Dr. John Sullivan’s article in yesterday’s ere.net really struck a chord with me. “The Many Benefits of Social Network Recruiting: Making a Compelling Business Case” 
Too often when discussing social media (Twitter, facebook, blogging) with clients and friends I hear the standard “obstacles” about how/why these type of “social” media outlets are just “time wasters” or “unproductive.” (Or, the real straight-shooters just say, “I don’t get it and I don’t want to get it.”). OK…sure, bury your head in the sand – I’ve always found a lot of success doing that—duh.
I think Dr. John Sullivan’s article provides a wonderful analysis of the ‘nay sayer’ attitude and how we, as recruiting professionals, can combat the negativity and overcome the obstacles put in front of us regarding social network recruiting. And, his recommendations fall under a topic that is always near and dear to my heart – metrics, data, numbers, the ‘proof is in the pudding’ type of information. You can’t argue the facts and that’s what I like the most about his four recommendations.
Locating hidden talent, reducing vacancy rates, college impact, increased communications response, employer branding, and on and on. It makes sense right? And his outline really is a “how to do it” guide for recruiters. The problem for me? I’m not a recruiter. I help recruiters. I work with tons of Human Resource professionals and teams and departments. And, I’m so curious to see if some of Dr. Sullivan’s ideas work (ie. Using your own employees as a baseline for the ability to find top talent or creating a small pilot program or a split sample to gauge results from different recruiting tools). I’d jump at the opportunity to ‘partner’ up with a recruiter to create some test scenarios for using social media to fill specific position(s). I’m envisioning: outlining a goal, giving it a timeline and a small budget and measuring as much data as possible, and of course sharing results. Any takers? (Email me at blog@alstin.com)
Another, relevant article (published in AdAge, so yes, I realize the source is going to report on the topic in a different light) about “Ten Things Social Media Can’t Do – A Healthy Reminder for Setting Expectations” by B.L. Ochman. In this article, it supports my constant mantra that social networking takes TIME and EFFORT (and some blood, sweat and tears). I particularly like #5 “Can’t…be done in-house by the vast majority of companies” because it keeps me working! And, I like working! 
