Everyone’s looking for the next big thing. What can we do to stay ahead of the curve? You’re doing the social networking thing, and it’s going great. You’re up to 1,894 fans, and have 587 followers already, and your talent network is growing everyday. Now what?

Things are going quite well, but there’s always room for improvement. You still can’t seem to find the right candidate for the same 3 hard to fill positions. The experience isn’t there, the education isn’t enough, and/or the qualifications don’t match. You wonder, “What else can I do to attract possible hires that meet the needs of these positions”?

Have you considered what the response would be if you were able to bring more life to your tired old job description? Let’s face it, your hard to fill positions are usually calling for those candidates that are currently working in their careers – the passive jobseeker. To catch those big fish, you need to reel them in with more than a job title and a simple “We’re the biggest and best”. In this time of social media, people are more inclined to be drawn to something that speaks to their interests, both professionally and personally. They’re interested in what it’s really like to work for and with you, and not just the approved jargon put out by HR management. Every company is a “best place to work”, according to them. But what do the employees really think about working there? What is the position they’re interested in really like in the day to day? Who would they send the most time with, and how understanding and flexible is management? What is the environment really like underneath the perfect photos presented in the ads?

The answers to these inquiries can be given in a hiring video. Give your job description a personality with a manager, recruiter, or employee giving a sincere account of the position for interested candidates to get the feel of the job, and what the onboarding process would be like for them. Appeal to their emotional side and share with them the culture of the company and its community involvement. Ask yourself, what would lure you into this new opportunity? A passionate explanation of the vast strides their division/discipline is making in their profession can attract those who are familiar with their claim, and want to contribute to its advancement.

This video is a chance to say what you’re really thinking when you want to stress the value in your location, the benefits you offer, how fortunate you feel to work for an administration that assists you with childcare and other amenities, and also what applicants will probably not fair well in that particular position and should refer to your other openings. The sincerity and enthusiasm observed in the facial expression, body language, and speech of the interpreter really delivers a true narrative for the interested party, and in turn, may help limit the amount of unqualified responses.

If you’re wondering what’s next in the realm of successful recruiting, a video designed to peak the interests and address the concerns of the passive jobseeker may be just what the HR gods ordered. These informative yet friendly videos are a perfect complement to your social networking pages, and should be used in conjunction with your social media approach. Preparing a video for each of your hard to fill positions would be an ideal start. If you’d like a professional but welcoming video produced for your positions, contact Alstin – we’ll get the job done, and you’ll get the job filled!

Everyone’s busy on a daily basis. Our days are so filled with work, family, extra-curricular activities and basic maintenance, many of us often proclaim that there isn’t enough time in a day to keep up. So we find ourselves multitasking, ultimately using email and IM’ing to communicate throughout the work day to keep things moving along smoothly and systematically. But if we eliminate the occasional face-to-face meeting from our agenda completely, can we really get the job done to its full potential?

I’ve found that meeting with a client in-person often proves to set a project on the right path more so than direction via any other medium. Speaking to the client team involved offers you the chance to get the perspectives that count and receive their motivation in a more clear and passionate explanation. Designating a time to discuss specific plans face-to-face provides an opportunity to share information in an animated conversation that is supplemented with facial expression, body language and tone of voice. We’ve all experienced the misconceptions that may occur in the reading of an email (Do you take writing in ALL CAPS for a harsh yelling tone? Or does cryptic messaging sometimes sound slick and sarcastic when you’re IM’ing back and forth?). True intentions that sometimes get lost in the writing, could easily be construed in a simple conversation. You can get more done in a face-to-face meeting than electronically, because there is a connection that comes with physical presence that not only allows the flow of communication to come through in a more vivid conversation style, but also provides access to further information brought on by simple observation.

Engagement in carefree conversation adds that element of understanding and personalizes the interaction. This contributes to the transfer of information and ultimately helps build relationships. Connecting in-person is key in developing good relationships, and people are more inclined to do business with those whom they have a relationship with. Social Media is a prime aspect in the business practices today, but it should be balanced with face-to-face interaction. The in-person meeting gives all involved a better sense of what each other is about. Think about it – would you make a hire based solely on the strength of a resume/application? Or do you require a 1st, 2nd, and sometimes 3rd interview before making the final decision?

