My post today is really less a blog post and more a call for help. I’d like to get our readers’ feedback on LinkedIn groups that focus on Human Resources or Recruiting. In many ways, these types of discussion groups are the whole point of social media, but (in my humble opinion) I often find that there isn’t a whole lot of value inside the different LinkedIn HR and Recruiting groups—at least the ones I’ve come across.

The problem could very well be my own lack of knowledge or involvement, and perhaps there are great groups out there I need to join to change my opinion. Of course, a big industry-wide problem is that many of these groups are populated either by recruiters who blindly throw their candidates or searches into conversations:

QUESTION: “Hello, I am a healthcare recruiter in North Carolina, and I’m wondering if you’re still blocking social media sites at your healthcare institution?” Amy Recruiter, NC Health System

REPLY:  “Accounting Professional with 7 years experience AND knowledge of defense industry. Contact me today!”

Or the discussion threads are started disingenuously by people using a group as a slimy way to promote their own business. We’ve all seen the online discussions on groups that follow this script:

“Does anyone know of a good background checking software that is price competitive and can make a recruiter’s life easier?” Joe Blow, recruiting industry veteran.

Hi Joe. Why yes, there is a wonderful solution out there. ABC Background Checking is the premier background checking…” Jane Doe, HR systems vendor

Dig a bit deeper, and you’ll never guess what company both Joe and Jane work for.

Okay, I’m exaggerating a bit, but even when the discussions are legitimate, I rarely find them compelling enough to make me want to comment or read more. In fact, I usually find that the articles I read from places like www.ere.net have “comment” sections below each article with discussions much more relevant and interesting for the recruiting industry.

Are other people feeling the same way? Or am I missing something?

Upon hearing that his obituary had been published in the New York Journal, Mark Twain famously said, “Reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated.”

I’ve been thinking about his quote a lot recently, as it seems more and more articles I read are loudly proclaiming the death of something in our industry. In the last few months I’ve read industry articles with these titles:

LinkedIn is dead

Job boards are dead

Newspapers are dead

Twitter is dead

Web banner advertising is dead

Corporate recruiting is dead

Agency recruiting is dead

Advertising is dead

Sourcing is dead

Human Resources is dead

Before we start holding mass funerals, I think we should all take a breath. I realize that many of these articles use the “____ is dead,” proclamation to get attention, and I guess the outlandish, over-hyped statements that pervades politics and our media was doomed to trickle down to the recruitment industry.  Still, the hyperbole—even when the facts state otherwise—annoys me. For example, of all the ones listed above, I imagine “Newspapers are dead,” is the most widely-accepted, but consider a 2009 Scarborough report that found that 171 million people (74% of the population) have read a newspaper during the last week. That’s a pretty powerful stat for something that’s passed on to the next world.

Maybe we can all use this Labor Day weekend as a way to get our batteries recharged, and get some perspective. But beware! Someone, somewhere will surely be telling you soon that 3-day weekends are dead.

People are joining LinkedIn at the rate of one new user per second and depending on what they’re doing for a living – or want to do for a living – they’re using the social media giant in all sorts of ways. On Mashable last week, a telling inforgraphic was posted based on research conducted by the group Lab 42, a company that exclusively uses social media to field online surveys, that’s particularly share-worthy:

I log into my LinkedIn account a few times a day (during the work week that is, I am not that much of a nerd – although some may beg to differ) to browse status updates or to post one of my own. Maybe you’re even reading this blog today because of the link I put in my status update. For me, LinkedIn is also my virtual Rolodex, a go-to networking destination and so much more. I’ve used the site to recruit for Alstin – with positive results I might add – and I am sure the majority of recruiters checking out this blog have too.

What do you think the best aspect of LinkedIn is – for you personally? Here are a few thoughts to get you going:

• It’s social and it’s not Facebook.
• Networking – LinkedIn is where it’s at!
• Finding or recruiting for jobs.
• Marketing my company.
• All of the above.
• Another great reason to use LinkedIn is for … (You tell us!)

Do tell and leave a reply below. We welcome your thoughts – thanks!

So that crazy picture from the 4th of July BBQ was definitely Facebook worthy…or not.

