Had an interesting chat with a recruitment agency earlier this week regarding their consultants and LinkedIn. Firstly hats off to them for pushing the use of LinkedIn as hard as they are, it’s a recruiters gold mine if you engage and use all aspects of the site/network, we receive a lead on average once a [...]
Over the weekend I finally went and saw Inception. Unless you have been living under a rock you know this movie has something to do with dreams, and stealing them. On the surface that is initially what it is about, however as the movie progresses the key plot is planting an idea in someone’s dream/subconscious [...]
The Future of Mobile Recruitment report is the result of a roundtable co-hosted by Jobsite and Allthetopbananas.com in London in May 2010 with some of the leading brands involved in mobile, including Google and Microsoft. You can download the report below, here though are some key findings: More people now access social networking sites via [...]
About eleven years ago Job Boards burst on to the scene to end the demise of print advertising. Whilst that has not entirely occurred, it certainly has made a massive dent in to the once prominent employment sections of the Saturday paper. But what of eleven years from now? Social Media, or Social Recruiting as [...]
This morning I had a sensational meeting with a potential business partner for SR360. The one thing that we were both on the same page with is that Australian companies right now don’t know where to start with being involved with Social Media. Backing this up, after the meeting I received an email asking the exact same question; Coincidence?
So here is the question….
“Australia is lacking behind in this field compared to other nations and when do you think the perception of social media recruiting might change in Australia?
It is a great question and one that I attempted to answer.
So today I was having a chat with Jared Woods regarding the importance of being involved in Social Media if you are going to advise people on how to maximise its benefits and truly understand the potential that Social Media has. There are many companies out there that are perplexed as to where to start with Social Media, let alone Social Recruiting.
So where do you start if you want to seek advice? There are many people out there who claim to be “Social Media Experts”, so this would seem a logical start. I’m sorry but if you claim this, you are missing the point. Why? Simply, how can anyone be an expert in something that is still so new and changing faster then the wind, it’s just not possible. And what is even more disturbing is that some of these “Experts” are not an active participant in the Social Media platforms that they claim to be the best at.
This weeks episode of The Social Sofa is with David Talamelli , Principal Recruiter for Oracle. David discusses the benefits and challenges he has faced using Social Media as a recruitment tool. Click here to watch.
The Social Sofa explores the Social Recruiting scene with HR and Recruitment professionals in Australia. This week I interview Dan Nuroo from DWS Advanced Business Systems.
Some great background music accompanied Dan and I at the Portland Hotel in Melbourne as we discussed Social Recruiting and how it has enhanced the attraction and sourcing strategies for DWS. Click here to watch.
Social Recruiting, it is a myth to many, a fad to some, a living for others and a no brainer for all but a few. It is the new channel for companies to focus a percentage of their resources and efforts on in order to engage and attract the best talent in the market place.
Given the huge amount of noise in the market place regarding Social Recruiting, why then over the past 2 weeks have I been hearing from multiple sources that the demand for Social Recruiting is not large in Australia currently and companies are waiting to see what happens? Is this true, are Australian companies really waiting to see what happens with the fastest moving and evolving form of media there has ever been?
In May this year Bill Boorman is bringing is hugely successful and popular TRU Events to Australia (#truaus) & New Zealand (trunz), something I am looking forward to immensely. As the only person in either country to have attended one of these events I thought I would impart my experience and divulge to you why this event is so special (and no Bill is not paying me to write this, although if he wants to….).
Firstly the The Recruitment Unconference, TRU, is like no other all day conference. There are no presentations, there is no scripted commentary, all rules are thrown out the window, and anything that resembles a traditional conference is quickly dealt with and kicked out the door. You will not find yourself sitting in rows, you will probably stand most of the time if your lucky, and if anyone starts to take over the show, just cut them off, seriously. That’s right, everyone at this event is on equal footing and you are encouraged, if not expected to speak your mind.
The day has one format and one format only, Tracks. These tracks are essentially topics that for a 45min session approx. those who wish to join in and discuss that topic are welcomed to. There will be Track Leaders, who will facilitate the track and encourage participation from all, these track leaders we could call them somewhat experts (bad word to use in Social Media I know) of that particular topic/track. You will find the Tracks cover a wide range of Social Recruiting and general recruitment topics and issues.
The best thing of all though, if you do not like the conversation that is going on, simply get up, don’t worry about excusing yourself, and move to the next track. You will find at least 5 tracks on at any one time, so something is bound to be of interest.
