a lot tougher than throwing a few keywords into a social media search engine. To secure and retain the quality of your employee team in the future, it’s important to maintain a good relationship with a truly specialist recruitment business who is well networked across your sector. This recruitment partner will have the capability to utilise a variety of traditional recruitment methodologies, combined with all available social media channels to help you handpick the perfect candidates for your business in any economy. Author: Paul Simms is an executive recruiter with 15 years of experience across the Australian and UK markets. He is the founder of Wright Executive, a specialist business within the Accounting and Professional Services sector.

Why You Need Employee Advocates

Why You Need Employee Advocates It’s not a fad, it’s not a fluffy HR initiative played out around the edges of your real purpose; it really works. Employee advocacy can make a real difference. This is what Neal Schaffer, CEO of Maximize Your Social has to say about why your employees are best suited to be your brand storytellers in social media: People “own” brands through their perception of the brand, not the marketing department. Who better than to influence the perception of your brand than those who truly understand it at its deepest level, your employees? People trust people more than brands. Your employees are your brand’s secret weapon in building trust with the public. Smart organizations use a blend of new media and traditional marketing channels to disseminate content and engage with the marketplace. Advocacy adds to the mix by fielding employees who are proud and motivated enough to share content via their personal networks. Why it works Employee advocates endorse the products or services of their firm to others such as friends, relatives, and co-workers. Your sales and marketing specialists focus on sales volume and effectiveness of the process but advocates promote the overall success of your organization, providing a real-time link with external stakeholders, to build and strengthen your brand reputation. Employee advocacy offers a very real opportunity to enhance competitive advantage. To promote employee advocacy the organization needs to have a strong understanding of key drivers that underlie organizational citizenship. How it works Employee advocacy is effective because: Information spreads quickly via advocates, so the organization reaches a target audience more rapidly than might be achieved by using more traditional broadcasting or corporate accounts The audience perceives messages from advocates as more interesting and reliable than messages from the organization Connecting is easier. If the audience wants to hear more about a product or service, or just wants to comment on a post, it’s easier to make contact with employee advocates through social media than it is to contact the organization Using employees as advocates for the organization is not an end goal in itself, but a means to achieve overall strategic goals. Employees become influencers in their own networks (and hopefully further) through the professional content they share and the connections they make with other influencers. The value lies in increasing reach, raising the right questions and having informative answers. High-quality content provides solutions to current problems, sparks discussion and invites input from interested parties. Connecting with customers A 2015 Forrester report points out that Advocate marketing multiplies the number and reach of voices talking about you, at a much lower cost than traditional print and paid online channels. Beyond quantity, advocate content and interactions are more valuable because buyers see them as authentic validation, not paid promotion. Employee advocates create awareness and engagement for the organization, so rather than investing in “paid” media, it is a question of tapping into the inherent goodwill and expertise of the workforce. When someone in the wider advocate-leveraged network mentions a brand in social media posts, tweets, product reviews, videos, photos and dialogue in online communities, that’s “earned” media. It’s immediate, influential and cost-effective. In essence, the organization benefits from employees who internalize brand values and commit to helping their organization achieve its vision, (Wallace de Chernatony, 2009). When staff communicates with consistent content to their wider advocate network, it offers the organization access to an audience who are inclined to have a level of engagement with the brand that employees represent. A formal employee advocacy programme can shorten the sales cycle. Nearly 64% of organizations who institute a formal programme credit employee advocacy with attracting and developing new business, and nearly 45% attribute new revenue streams to employee advocacy. It’s an influential way of building customer trust and attracting sales leads. Adapted from the book Employee Advocacy: The Ultimate Handbook.

Book Giveaway Maximum Success With LinkedIn

Book Giveaway Maximum Success With LinkedIn We are now on our third giveaway celebrating Classy Career Girls 3 year anniversary month! This time, Classy Career Girl is giving away 5 copies of Maximum Success with LinkedIn. This book  revolutionizes the way busy professionals use LinkedIn. It isn’t just about professional networking and job-seeking; it’s a step-by-step guide to answering any professional challenge by harnessing the potential of LinkedIn. It explains how to use LinkedIn to: Find and land the perfect job Find customers, partners, investors, or advisors Hire qualified employees Build a personal brand to draw customers and recruiters Attract opportunities for more work, media exposure and lucrative partnerships Increase your network with thousands of contacts with one simple technique Develop business relationships To enter this giveaway, here is what you need to do using Rafflecopter below. Each task you accomplish is equivalent to 1 point. The more points the better!  Good luck! Like  Classy Career Girl on Facebook Follow me on Twitter  @classycareer Connect with me on LinkedIn Tweet about this giveaway (make sure you mention @classycareer) Leave a comment below telling me how have you used LinkedIn to network and/or find a job. a Rafflecopter giveaway This giveaway is open US residents only. It begins NOW and ends on March 22, 2013. We will be giving away 5 copies. The winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail.  You have 24 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected. Good luck!