The latest forms of communication are valuable, effective and necessary in the evolution of business tactics today, but we must not obliterate the tried and true practice of engaging in-person. It’s only natural to prefer to do business with those you know, like, and trust. Good business requires a mix of online and physical collaboration. There is a strength in having all bases covered.

The Social Media Plus Business Summit held yesterday in Philadelphia provided a slew of sessions led by some of the brightest accomplished professionals (and fave bloggers) in social media today. Human Capital Solutions, LLC put together this summit covering all of the questions and concerns that most companies have about social media in the areas of Sales & Marketing, IT, Executive, and HR.

Technology is constantly changing the way we do things in business and in our personal lives, so we must learn to stay current and move forward. Floating from session to session, the message was clear: Social Media is a requirement for business today, and in networking online, we should be customer service focused.

Echoing in most presentations were Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and a number of other outlets we should be using to connect and build a rapport with our employees, with possible candidates, and to invite the world to “get to know us.” A lot of us may have begun to acquire a page or 2 or 3 of these networking tools and simply need to know where to go from there. Well, here are the must haves/dos you may be missing:

- It’s everybody’s responsibility! Social Media should be in sync throughout all departments. It’s about customer service – find out about your audience and what they’re doing, and strategize to achieve your established goal.

- Educate your employees! You must incorporate a company-wide Social Media Policy. Keep it simple and accessible (put it on your “About Us” page). Your policy should be clear and concise, spelling out these guidelines for all to understand. Make it clear that these guidelines are for this new media, and that all other policies still stand.

- Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn top the list of the main sites your company should have a presence on for social networking. Your pages should be kept up to date with a strong profile, and current status. Your page should display a more personal understanding of your company leaders, employees, and culture.

- A Facebook Page specific to Careers is a must. This should be separate from your main company page created by Marketing.

- Enable your employees to be company advocates. Blocking social media access is a costly exercise that doesn’t work. Most have internet ready phones and are prepared to use them. LOL! Recent studies showed that employees with access were more productive. Get senior management onboard and remember that employees are your best Brand Ambassadors.

- Social Media is Interactive! Are you blogging/commenting/discussing online? We need to share conversations with fans, followers, employees, candidates, and industry groups. If any HR employees are bloggers, it’s a great idea to add links to their relevant posts. You must do more than just push out jobs.

• Here’s a great idea that some companies have taken to….. Certify/Reward your social media advocates! This is a chance for employees to shine, connect with the company, contribute, and refer. Acknowledge and Reward those who add to your efforts- building morale, increasing the talent community, and sharing the fun part of your workplace.

- Video Sharing- a fresher step to engaging your fans & followers is to implement your videos on your network pages. We are a visual society. Start a Careers Channel on You Tube and personalize your company leaders; demonstrate “why to work here”. Video interviews with hiring managers for positions was a repeated suggestion.

- There should be a Dashboard in place to monitor your activity and track your traffic. A common contact is crucial to the reporting of more accurate metrics. (I refer you to one of my earlier posts – “Metrics. Could you be sabotaging the measurements that may help productivity and ROI?”

 - Are you watching your community page? There are a number of tools out there designed to aid you in monitoring what’s being said in your industry and about your company. Utilize the available tools to collect RSS feeds for real-time updates on industry discussions and any mention of your company. This could be as simple as setting up a Google Alert with your company name as the search term.

If you’re lacking in any of these areas and need a helping hand, contact your Account Executive at Alstin for consultation. As social media evolves with each passing day, there will be more ideas and best practices on the way for your recruitment efforts. Check back in with our blog regularly, and stay on top for your next move!

Social Media Clubs have spread like wildfire, with new chapters being started in cities each week with the idea to get people talking. Social Media Clubs hold meetings and after work gatherings that provide the opportunity to associate with those that “get it”, and learn from them, share information, and collaborate with other professionals from different backgrounds to enhance your personal and professional interests.

There are various types of social media clubs that the web has brought together. Some clubs diversify focus to cover a range of topics, giving like minds a chance to share and educate themselves in-person and build contacts with attendees both online and offline.

