Blog #2 - The Search for Talent Using Social Media

Did you ever watch the TV show "The Middle" on ABC?  I remember an episode when Mike (the Dad) is laid off from his job at the quarry for a few months and needs to find temporary work.  He begins to search the classified ads in the newspaper and dusts off the old typewriter to start drafting his resume.  This process continues for about a week.  He tells his son, Axl, that he needs to find a job, too.  A few hours later, much to Mike's surprise, Axl had found a job.  "How did you do that?" he asked.  Axl replied, "I texted Joe, who tweeted Johnny, who e-mailed me an application that I filled out and sent back to Johnny who gave it to his Dad.  I just finished my video-interview in my room.  I start tomorrow."  (It's not exactly word-for-word, but you get the idea!)  Social media is becoming a very important part of the talent-search process.  In this fast-paced business environment, businesses need to react quickly to stay competitive.  Texting, tweeting and e-mail are just a few ways to reach the talent pool.

Why use social media to find new hires?  The technology is available, so use it!  And by the way, so does everyone else.  According to econsultancy.com, current social networking statistics are:  Facebook - 350 million active users;  Twitter - 75 million user accounts; LinkedIn - 50 million members worldwide.  Go where the people are!  Post on Facebook, send a tweet, and get LinkedIn.  Tell the world you have a job available - literally.

Social media is an inexpensive (not free) way to search for new talent.  Setting up a Facebook or Twitter page or your own blog costs nothing.  Although, hiring someone to make these posts professional is a wise investment.  Yes, you will need a budget for this type of advertising.  But the amount of people you can reach vs. the cost makes this investment very cost-effective.

Don't spend your time actively searching out new talent.  Use the many social networking tools to attract the talent to you.  Target your audience and find the sites they frequently visit.  Be specific, discuss your companies distinguishing qualities and why they should consider a career with you.  Engage in conversations to further educate your audience about your values and vision.

At the end of the TV show, Mike finally used a word-processing program to draft his resume and e-mailed it to a Careerbuilder.com inbox.  He landed an interview in a few days. . . at a septic tank maintenance company.  In his words, "Living the dream!"

In the "Social Media At Work" book by Jue, Marr, and Kassotakis, I am referencing page 78, " . . .  we've seen at least five specific areas where they are capitalizing on social media to make a real difference:  1. Attracting and retaining the best employees . . ."  I focused on the "Attracting" piece of this area.

Here is an article on Careerbuilder.com discussing Social Media to Recruit Top Talent -http://thehiringsite.careerbuilder.com/2010/07/22/leveraging-social-media-to-recruit-top-talent/