Tired of reading job descriptions that bore you? Then listen to these audio jobcasts published on Jobs in Pods.
I write a lot about social media as it pertains to recruiting. Here are some interesting posts you might be interested in reading.
Facebook removes network pages, bad news for recruiters
How to get your own web 2.0 recruiting site
Southwest Airlines using web 2.0 to recruit, retain
Top 5 Sourcing sites for this and the next generation
Jobs in Pods Youtube channel hits 10,000
I have discovered 2 pieces of media which every recruiter MUST consume if they want to adopt and promote social media in their own company.
The first is a video from Jeremiah Owyang, Forrester Analyst.
In it Len Devanna, Web Strategist at EMC says the following on getting executive buy-in:
“How are your kids communicating? Are they talking online? Are
they twittering? And that generally rings true, that this medium is
real…its here to stay and the current generation coming up expects it
from a company.”
The second item is a podcast from the Marketing Edge. Its even more revealing than the first.
In it, Chris Barger, a Social Media Strategist for IBM/GM says this about the ROI of social media:
“This is a relationship building process, sales happen as part of
a larger relationship and thats what blogging, podcasting and online
social media was intended to do.”
Interviewer Albert Maruggi’s reaction to the above statement is priceless. There is no better explanation of what social media is and is not in this interview.
Click here for the links to video and audio.
I got a call yesterday from a recruiter at a major insurance company. She was investigating the use of “web 2.0” technologies (aka ‘social media‘)
for recruiting and wanted some advice. It was a refreshing call. We
think HR is finally beginning the push into these new media tools.
Several employers we have talked to recently seem to be researching the tools of web 2.0, so at least they are beginning to recognize
the fact that they have to change their strategies to take advantage of
them. In this month’s HR Magazine we came across a study about the use
of web 2.0 and HR. Here's the press release.
Its interesting to note that 34% are actively using some form of web 2.0 to recruit. But 65%
of respondents said they do not use or have never heard of them. Over
the next 2 years that should change in our opinion. Most HR departments
are rather slow at adopting new technologies, but as the
milennials enter the workforce their influence will help change that.
They will expect their employers to integrate these tools into the
workplace (see what one company does). In fact, we think there will be whole new positions created like “Social Network Recruiter” whose sole job it will be to post jobs and interact with users on Facebook and MySpace.
Social Media Recruiting. Just do it.
In honor of Robert Scoble's social media starfish, I created a recruiting version called the social media recruiting starfish. These are tools any employer can use to promote themselves and attract candidates.
Several prominent employers now podcasting their jobs as part of their recruiting strategy.
Is your company looking for a different way to advertise your jobs?
A growing number of employers are beginning to use podcasts as
recruitment advertising in an effort to standout and connect with the
iPod generation now entering the workforce.
'Jobcasting' as it's called is a fairly new tool among corporate
recruiters. Companies like Microsoft and Accenture were among the first
to recognize the media as a marketing tool. Microsoft began theirs in
March of 2005. You can hear several of them on the Microsoft Jobs Blog.
Now a new service called Jobs in Pods (http://www.jobsinpods.com)
has become the defacto site to hear jobcasts from employers in the US
and Canada. In existence since March of 2007, the site now claims
several prominent companies such as Intel Corporation, ZoomInfo.com,
AT&T, Verizon Wireless among its clients.
What's unique about the service is that employers don't have to have
any knowledge about actual podcasting. "We do all the work," says Chris
Russell the founder of Jobs in Pods. "All the employer has to do is
pick up the phone and answer the questions," he adds. Once the call is
finished, the audio file is then published on Jobinpods.com and sites
like Podcast.com, Blogorama and Podcast Alley. They even make their way
onto a YouTube channel as videos where the audio is teamed with an
image placeholder that details the topic of the podcast.
Jobcasts are also available for employers to place directly on their
own corporate career site via the use of a widget or RSS feed.
Clients like Exempla Healthcare in Colorado love the service. "We hope
this communicates to candidates that Exempla embraces a forward
thinking approach in all aspects of business -- from recruiting
employees to delivering patient car," states Gillian Sloan, Exempla's
Recruitment Manager.
Each jobcast is about 8-10 minutes long and typically discusses one job
in detail or a particular career path within a department. Employers
are given the questions ahead of time so they may prepare. Russell
believes that podcasting is part of online recruiting's future. "Social
media is taking over and employers can either embrace it or hide.
Blogs, podcasts, video and social networks will soon become the
candidates preferred choice of contact", he adds.
With the rise of sites like Facebook, YouTube and others, he may be right.
Social Media writer Monica Hamburg has just written a great post entitled Recruitment 2.0/HR 2.0. There is a particular passage which caught our attention:
Companies should keep in mind that there is now, more
than ever, a balance of power with e-recruiting. Businesses can learn
more about candidates and attract ideal employees, but employees have
the same ability to research businesses and find their perfect
workplace. With that in mind, company culture has become an immense selling point for prospective hires. The use of a company’s own videos and pictures can entice candidates by giving them a glimpse of the inner workings and presenting the human side of the company.
Natalie Michael, Partner of the Karmichael Group, an executive
search and recruitment strategy firm, states that now “there is even
greater pressure on organizations to focus on employee engagement and
retention, and having a culture that is a unique differentiator.
If competitors are “sharing employee lists” by having employees visible
on Linkedin, for instance, “they need to strengthen their people
practices so this is not a competitive threat. They can do this by
having a unique value proposition, focusing on meeting individual’s
needs and having a culture that can not easily be replicated by the
competition.”
She is so right. Your company culture has to become a major
selling point in your recruiting efforts. Anything you can do to
showcase that culture, be it video, pictures, blogging or podcasts
is a good thing. Today’s job seeker has a myriad of choices before
them. Your company needs to give them lots of reasons to make you their
employer of choice.
Being proactive with social media recruiting is the latest way to do just that.
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