A coworker and I recently attended an event given by Philly NetSquared – a local social media club that gathers together nonprofits and activists, tech leaders and funders, and everyone who’s interested in using technology for social change. Hosting free Net Tuesday events the first week of every month, Philly NetSquared attracts a crowd of professionals in different positions to come out to understand the best way to leverage the social web for social good. I chose to go to this event because social media is always changing and there is always something new to learn about how it can be used. A great way to hear about other ideas for utilizing social networking tools is to check out one of these types of events. No matter the topic at hand, you can be sure that a number of interesting and driven people will attend. At our Net Tuesday were IT professionals for local colleges and universities, urban planners, non-profit planners, an IT health site organizer, professionals for diversity issues, a volunteer firefighter and safety coordinators. Many came out for the presentation and discussion on “The Role of Social Media in Crisis Response”. I listened as the panel cited and explained the mapping applications and geographic information systems, digitized image sharing tools, and PeopleFinder technology that were a tremendous help in the recent crisis in Haiti, and how Twitter aided in the swift delivery of information on the assailant responsible for the slaying of the 4 police officers in a Lakewood coffee shop in Parkland, Washington. Our panelists gave interesting information on how various web tools were used and the new ideas and enhancements in the development stages to provide even greater assistance in the future. I was enthralled by the amount of versatile social media instruments mentioned at this discussion.

I would recommend to anyone interested in furthering their understanding of social media and its use in any discipline, take advantage of these social and educational events in your area. You will be privy to valuable information and innovative ideas while networking with other area professionals in a variety of fields. You just may find your next new experienced hire.

When it comes to the use of metrics in tracking recruiting effectiveness, I’ve found that there’s a key to success – use your tools and use them consistently! Many companies are putting forth efforts and resources to capture data, but if these tools are being utilized only part of the time, accurate measurements are not possible, and will undermine the results. Incredibly valuable information to encourage improvements, metrics are worthless unless the results have the real potential to incite positive changes in recruiting and sourcing habits.

If you decide to implement a means to measure the response of your print ads, web ads, email blasts, landing pages, SEO tools, etc., it is imperative that this tool be utilized in every application.

In reality, I know that as recruiters this approach may not always seem ideal. I have seen recruiters change the contact mechanism for response in a recruiting ad or posting for a select position based on the urgency to fill the opening, the type of candidates they are targeting, or the ease of response retrieval. But the truth of it is, what used to work years ago, doesn’t cut it anymore especially when your overall investment and goal is to gather good metrics!

The purpose of the development of the many approaches to building metrics, is to answer the demands of organizations for proof of the overall success of HR’s recruiting efforts and what can be done better – more quickly, more efficiently, more cost effectively. However, if tracking methods are only used once in a while, when the head honchos ask for recommendations during budget evaluation time – how will you be able to truly identify what you can capitalize on, and what you need to do different?

In the current state of our economy, there is no doubt in my mind that organizations cannot afford spending to track costs for skewed evidence and base their budgets on ambivalent reporting. Take my word for it, if you heed this advice to properly make use of these valuable tracking tools, the metrics will help you determine:

• What was the success of your recruitment sources?
• Which sources provided the most candidates?
• Where did the more qualified candidates come from?
• Which sources provided the least qualified candidates?

I think we can all agree that conducting an evaluation of your recruiting costs with solid metrics can provide you with the information needed to support change and improvements for sourcing and hiring processes and for reducing costs. The bottom line: Don’t sabotage your efforts. Maintain consistent use of your measurement tools and you will have the most accurate metrics at your disposal.

Having trouble figuring out the best solution for gathering metrics for your organization? Need an assessment of your applicant tracking systems’s capabilities? Send me an email – blog@alstin.com - I would welcome the opportunity to discuss this further with you!

I work with HR professionals everyday, assisting them with their daily recruitment goals. I often hear the urgency in their “I’m swamped” voice, or “I need a vacation” tone. So when I saw this blog title -  Want a new job? Stop being so nice. Seriously. I hate it.  - I had to check it out.

 As I read on, I discovered Sarah White, author of the Imsocorporate.com blog, and her feelings about a special breed of the annoying jobseeker. She goes on to reach out to fellow recruiters for confirmation and to let her readers know the three top things that will classify you as too creepy to consider working with. It was a quick rant but a viable one all the same. Those who commented seemed to take it pretty well. After a good laugh, I became interested to know what my clients would blog about regarding their encounters with eager jobseekers…especially now, in this current state of unemployment.

So little jobs…too many jobseekers!