I remember the days (actually, not that long ago) when we were warned about the consequences of being caught in an unflattering photo that could possibly reach the Internet. There were commercials broadcasting the dangers of pictures placed online becoming a permanent fixture in the public eye. But forward to present day, and we’ve all embraced a norm of posting any and everything that catches our attention. It seems we’ve become less inhibited where the Internet is concerned and despite the many warnings, and multiple stories of people losing their jobs/marriages, etc. over comments and tweets, there are still a variety of offenders still posting risqué photos and lewd, crude, and downright rude remarks, jokes, quotes, and lyrics. Of course, this is usually done in fun, and what people believe to be somewhat “private” and exclusive to only their group of selected “friends”.

Lest we warn again… there is a new reason to rethink what you intend to put online for all to see. You’ve probably heard that employers have been Googling you to see who they’re REALLY interviewing. Well now the background check has been given additional steps to include an even more thorough search which findings will be kept on file for a period of 7 years. Social Intelligence Corp., a background check company, was found to be in compliance with the Fair Credit Reporting Act by the Federal Trade Commission. They have now been granted a license to screen job applicants based on their Internet photos and postings.

What does this mean for you? You no longer have to be a celebrity like Kim Kardashian to feel the backlash of your statements/opinions on Facebook or Twitter.

When you’re applying for a job, the new standard part of background checks will include a search of all that you’ve posted to the Internet, including Facebook, Twitter, blogs, Craigslist, Flickr, and the like.

In case you were not aware of this already, employers must inform you, the job applicant, if they took adverse action based on something found on the Internet. This will at least notify you to change your privacy settings accordingly and make you aware of what you need to delete. However, with this new turn of events, these actions are no saving grace. In the instance that a search on you returns something job-threatening on the social media sites, and there it will be entered into your file, where it will stay for the next seven years.

You should know though that, although Social Intelligence will keep the negative findings on file, these results will not be reused. It is a one time disclosure and with each request from a new employer, a new search is conducted. The filed away results will serve as background information if ever needed for legal reasons.

 “We store records for up to 7 years as long as those records haven’t been disputed. If a record is disputed and changed then we delete the disputed record and store the new record when appropriate.”

- Geoffrey Andrews, Social Intelligence COO

The searches are limited to what’s already publicly accessible, meaning what they can find on the social and professional networking sites you may be on. And like a credit background check, the job applicant must give their permission for the screening of social media to be used. Keep in mind that not only will your photos, updates, comments and tweets be scrutinized, but that also includes what fan pages and groups you’re joining, among other things – For example, if you’ve decided to join the “I hate _ people” group and are a fan of a few weapons pages and/or posting your whereabouts each week at naughty venues, these are most likely frowned upon.

Social networking sites contain information that employers are not supposed to rely upon to make hiring decisions, but that doesn’t mean that it won’t happen. While employers are researching applicants, they must be aware that all the same protections due job seekers in the traditional world, still apply online. Since many sites include photos, employers are not allowed to preclude a job applicant based on categories they may fall into (race, disability, gender, age, etc.). Any hiring decision made should be documented and include valid information on why one candidate was hired over another.

Employers should not ask to be accepted into a social network under a false alias to check out potential candidates. In such cases where this has occurred, the job seeker may have an actionable cause.

- “Social Media Concerns for Employers and Employees,”

- VETS NET

A research study commissioned by CareerBuilder showed that out of the 2,667 HR professionals surveyed, 45% of them admitted to already using social networking sites to investigate job candidates, another 11% have decided to incorporate social media screening into their exploring methods in the near future, and 35% of employers claimed to have not hired candidates based on undesirable findings on social networking sites.

So again, the old warnings still apply. Though we’ve become such a tech-savvy, social media loving society, you should remain cautious in determining what’s appropriate for the eyes of the “world-wide web”, remembering that once something’s out there it is hard to be erased.

While traveling last week on business, I grabbed a New York Times. On the back page of the Arts Section was a full page (don’t see those much anymore!) “letter of apology” from the Economy—courtesy of nytimes.com and monster.

You can read a copy of the letter here.  In the letter, the economy takes full responsibility for the job market over the last few years but adds, “But now the ball is in your court. You have permission to move on with your life. It’s time to move forward, find a job you love and get back to work.”

Hmm. I’m not sure how I feel about this. On the one hand, I’m an advertising person, and nytimes/monster was simply trying (as we all are) to create a unique way of getting their message out—and maybe even inspire some people who have given up to renew their job search.

On the other hand, the job recession was so brutal and hurt so many people, people who did everything they could to try and find a job, that I can’t help but wonder if this letter is a bit too glib. I’m not sure those who lost their jobs during the recession would appreciate their situation being used as a way to drive traffic to a job board. Also, while the ad is certainly clever, I don’t think those who are still unemployed are in the mood for clever.

