Archive for the ‘Recruitment’ Category

Job Searching through LinkedIn

Friday, July 9th, 2010

By Karen Miller

When recruiters who work either for an individual company or an executive search firm are looking for candidates, one of the first places they will look is LinkedIn. Recruiters are looking for passive candidates as well as those who are active job searchers. Since we all fall into one of these 2 categories, it is wise to keep this in mind.

You want to complete your profile like it’s your resume. With LinkedIn you can give a lot more detailed information on your skills and experience. Most resumes should be brief, but the advantage with LinkedIn is that you can really get into the nitty gritty of what you did, mention major accomplishments, goals pursued and achieved as well as problems/difficulties you were able to overcome. Add any memberships that are relevant to your industry.

Connections are always important and as with everything in life, the more people you know, the easier it is to find someone to help you! When you are applying for a job, use the connections you have. These may be people who work directly for the company you are interested in or know someone in the company. You can ask for recommendation or introduction. It’s not all take though, you should always be willing help those you are connected to with advice, help, or referrals. The more people you help, the more people will be willing to help you.

LinkedIn now has a JobInsider Tool. It is downloadable and will show you who you are connected to with jobs listed on Monster, CareerBuilder, Hot Jobs, Craigslist, Simply Hired and Vault. This will give you a leg up and cut down on your own research time.

Companies also post openings on LinkedIn. Many of them are exclusive to LI too. Again, they will show you who you are connected to at the company. Most of the companies who are hiring through LinkedIn are looking to see how many recommendations you have and will list in the job requirements just how many you need to have. Don’t neglect asking for recommendations from your connections.

If there is a company you are interested in learning about, you can also check them out in their Company Profile. It will list information about the company including recent hires, companies where employees have worked before, job titles and job openings.

LinkedIn is a great resource for those who are actively looking for a job and it can also bring the passive candidate to the attention of recruiters. Make sure you use it to its fullest advantage by keeping your profile updated and interacting with your connections.

Do you have any other ways you use LinkedIn for job searching? Please add your comments.

@social_dynamics

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Posted in Articles, LinkedIn, Recruitment | No Comments »

Employees Using Social Media to Reconnect

Tuesday, February 23rd, 2010

By Karen Miller

Whatever happened to good old ‘whats-her-name?’  She was such a good friend and a good person – I wonder what she’s doing now. How often have you asked that question? Social media is a terrific way to keep up with the past. LinkedIn, FaceBook and MySpace are great places to catch up with those you used to know.

We spend an awful lot of time at work each week. For the most part, we know these people well – they know our story and we know theirs. We keep in touch for a while, but then life happens and we lose touch.

If you are interested in finding your former business colleagues, there isn’t a better place than FaceBook. There are “alumni” groups galore where you can reconnect with your former co-workers, find out where they are and what they are doing. You can pass along industry news assuming you are still in the same field and have other discussions about the business you are in.

You can post any current openings you may have or help a friend get connected with someone else who may have an opening. These are people you have worked with and know their work ethic and their capabilities – what better way to fill empty slots in your current company.

@social_dynamics

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Posted in Facebook, LinkedIn, Recruitment, Social Media and Social Networking | 1 Comment »

Have you had your LinkedIn Intervention?

Wednesday, December 23rd, 2009

By Sharon Hill

LinkedIn is not a contact database nor is it a job board for posting a resume.  LinkedIn is a place for you to be you, at your best and engaging.

Key word here:  ENGAGING

So often we see resumes cut and pasted into the Summary, Specialties and Experience sections.  Definitely not a compelling read.

LinkedIn is your opportunity to write your own commercial.  Many folks hire professionals to write their resumes.  You can always have a few trusted friends or co-workers provide you with feedback on your profile.  Ask the following questions:

1.  Is it compelling and engaging?
2.  Is it believable?
3.  Do you belong to enough or too few groups?
4.  Is your profile cold or warm?
5.  Are you over “apped” (too many applications)
6.  Do you provide an easy way to contact you?
7.  Are you too personal?
8.  Is your profile just words or does it tell your story?

Bottom line:  If you were at a conference and everyone had word balloons over their heads with their LinkedIn profiles, would you choose you to start a conversation?