In a sense, my job is to help you put out the bait, cast a net, and catch and hook those prime candidates for your open positions. It’s then your job to reel ‘em in. So, with this new age of social media, I think it’s sometimes helpful to give a personal voice of guidance to help the process along – and save you from having to throw too many back!

What’s your take on this? Please share your comments with me. These could be quite helpful – and funny.  (We’ve heard some dooseys in the past, so don’t be bashful.)

 I WANT TO KNOW…..

What are your gripes about the sourcing/interviewing processes?

With all this new technology, do you feel like you’re being stalked or like you’re stalking others?

What do you want candidates that are looking for a position with your company to know?

What are your top tips to win you over in an interview?

The last couple of years have made a major impact on many lives, especially in one’s outlook on the future of their career and financial stability. Many companies have suffered through numerous cut backs and the loss of valuable staff, leaving those who are left with double the workload, less hours and pay, fewer benefits and incentives, and the loss of their fellow employees, all while dealing with the uncertainty of maintaining their own position. The sequence of events that surround recurring layoffs cause feelings of insecurity and a decline in morale.

The effects of the current economic climate has clearly changed the atmosphere “around the water cooler”. The latest surveys are showing a large number of professionals who plan to leave their current company once hiring rebounds. Their top reasons for moving on vary from better compensation and benefits to dissatisfaction with potential career development.

I have friends that have gone back to school for a graduate degree to facilitate advancement in their careers, and are now experiencing feelings of despair in positions where they are not being used at their full potential and are not seeing the results of years of hard work. These hard times cause employees to reevaluate their plans, and reminds them to take steps toward new experiences.

The “lucky to have a job” period will be slowly drawing to a close as the new year rings in. The start of 2010 has resolutions raring to go – and the jobless are not the only ones on the market.

Now is the time to reinforce the value of your company. As the job market slowly begins to increase, you must be prepared to keep your best employees in play while hiring starts to pick up.

Are you listening to the concerns and ideas of your employees and taking them under consideration during this difficult economic time? Are your employees recognized and compensated monetarily for outstanding performance? If your answers are “no”, I recommend checking out this post on What People Want From Work by Susan Heathfield.

People like to know that they have room for career movement and advancement. No opportunity to progress within the company is a deal-breaker for many. Enhance the skills and expertise of your employees and the marketability of your company by providing cross-training and education for career and personal growth through training programs, challenging assignments and more.

And finally, it is important that you:

· Staff adequately so people don’t wear themselves out.

· Communicate the goals, new/additional roles and responsibilities of the remaining people in the company (including management) so that everyone knows what is expected of them and are aware that everyone is doing their part for the success of the company.

Remember that your employees are the fuel that keeps your business going.

By the looks of this blog, you might think we over here at Alstin eat, breathe and sleep all that is recruitment and retention. Every so often we’ll stray from the HR talk and bring you more on some of our favorite things, places and activities that also populate our daily lives.

One of my favorite things in Alstin’s new location is the large picture window near my desk. I am the lucky AE who sits facing a fabulous view of the city while I work.

I can see from my seat the hustle and bustle of the Center City streets, the neon sign of the restaurant EL Vez – a favorite for happy hour – and I even get to watch a helicopter take off from the launch pad at Jefferson Hospital to save someone’s life.

My fellow AEs and I have developed our department to feel comfortable to us all. We enjoy the natural light beaming in everyday, and will often leave the overhead lights off to let the sunshine fill the space. I believe it is true that sunlight stimulates happiness. On a bright sunny day we will open the window and breathe in the fresh air as opposed to the usual office ventilation. The feng shui of our space seems to give us the energy and enough comfort to enjoy  the day to its fullest.

With the number of well-known healthcare institutions I have worked with, I’ve seen that sunlight is often one of the key factors during renovations and expansions of patient care areas to aid in the speedy recovery of patients.

According to a study in Psychology Today:

Patients in recovery rooms full of natural light take less pain medication, and, days after surgery, they report lower stress levels. Their hastened healing may be due to sunlight’s ability to stimulate serotonin production, which helps regulate mood, sleep, and sex drive.

Now, if the sun can do all of that, think what it can do for employees – let the sunshine in!

You think SEM and SEO are rival rock bands.

You admit to not knowing the first thing about Social Networking, but think it’s just a newfangled duhickey or fad that all the kids are excited about.

You’re still wondering what in the world a “tweet” is, and if it’s part of some new project Ashton Kutcher is working on.