Following the responses to the “letter” in various blogs this week, I’ve seen everything from ”ingenious” to the “dumbest ad I’ve ever seen.” What do you think?

I came across this interesting infographic earlier this week via Exploring Social Media. With it came the challenge to those in the social media space to “teach more than preach” to those who think this whole social media thing is easily avoidable, not worth the time, the effort, the risk …. because it seems like there’s still plenty of people out there who aren’t buying it, or who are not so sure how to make the most of their social media accounts. That is if they have any. Or even want to. There may also be a little bit of the “Us vs. Them” mentality and dialouge happening sometimes between these two camps too.

A while back, I set up a quick online survey where I asked our blog readers and clients a few questions about how they view social media - click here to see all the questions and results. I remember being particularly happy that to the question regarding level of expertise the answer “clueless and happy to stay that way” got the least amount of votes. However, looking at the infographic stats and also at the percentage of Alstin clients who are tapping into the medium – whether that be through a simple Facebook PPC campaign, or a full blown strategy – is less than half, some more schooling is likely needed.

Our blog tends to cover the latest and greatest approaches to social recruiting quite a bit, but we know that at times we’re not always preaching to the choir. Some of you are just not in step with this media approach for a variety of reasons. We want to hear from those people today.

What are your thoughts, issues and big concerns? What can Alstin help you with or understand better? Blog about more, or less for that matter? We’re always at the ready to talk shop and help educate our clients on what may (or may not!) be the right way to approach social recruiting for their particular organization. Do you agree with these numbers? No matter the camp you fall into, we want to hear from you.

If you’re part of the recruiting, HR or communications industry, you’ve no doubt witnessed a big increase in recruitment videos over the last few years. Maybe you’ve seen some award-winning, “best practice” recruitment videos with polished messages and striking images. Perhaps you even have a “day in the life” video on your career site or a message from one of your organization’s leaders on why candidates should consider your organization.

Those are certainly great uses for a recruitment video (and yes, your friends at Alstin can develop a great one for you) but I think it’s easy to forget how recruitment videos can also be used as tool to correct misconceptions about an employer. For example, the Baltimore Police Department (like many police departments across the country) is significantly under-represented by women. When they examined the issue further they discovered that one major reason was uncertainty and apprehension over the required physical tests. The solution was this simple, no-frills, 50 second video outlining the physical tests.

I really like this video, not because it’s going to win any awards for production or clever taglines, but because it’s a great example of how video can be used cost effectively (and with a quick turn-around time) to target a specific need or issue.

How about you? What misconceptions could a 1 minute video clear up about working at your organization?

While things continue to look up on the economic and job creation front, there are still 5.8 million Americans that are among the long-term unemployed. Recently, Alstin’s Anne Hillman blogged about a crazy trend – jobless discrimination. It’s almost hard to believe but yes, companies are currently advertising open positions clearly stating that only currently employed candidates need apply. The unemployed are not part of a protected class (like race, gender, or age) in the US, unless you happen to live in New Jersey.

On ABC’s World News Tonight this report was filed noting the “cruel irony” of such a practice. Employers that engage in this pre-screen were confronted via phone on the big question: Why? One organization simply stated that this was a legal and common practice, another claimed to have made a mistake.

Besides calling attention to an issue that clearly should be made illegal in more states than one, the ABC News piece offers some real solid tips to candidates who are part of the long-term unemployed, particularly on how to effectively fill in their resume gaps.

Check out the report and be sure to let us know your thoughts. What would you think if you read “only currently employed candidates apply” in a job ad? As a hiring professional, does long-term unemployment or a large gap on a resume weigh heavily on your decision to interview? If you are among the long-term unemployed, how are you attempting to overcome the hurdles?

Facebook is not only used as a social networking tool, but it also serves as a massive online medium for advertising to all kinds of people internationally. While several retail companies have used Facebook to get their product out in front of the masses, Facebook is also an excellent resource for companies looking to hire or obtain fans and followers.