7 Job Search Tips We Always Forget

7 Job Search Tips We Always Forget These job search tips are so simple thatonce you read them, you may be frustrated to know you had not tried them, yet. Whether you apply for job seekers online or troll all the websites people use to find jobs, these obvious job search tips will always be helpful.1. If You Are Not on Linkedin, You Do Not ExistApproximately 94% of recruiters use LinkedIn to screen job candidates. It is their primary research tool, so get your professional profile set up on LinkedIn.Next, use it to your advantage. Communicate with people at companies during your job search. If recruiters are logging in to find qualified candidates each day in one specific place, you want to be in that one place.Job search tip: Out of all social media platforms, LinkedIn is by far the most powerful for people searching for jobs, career networkingand connecting with recruiters. If you do not believe in using social media, you should at least be on LinkedIn for the purpose of “being found”.2. Thank You’s MatterThere will always be automated ways of saying, “Thank you”, but avoid using these. Be human. Be nice and write a note that shows you have interpersonal skills and know-how to engage others.The process of applying online for jobs is pretty cold as it stands today. So now, imagine it comes down to you and another candidate after the entire process that started with an online form and ended with the final interview. You always want to be the memorable person who goes the extra mile to show appreciation.Job search tip: Write an original thank you note that is not pre-filled out on the platform or any other automated method. Show people you have a brain and a heart. The more you get used to writing notes like this, the better you improve your interpersonal and writing skills.3. Accept That You Will Never Bore Anyone Into Hiring YouIf you have ever been in a job interview where it seems like hiring managers are falling asleep, chances are your answers were boring.In order to get a job, you r interview with a hiring manager has to leave a positive impression. If all they did was ask, “Tell me about yourself”, and you ranted for the next 20 minutes, that is a problem.Job search tip: Practice your interview answers to make sure you come across as endearing and memorable, not polished and boring. Your “perfect resume” will not get you the job. Your personality will, especially if your resume shows you to be qualified.4. Remember That Your Resume Is Not a Tattooand Neither Is Your Linkedin ProfileOne of the smartest ways to get a job is to have a resume for each specific career focus. When you apply to job applications online, or offline, resumes are not one-size-fits-all. Applying for Corporate Development jobs when your resume focuses on Investment Banking is a waste of time.Job search tip: Be ready to change your resume at the drop of a hat. It is a good idea to have three or four resumes on hand when applying for jobs.5. Don’t Limit Yourself to Online Applica tionsOnline job applications can be time-consuming and take you away from face to face networking. The odds of getting a job through online applications are slim, so you cannot count on them 100% of the time.Job search tip: In order to get a job, you have to talk to people face to face and through LinkedIn networking. Never commit to only one method. The majority of “dream jobs” happen because people were talking to others within their desired industry.6. Make Your Resume Painfully ObviousYour resume has a problem the second it provokes the question, “What do you do exactly?”Job search tip: When you apply online, or in person, your resume should never create any doubt or confusion. If hiring managers do not see an obvious answer to the question, “What does this person do?”, the resume has a problem.7. Ask Not What Your Employer Can Do for You.Ask What You Can Do for Your Employer.The interviewer only cares about what you can do for them, even when they ask you about your self. Certainly, they care about what you want, but only after you establish your worth. First, you must demonstrate why you bring value to the business.Job search tip: Make your interview all about them. It’s not about you.Why We Forget These Job Search TipsIt is very easy to forget the most practical advice while staying busy with a job search. There are millions of search results on Google with advice for job seekers, but when it comes down to finding a job, the simplesttextbook advice always works best.(Check out more search tips we forget in this article,Important Job Search Tips We Often Forget.)