With multiple tracks on at once, multiple varieties of tracks through-out the day, and the ability to attend what you want when you want, a TRU event is like no other event the recruitment industry has seen. It’s a breathe of fresh air and encourages you to get involved and stay involved. The networking and sheer enthusiasm I experienced in London is something i know that we proud and competitive Aussies can double at least.
Now with any recruitment event there is the usual After-conference-drinks. Well of course this will happen as well. We can call it a Tweet-up, a Undrinks event but rest assured it will happen. So with that who would like to help organise this? Melbourne has some of the best pubs/bars/venues in Australia so who is keen to join me in sorting this out, umm did I just volunteer myself?
So with all that, hopefully now you have a better understand of what #truaus & indeed #trunz is all about. In short, you can look forward to a unscripted, unformatted, unreal event talking Social Recruiting and Recruitment topics in May, and unlike any other conference, you will walk away with more information, ideas and energy to get back to work then from any other conference.
And stay tuned through-out the day for a Secret Track, A pub track or something wacky that I am sure will occur, that’s the great spirit of this event, anything goes, well almost anything.
If you want to know more check out the TRU website, drop me a line or even the man himself Bill Boorman
Ok, so there is a fierce debate going on here Down Under at the moment as to the ethical and moral reasons for conducting Social Media background checks on candidates. With Social Media opening up the door now to far more scrutiny of people though Facebook Profiles, comments on blogs and pictures on Flickr to name a few, there are those among us who are more then comfortable turning the usual candidate reference check in to a Hollywood paparazzi witch hunt.
Ok, so that may be a bit harsh, the information and content is after all, right there for everyone to see. But where do we draw the line? Is it ok for companies to conduct Social Media Profile audits of future potential employees to ascertain their cultural fit or if they could damage the image of the company at all? Has this new medium lead to a wave of hypocrisy in companies saying they allow for a work life balance, however “we will watch your every move”.
The door that can be opened through discrimination of selecting or not selecting candidates is LARGE. How do you tell a hiring manager to hire on best talent, when after reviewing some social media sites, they think that another candidate will be a better match as they follow the same footy club, extreme that may be, but should we allow any of this in the first place?
What amazes me most about this, is that if this is to be allowed then why is their an argument of Candidate video profiles within the recruitment process? Another topic yes, but the same argument to a degree can be made.
I fear that if candidates, knowingly, are being background checked on their personal lives, or worse still, not being told that this is part of the hiring process, the pandora’s box of “He said, She said” discrimination will flow. This argument should be as simple as this….
Would you like someone prying in to your personal life to see if you are right for a job? Do you want, as a candidate to feel like you are a Hollywood celebrity and have to watch your every move?
Where has the trust gone, and where do we draw the line in the sand?
The debate has also been carried on over at Peerlo, see Riges thoughts here
What’s your thought, Social Media background checks or not……
Quite an amazing stat has just been released. Recently Hitwise announced that Facebook reached an important milestone for the week ending March 13, 2010 and surpassed Google in the US to become the most visited website for the week. What an achievement for a Social Network.
I have no doubt now that Paul Jacobs will be claiming more space and exposure for Farmville as a recruitment tool across Facebook. There is little doubting though that engaging with the such a large audience that Facebook delivers (remember if it was a country its the 5th biggest in the world) can be beneficial to your business from a recruitment or general brand perspective.
Whilst it’s probably turning in to the site we love to hate, it is certainly here to stay and is only going to become stronger. What is your Facebook strategy for 2010?
The last few days I have been speaking and meeting with quite a few people that I talk to on a daily basis via Twitter, blog posts, Facebook and LinkedIn about various aspects and uses of Social Media. Everyone of these conversations was passionate and created even more for me to think about once we were done. It certainly wasn’t time wasted.
One thing stood out though, whilst were were having a conversation online, between sometimes 2-4 people, we were the ones getting the most out of the conversation. It is often said that “listening” is an important component of Social Media, and I totally agree, but being involved, interacting and adding to the conversation is more beneficial and rewarding then sitting on the fence, lurking, watching and trying to learn or pick up on something.
Needless to say these conversation also came offline with a meetup at the pub (where else?) with Jared Woods, Paul Jacobs and Thomas Shaw, Dan Nuroo was notable invited absentee. And what a conversation we had!!!
Think of Social Media as one big party and we are all invited, perhaps you know some people there already but you are being forced to mingle, yes this term has been used many times, but really there is no better analogy that I have heard yet, I’d like to think it was a football game but I can’t seem to work that one just yet….
Social Media has made networking and contributing so much easier for everyone. You don’t need to have an extroverted personality or be the life of the party, but please do get involved. Everyone has something to share so don’t be shy get involved and be sociable, that is the point after all……