An article online, “Facebook claims more than 31% of the display ad market” is pretty self-exclamatory by the title, but some are still resistant to even test out their recruiting efforts online. So if you’re not convinced just by the title, the article goes on to explain, “The social network had 233.9 billion more impressions than the next largest display ad publisher. Of the more than 1.11 trillion online display ads U.S. Internet users viewed in the first quarter, nearly one in three, or 31.2%, were delivered on Facebook, according to web measurement firm comScore Inc. The leading social network led all web sites that displayed ads with 346.46 billion impressions, a 96.5% jump from the 176.31 billion impressions it delivered in the same period a year ago. Yahoo Inc. sites came in second with 112.51 billion impressions, followed by Microsoft Corp.(53.59 billion), AOL Inc. (33.45 billion) and Google Inc. sites (27.99 billion).”

Still not convinced that it’s worth your time or money? “Facebook has increasingly focused on online advertising, rolling out offerings such as Sponsored Stories, an ad service that lets companies place their logos alongside content from Facebook posts that involve the company. Consumers can click the ads, which appear on the right-hand column of news feed pages in a box labeled Sponsored Story, to visit advertisers’ Facebook pages. Online display advertising is thriving, says Jeff Hackett, comScore executive vice president.

‘We are now seeing more than one trillion display ads delivered every single quarter and nearly 300 individual advertisers spending at least $1 million a quarter on display, numbers which underscore just how large and vibrant the online medium has become,’ he says. ‘And it’s not just about the volume but about the quality of the advertising experience that can be delivered as we see continued investment in compelling, high-quality creative that helps cultivate long-term brand equity.’”

And while so may be leery of the dangers of posting online or creating a company Facebook page (which, yes, some are legitimate), take a look at the competitors in your industry and see what they’re up to. Weight the cons and pros and really consider delving into embracing this option. Using Facebook isn’t just for making friends anymore.

More and more companies today have realized the value of Facebook in building relationships with consumers and applicants, as well as creating a massive fan base of interested contacts. Brands are competing to draw large numbers of FB users to join/”like” their Facebook pages to discover a more personal yet fun and informative angle on their company, product, event or specific promotion.

The usual e-mail list is beginning to give way to the Newsfeed. Lately, when subscribers receive their occasional sale announcement e-mail from their favorite clothing stores, they notice it is directing them to a Facebook page to view videos to collect their coupon for store discounts. Ocean Spray sent users to their page to sign up to receive free samples. There are even television commercials currently in rotation for Excedrin-the headache medicine, encouraging viewers to go to their Facebook page and tell them “What’s your headache?” with a promise to cure it.

Facebook’s 500 million+ users are joining/liking Facebook pages for any and everything they’re interested in. Not only are they visiting pages to register for events, freebies, discounts and contests, but also to receive and comment on updates and announcements, answer questions, and to follow any opportunities for education or career advancement.

Perhaps your recruiting practices for social media could use a boost? What are you doing to lure jobseekers to the opportunities on your Facebook page?

If you can use some help building up the number of users joining your FB careers page, and increasing the traffic of visitors viewing your job openings on Facebook, drop me a line here, or join Alstin on Facebook (click here!) and post your question to our Wall – we “like” hearing from you!

A few months ago we posted a blog about Honestly.com, a website that allows employers to rate employees and potentially rate them poorly on a public forum. But let’s be fair here as employees aren’t the only individuals in the workforce that are challenged, questioned or even attacked on the internet. On the other side of the coin rests GlassDoor.com, a website that touts itself as “as inside look at job and companies” that allows employees to anonymously rate their employment at companies, give details on their salaries, write about the office environment, the interview process and just about anything else they want. Previously, we questioned the ethics of posting on Honestly.com about employees and their performance. After all, there are so many factors to consider – whether or not the person rating is actually being honest or holds a strange vendetta against the employees, whether or not the performance at an old job that might have completely different requirements and a completely different environment is even relevant to a new job, and the list went on.

How do they define themselves?

“What is Glassdoor?

Glassdoor is a free career community where anyone can find and anonymously share an inside look at jobs and companies. What sets us apart is that all our information comes from current and former employees, interview candidates, and even the companies themselves. Now with more than a million salaries, company reviews, interview questions, office photos, and more, you have all the information you’ll need to manage your career and make more informed career decisions.

Plus, with Glassdoor’s proprietary JobScope™ technology job seekers have a new way to browse job listings and get instant, in-depth details about thousands of companies, including reviews from employees, salary information, recent news coverage, and more.

No other career or jobs site offers such detailed information about specific jobs at specific companies – all for free.”

