Social Media Recruiting and Mobile Technology

Recruiters have always been quick on the uptake when it comes to new and innovative technology, especially if this technology makes it easier to stay connected. Lately, there’s a lot of buzz surrounding social recruiting and mobile recruiting – and many recruiters are blindly jumping on the bandwagon. But what’s just buzz, and what will become a permanent part of every recruiter’s toolbox?

Mobile Recruiting: Apps and More

Mobile recruiting allows recruiters to do what they do best: stay connected. How? Apps. There are a few recruiting apps that I really like:

• JobScience puts the functionality of an applicant tracking system in recruiters' pockets.
• Instant Customer is a handy gadget for business card and contact management.
• Global Recruiting Roundtable gives users access to top industry news and trends, and allows them to plug in to a community of experts.
• JobSpeek adds a new dimension to job postings: audio.

Mobile SMS and QR code recruiting is getting some serious attention. However, recruiting leader and sourcing consultant Geoff Peterson says, “The technology’s not 100% there.”

Social Recruiting: Plan for Your Slice of the Pie

Recruiting has always been social, but social media has opened a new can of worms. And if you want a piece of the social recruiting pie, there are a few things you should keep in mind:

• You need a strategy. You may have a Twitter account, but that doesn’t mean you have a social recruiting strategy. You need clear goals, an execution plan and metrics for measuring success. Otherwise, you’re just filling my Twitter feed with white noise.
• Don’t bombard, engage. Anyone can post “an exciting opportunity” on LinkedIn. If that’s all you're using your social media accounts for, however, you’re going to lose your audience fast. Share an article you enjoyed, link to something interesting you’ve come across, just don’t bombard them with jobs.
• Keep the social in social media. You can get all the Facebook fans and Twitter followers you want, but unless you’re engaging your network, they’re just numbers. There are a number of communities out there that revolve around social media in a number of industries.

About the Author: Kyle Lagunas is the HR Analyst at Software Advice. He blogs about trends, technology and best practices in HR and recruiting by day, and drinks entirely too much wine by night.