Spend time on your LinkedIn profile to get it right and remember to keep your profile updated.

social_dynamics

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Posted in LinkedIn, Local business, Recruitment, Social Media and Social Networking | No Comments »

Why Social Media Works for Recruiters – Part 5 of 6

Friday, December 4th, 2009

By Karen Miller

As an executive search firm you are caught in between two worlds – you are trying to get business (like everyone else) and in turn, you are trying to find the right candidates to fill the contracted positions which are open. You wind up working both ends of the spectrum. Social media can help you gain clients and find the right candidates.

The first thing you need is to make sure that you have a social media friendly website. Links to your LinkedIn profile, Facebook page, Twitter or other relevant social media sites (i.e. articles, blogs and other websites) should be obvious and prominent on your website. Consult an expert and get an evaluation of your website to see if anything is missing or if you can do something better.

LinkedIn is another must to give your recruiting business more exposure at both ends of this spectrum.

  • Recruiting for your customers: Join groups in your areas of expertise. For example if you have specialty in IT, join IT groups.  You may not understand all the issues, but you will be able to identify leaders and other key attributes you are looking for to fill those open positions for your customers.
  • Securing new business: Groups can get you engaged in conversation with those in your specific expertise areas, allowing you to show your strengths to future clients. Since LinkedIn has a job board, you can also see who is posting openings and offer to do the work for them.  Subgroups are a great way finding the more specialized areas.  As an example in the IT area there subgroups for developers, certifications, telecom and more.  Many of these groups post news items to provide fresh content for your blogs, letters and presentations.

Twitter also works for search firms. It offers you an opportunity to tell what type of candidates you are looking for. Then you can get retweeted helping to get the word out to even more people. You can also send out a tweet when you fill another position! Employers will know you are successful in filling positions with the right candidates.

Blogging is the perfect way to show off your knowledge and enthusiasm about your company, a specific industry and directions in the job market.  Blogs can offer tips to those looking for employment, which is always appreciated, and again gives you more credibility. Even better, shine by keeping up-to-date on the latest news in your specialty areas by writing articles about those changes and what you see as the future in those areas.

Video is yet another exciting opportunity in social media.  Have you seen the views videos about resumes are receiving?  One video regarding refreshing your resume has received 10,000+ views.  How to write a resume video has received over 69,000 views. Go to YouTube and type in executive search firms and see the results.  Not that many – yet.  This means opportunity for your company.

Using social media does take some work on a regular basis, but you can reap some new clients and great candidates. Explore social media – there are a lot of options – and find the one that’s right for you.

@social_dynamics

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Posted in Articles, Blogging, Facebook, Industry Specific, LinkedIn, Recruitment, Social Media and Social Networking, Twitter, Video | 2 Comments »

Why Social Media Works – Part 1 of 6

Tuesday, September 15th, 2009

By Sharon Hill

Over the next week on a daily basis we will be posting a six part series.

Why Social Media Works – Part 1
Why Social Media Works For Local Business – Part 2
Why Social Media Works for Direct Response Marketers – Part 3
Why Social Media Works for Non-Profits – Part 4
Why Social Media Works for Recruiters – Part 5
Why Social Media Works for Communities – Part 6

Social media works because it works differently than media.  Wait a minute isn’t social media media?  As an advertising professional of many years, I would say no in the traditional sense or term.  When reading the definition of media it is to store, transmit, receive or deliver some form of communication.  Technically that description fits.  I can transmit a tweet, deliver it to my followers and receive a tweet from those I follow and store all of it.

So what about networking?  Definitions include an interconnected system of things or people and to communicate with and within a group.

So what makes social media different from traditional media?  Social media truly engages one-by-one. Traditional media (print/television/radio/magazines, etc.)  transmit their message and while it is delivered over the air or on your front porch and  therefore received, the biggest question has always been how many are paying attention?

I do subscribe to the local paper and I read it most everyday.  I only read certain sections or columns (ok the comics too). I don’t engage.  I don’t connect.  I don’t communicate.  This is still a one-sided relationship.  Sure I could write to the paper or go online and post a comment and many do. Newspaper is closer to social media than some of the other traditional media vehicles.

Radio talk shows have been around forever and maybe were the first forum for social networking.  Find a talk show host you like (or extremely dislike), listen and call in to be heard.  Some callers are first timers and others are daily or weekly folks.  Even closer to the concept of social media.

By now, I would assume you understand where I am taking you so we need not discuss television or magazines.