But taking a closer look at GlassDoor.com prompts us to ponder the same questions. Is it possible that an employee just never got along with his or her superiors and is now writing to give the company a bad rep? Is it possible that their job requirements did not merit the salary they were expecting; giving them an excuse to post that the company employees pays poorly? GlassDoor.com, just like Honestly.com, allows people to give companies (instead of employees) a numeric rating based on whatever factors the person posting comes up with, as well as a list of pros and cons about the company. While for the most part, it seems as though people writing the ratings include valid pros such as benefits for full time employees, and cons such as work/life balance is tough, because people rating are allowed to basically write whatever comes to mind, this gives room for the same type of personal attack as Honestly.com does. Of course, just like Honestly.com, there are watchdog measures put into place to make sure this type of thing doesn’t happen frequently, but it only really needs to happen once to damage an individual’s or a company’s reputation. Aside from that, just because GlassDoor.com sees the post and erases it, doesn’t mean that no one else saw it and maybe posted it to their site, blog, etc.

The one ethical advantage GlassDoor has over Honestly is that GlassDoor does allow employers to fight back in way, using their own Public Relations. The site contains a “For Employers” section where, for a fee, employers can create a profile or job postings on GlassDoor that can “Tell your company’s story with an Enhanced Employer Profile. Highlight your employment brand, promote your latest job listings, and get access to advanced analytics and competitive benchmarking.”

As a professional, do you believe that the one redeeming factor on GlassDoor.com is enough? Does GlassDoor cross the same ethical lines as Honestly.com, or are they different? Is one more or less ethical than the other?

As a company, are you concerned about your reputation on the internet considering there are sites like GlassDoor that allow potentially disgruntled employees to post poor ratings?

As an employee, have you ever posted anonymously to GlassDoor or used it to research a company before applying or interviewing? Have you ever used GlassDoor.com to specifically look up salaries that a company might pay?

This is my second blog post on the candidate experience. If you read my first one, you know that the candidate experience is being talked about a lot on both sides, and the talk is NOT good. Most industry experts will tell you that, for the most part, the candidate experience today is nothing short of horrible.

Over the last few weeks, I’ve met with both senior HR leaders and students from various colleges, and they’ve both expressed their frustration. At a seminar I attended this month, a Senior VP of HR at a large, very well-known company said this about the candidate experience: “It makes me ashamed of our profession.”

And just this week there was a great article on ERE.net entitled: Talent Acquisition Steps That Enrage Not Engage which included some very frustrating but very true stories of candidates being abused by the organizations supposedly wooing them.

You may ask yourself (as I often do): If both sides agree that the candidate experience is so horrible, why doesn’t it get fixed?

I think it all (still) comes down to resources. Let’s use Jane the Recruiter as an example:

Jane is a smart, dedicated recruiter who takes a lot of pride in her profession. She’s decided she’s going to make the candidate experience better by starting in her own little corner of the world. Of course, because it’s 2011, Jane’s entire department is stretched thin, and she always seems to be juggling a hundred things that need her immediate attention. This morning Jane’s hiring manager says he needs a Tax Accountant. Internal candidates and the people in their TAS don’t really fit the bill, so the position is posted on a large job board and some niche accounting sites (and of course it gets picked up on indeed.com, search engines, etc.) By the end of the week Jane has over 500 responses, and less than one quarter of the respondents are even remotely qualified.

Okay, now it’s your turn. How can Jane be a brand ambassador for her organization and ensure that those 500 people have a good candidate experience? Suppose all 500 received a “thank you for applying” mass email after submitting their resume, and another mass email when the process ends. Does that really qualify as a good candidate experience?

As you can see, there really isn’t an easy answer to this problem. On one side, you have a recruiting department that is extremely lean and is working without the right resources/tools, and on the other side you have candidates who desperately want to join/rejoin the workforce that are flooding the market. I think as the economy continues to improve and recruiting becomes more candidate-driven, the candidate experience will have to get better, but even then it’s going to take awhile.

Recruiters: How about you? What steps are you taking to improve the candidate experience?

This past week, Alstin had some college students stop by our offices for a tour and a Q&A session. They were a great group of hopeful advertising professionals from Rowan University’s Ad Club who came prepared with thoughtful questions and the right attitude. I always emphasize to student groups the importance of gaining experience (Get it whereever you can and make the most of every experience!) and am always happy to offer tips on professional and creative ways to stand out from the crowd when looking for that first job.

There are a few examples on this blog like the Google AdWords guy and these great resumes  that I can point to, and here’s another terrific example I saw on Recruitng Blogs this week for y’all out there.