You don’t have a Facebook page and never thought of setting one up for recruiting and retaining employees.

You are on LinkedIn, but don’t have a group page for your toughest area of recruitment.

The careers section of your company website is hiding from candidates in corners, behind unbolded or too small text and under an obsolete pull down bar – causing candidates to get lost and spend up to five minutes searching in frustration for your openings.

You think “Come Grow With Us” might be a great, creative theme for your employer brand.

When asked about your source of hire data, you are unable to determine where your new talent is really coming from.

Old school can be cool, but not when it comes to how you determine the best approaches to communicating with potential and current employees these days. If you are starting to feel a little out of touch, overwhelmed by it all, or not sure what direction you need to take first, don’t despair. And from what I am hearing, you are not alone.

From workshops to bring you up to speed, to effective consultation on the strategies and communications you need to get results, (shameless plug alert!) Alstin’s here to help you get with it and I am excited to help get you there. Your comments are always welcome, and feel free to drop me a line at blog@alstin.com.

Many recruiters would agree that they get their best hires from referrals. Recruiters now benefit from the ability to ‘LinkIn’, ‘Tweet’ or ‘Friend’ employees, colleagues, clients, vendors, friends, applicants, and other contacts to promote their employer brand and career opportunities.

My guess is you’ve been thinking, this all sounds great! I’m going to set up my Twitter account today, put creating a Facebook Fan Page on my to-do list, and make sure I join some more groups on LinkedIn. I might even start up a cool new blog and join together employees to show the outside world how comfortable and collaborative we are.

But who is going to monitor all this potential interaction? And do I have the time? How am I going to keep that cool new blog current with daily posts? Monitor the comments on a Facebook fan page, and tweet new info while answering all the responses to my previous tweets?

That’s where Alstin Communications comes into play – we live the new job title that’s cropping up more and more – Social Media Specialist – every day.

Simply put: The explosive growth of social media is redefining how people communicate. The implications are far reaching. How you choose to use these new communication tools may well define your success as an employer in the coming years.

By developing a solid social media strategy, and tapping into sociability, Alstin Communications’ suite of social media products and services, you will get the most out of these new tools. Seminars on the how to’s, guidance on developing an in-house social media policy and of course all that you would expect (and maybe not expect!) from Alstin on how to maintain that all-important brand consistency across all social media channels and a whole lot more are offered up by our team of social media gurus.

From our perspective, adding these skills to your repertoire can only boost your organization’s – and your own – marketability.

I spend a good part of my day on Facebook, consider LinkedIn my personal, professional Rolodex, and am about to experience what it’s like to tweet about all sorts of thing, including my favorite blogs. I do consider myself a Social Media Specialist and am glad that growing expertise also makes me the “help wanted” for my clients.

Welcoming diversity comes down to how diverse employees are represented in positions, opportunities, advancement levels, training, performance acknowledgement, and financial growth in your organization. It’s how diverse candidates are received in interviews, correspondence, and on-boarding. And believe me, candidates will talk about their experiences and communicate their thoughts to others in the industry. That’s where social media comes into play – in 2009, welcoming diversity also means welcoming social media into your overall strategy.

I personally believe that capitalizing on diversity in the workplace is an important issue for management to recognize the need for, and approach effectively through communication, adaptation, and an open mind for change. The most successful organizations are those that are genuinely planning and allocating their resources on diversity management.

We can all recognize that effective diversity recruitment requires more than a legal sounding EOE statement and the use of multicultural photos in a campaign. It requires managers, recruiters and other staff to become culturally aware and to spread the word of how great it is to work for your organization via branded company pages on top social networking sites, gathering a following of diverse populations through blogging, advertising on targeted blogs/websites, hosting social networking events, ultimately increasing your competitive edge, and bolstering your company image as an employer of choice.

Diversity can be defined as…
Acknowledging, understanding, accepting, valuing, and celebrating differences among people with respect to race, age, class, ethnicity, gender, physical and mental ability, sexual orientation, spiritual practice, socio-economic, status political beliefs, or other ideologies.

I couldn’t agree more. Make 2009 the time to upgrade your diversity strategy. We are personally and professionally connected to each other 24 hrs a day, 7 days a week. A strong diversity message is needed, and today, make sure that your message is carried out in a more interactive – and social – style