A Resume Writing Workshop Can Help You With Your Resume

A Resume Writing Workshop Can Help You With Your ResumeSome colleges offer a resume writing workshop to college students who need it. It is a great way to get your resume written, and you will be able to see what others think about your writing abilities.If you go to one of these workshops, it might be a good idea to attend before you write your resume. There are many situations that will pop up in your life when you are applying for jobs. You do not want to be applying for jobs with companies that you can relate to if your resume is going to fail.One of the best things about a workshop is that you get feedback right away. As soon as you walk in the room, you can start looking at your writing, and you can ask questions. This is a great way to help you succeed.Another reason to attend a writing workshop is that you will get to meet other writers. They will give you feedback on your writing and they will let you know about other writers in your town. You will also have someone to bounc e ideas off of. You should always take this feedback and use it as a guide.If you are going to attend one of these workshops, you need to understand that you will have to come prepared with some sample resumes. Most of the people who attend these workshops are applying for the same jobs, so they usually will have their own resumes. They are usually not limited to just one job type, so you should be able to come with some samples.When you come to this kind of workshop, you are going to have to remember a few important parts. The first thing you need to do is turn off all the different programs and personal devices. Turn the noise down, especially if you are on a busy work night.Keep in mind that this is not a movie. If you want to sound professional, you need to look at yourself from a distance. You do not want to talk too much, and you need to be specific about things like how you want your cover letter to read.Sometimes, employers want extra information to get an idea of who you ar e but do not need it to hire you. Make sure you answer all of their questions accurately, and then move on to the next section. You will learn a lot from a workshop, so make sure you take notes.

What is Your Social Media Policy

What is Your Social Media Policy Businesses around the globe have been jumping on the social media band wagon.   They each have a different reason for doing it:   increase sales, increase customer service levels, increase brand awarenessCompanies have corporate Fan pages on Facebook, blogs, Twitter accounts and are trying to figure out this new technology. So as corporate America tries to leverage this new communication vehicle, we too, as individuals need to determine how we will use it.   Will it be to increase our personal brand, connect and network with existing contacts and new people, learn new things or find jobs.   I dont really think not playing is an option any longer.   We fought email, we fought online job boards, but eventually they won. Companies are also establishing usage policies for their employees.   A survey published by Robert Half, Whistle But dont Tweet while you work, says that 54% of employers do not allow the use of social media sites to be used during working hours. Hey, it is new, what do you expect.   This is likely to change. However, just because it may not be allowed in the workplace, doesnt mean it isnt something you can participate in during your free time. Refine your LinkedIn profile.   Join Groups and get the weekly digest of activities. Have these updates and digests sent to an email account or RSS feed so you can access them when you have time.  You can determine how often you want to engage and perhaps if you see something of interest, you can join in or benefit. Consider these personal usage questions: How often will you use social media? What social media tools you will use? What is your purpose for being on this tool (keeping track of family, learning new things, meeting new people, sharing knowledge, developing personal brand?) What is your policy for connecting, friending, linking or following people? Once you have a strategy or plan, it makes it much easier to use these tools.

[Success Story] How Sheri Got Her Job Using LinkedIn - CareerEnlightenment.com

To get started in my job hunt, I subscribed to the LinkedIn Job Seekers option, created an audio/visual resume using Goldmail and posted it as an update. I sent my Goldmail to many of my contacts, and asked for their help in locating my next big thing. (This approach created a small buzz amongst my network and the industry, since it was such a creative approach an important piece of the puzzle for someone whose expertise is in marketing! Note: If I had to do it over, Id make the Goldmail much shorter.)Within two weeks of my LinkedIn Job Seekers subscription, I noticed the listing for my current role. It was as if the job description was written specifically for me. Sadly, the position was more than 1,000 miles away from my home, and I did not want to move. I didnt let this phase me. I carefully crafted a customized cover letter and sent along my standard resume. Then, I reached out to everyone I knew who had a connection with this firm, asking for their insight and guidance. Within 30 minutes, the HR group had reached out to me to schedule an interview. Meanwhile, my network was busy at work getting the word up the chain of command about my experience and expertise.Even so, the job wasnt a shoe-in. The company had never hired a remote employee for their marketing department. Several times HR thanked me for my interest, saying that because I would not relocate they would be pursuing other candidates. I didnt give up and neither did my network. They were advocates for me up until the day I went in for my final interview. They sent notes to the Chief Marketing Officer, made calls on my behalf and provided glowing recommendations. When I had my final interview, the CMO said, You know quite a few people, and they are very persuasive. It really wasnt an interview at all; it was a discussion about how theyd be hiring their first remote employee!