So how does social media work?  It is completely opposite to traditional media.  Traditional media defines targets: Adults 18-49, Households with incomes of certain amounts.  Households with pets.  These messages are then transmitted to these targets.  Social media starts with the target.  They decide to visit your Facebook fan page, they decide to follow you on Twitter, they decide to join certain groups on LinkedIn because they are interested in what you have to say.  They want to connect.  They want to be heard.  They put forth the effort.

Social media encompasses the best of old world one-on-one conversations and referrals with new technology to make it easier and wider spread.  Social media is the handshake that traditional media has been missing.  It is personal and intimate. This is what advertisers and marketers have dreamed about for decades.  We must think differently.  Rather than talk, we need to listen.  Provide the social media platforms for your company and then participate yourself.

That is Why Social Media Works.

@social_dynamics

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Posted in Articles, Blogging, Direct Response, Email, Facebook, Industry Specific, LinkedIn, Local business, Non-profits, Real Estate, Recruitment, Social Media and Social Networking, Technical, Twitter, Video, Websites | No Comments »

Getting Started: Planning Your Social Media Strategy

Monday, July 27th, 2009

By Jan Carroza

Think about this process as developing your own Social Sphere of Influence. Take the aerial view of your business today and where you want it to go in the near future and in the long-term. What are your goals?

Not all elements may be appropriate for your business and you need not tackle every facet all at once. Even pros like Mari Smith, a renowned maven in Facebook, suggest that embracing manageable efforts in sequence might be best for many of us. Dani Babb on Fox Business suggested just getting started and that you may make mistakes along the way.

The idea is to do some planning. You may want to outsource your online business management at the beginning when the setup is more labor intensive and while you learn. Gradually you can take it over as you are able to accommodate the requirements of time and resources in your organization. Or you may decide to continue with outside guidance as the Social Sphere expands.  For example, I heard that Comcast has doubled their social media staff from about 7 to 14-15 in the last year. Prepare for success.

Speaking of success, you might like to know about some real results before we get started.  “The world’s most valuable brands. Who’s most engaged?,”  a study prepared by Wetpaint and Altimeter, demonstrated that revenues increased by 18% by using social media (http://www.engagementdb.com).

So let’s get started. Make a list of what you want and need your Social Sphere of Influence to do for you. What does that list look like?

Consumer connection  – Is that:

  • Retention
  • Finding new consumers
  • Education
  • Building relationships
  • Getting feedback from consumers
  • Increasing sales

Other Initiatives

  • Finding, talking to investors
  • Introducing new products, new services

What else do you need to do?

Some of the forms beyond your website that you can put in your Social Sphere might include:

  • Blogs
  • White papers, articles, newsletters
  • Social media: LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and an ever-growing list of large and niche networks

Each choice offers different opportunities. Each offers the possibilities to have different as well as several voices. Formats can be intriguing. Twitter’s short format can be challenging. Each has its own place and may or may not fit with your plan. Any and all can be viral. So a good consumer experience has an excellent chance of being shared.

Take blogs, for instance. Blogs can look like a website with the look and feel, navigation and sections for Services, About, Contact et al. The difference should be the immediacy of news that’s regularly updated from once a month to once a week. This is the Podium point-of-view. Your voice.  Representing your company’s voice.

But the blog can be opened up to receive comments from readers, consumers, and the entire Spheriverse. Now it becomes a two-way superhighway of discussion, feedback and response to that feedback. An ongoing conversation. This has the power to be exponentially expansive and rewarding – for both your business and your consumer.

Articles, white papers, press releases, and newsletters are also a way to put out your voice, your opinions, and your announcements. But your website and all the parts of your Social Sphere will bring conversation back to you. It’s your job to plan the management of receiving and responding to those messages.

The social media each have their own channel of audience to offer. LinkedIn has professionals and folks looking to hire and be hired. There are groups to join to begin conversations. You can seek out and make important connections with people looking for answers.

Consumers are everywhere in all the social spaces. Your approach to each will probably be a little different with each one. Certainly the confinement and environment of the formats and technologies of each will impact the messages that you design.

As time goes on, no doubt the Spheriverse will continue to expand at a rapid pace of cyberspeed. Choices will increase. But the concept of the two-way dialogue remains constant. The challenge is in managing the communications most effectively. Enjoy and grow with the movement.

@social_dynamics

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Posted in Articles, Blogging, Direct Response, Facebook, LinkedIn, Local business, Non-profits, Real Estate, Recruitment, Social Media and Social Networking, Technical, Twitter, Video, Websites | 3 Comments »