Graeme Anthony, a Brit in the PR industry created his very own Curriculum Vitae Interactive Video, or CVIV for short, that’s worth checking out.

As with the other examples, it’s not exactly a shocker that these approaches tend to be taken (and praised) by people in the creative/communication fields, but no matter what business you are in, I think you’ll enjoy this. Be sure to check out a few, if not all, of the links that show up at the end of his CVIV.

Graeme’s currently gainfully employed, but in addition to the great approach, I also like his commentary. He notes on YouTube that he made these videos public “in the hope that it inspires others to demonstrate their natural creativity and secure work.” Nice job and thanks for the inspiration Graeme!

A while back I asked the question “is this the most absurd job posting ever” over a pretty lame ad a Georgetown University student posted for an “assistant” to help with such tasks as laundering his dirty socks. Click here to check it out and I am pretty sure you will agree with me on that one.

A recent job posting has also been getting some buzz and as an (ahem) expert in all things recruitment advertising, I gotta say it’s pretty on target. The Sararasota Herald-Tribune is looking for someone to join their investigative team and Matthew Doig, the person at the paper conducting the search, does nothing short of telling it like it is.

There’s definitely a certain type of person that loves newspaper journalism (and recruitment advertising for that matter) and when all you’ve got to work with is plain text, a well-written job posting that speaks to that certain someone is sure to stand out and attract.

In this posting, Mr. Doig tells the job seeker basically if you fit the bill then “you’re our kind of sicko.” Enjoy reading it in its entirety below and if you know any of these sickos, you now know where to send them:

We want to add some talent to the Sarasota Herald-Tribune investigative team. Every serious candidate should have a proven track record of conceiving, reporting and writing stellar investigative pieces that provoke change. However, our ideal candidate has also cursed out an editor, had spokespeople hang up on them in anger and threatened to resign at least once because some fool wanted to screw around with their perfect lede.

We do a mix of quick hit investigative work when events call for it and mini-projects that might run for a few days. But every year we like to put together a project way too ambitious for a paper our size because we dream that one day Walt Bogdanich will have to say: “I can’t believe the Sarasota Whatever-Tribune cost me my 20th Pulitzer.” As many of you already know, those kinds of projects can be hellish, soul-sucking, doubt-inducing affairs. But if you’re the type of sicko who likes holing up in a tiny, closed office with reporters of questionable hygiene to build databases from scratch by hand-entering thousands of pages of documents to take on powerful people and institutions that wish you were dead, all for the glorious reward of having readers pick up the paper and glance at your potential prize-winning epic as they flip their way to the Jumble… well, if that sounds like journalism Heaven, then you’re our kind of sicko.

For those unaware of Florida’s reputation, it’s arguably the best news state in the country and not just because of the great public records laws. We have all kinds of corruption, violence and scumbaggery. The 9/11 terrorists trained here. Bush read My Pet Goat here. Our elections are colossal (Bleep! I’ll just let you fill in the blank here. – Annette). Our new governor once ran a health care company that got hit with a record fine because of rampant Medicare fraud. We have hurricanes, wildfires, tar balls, bedbugs, diseased citrus trees and an entire town overrun by giant roaches (only one of those things is made up). And we have Disney World and beaches, so bring the whole family.

Send questions, or a resume/cover letter/links to clips to my email address below. If you already have your dream job, please pass this along to someone whose skills you covet. Thanks.

Matthew Doig
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
1741 Main St.
Sarasota FL, 34236
(941) 361-4903
matthew.doig@heraldtribune.com

LinkedIn topped 100 million members this week and continues to grow at a rate of more than one member per second. Wow, congrats LinkedIn!

They created a great infographic for a frame of reference on this milestone thats pretty cool too. Are you “linked” and using the site as effectively as you can, both personally and professionally? Let me know!

I also invite anyone to join me on LinkedIn by clicking here, and if you want to bring a discussion about how to better harness LinkedIn’s potential off-line, send me an email at: adehaven@alstin.com

“Don’t worry, it’ll be fun. Trust us.”

I don’t know about you, but that sort of lingo always tends to have the opposite effect with me. The company R/GA, a branding firm, leads off the application process for their internship program with these words front and center on their website. Why all the reassurances?

Part of their application process includes allowing R/GA to interview the applicant’s friends too. On Facebook.

Yep, on Facebook. This is how they explain it:

As a part of the application process for the R/GA internship program, we’ll be posting questions on your Facebook wall for your friends to answer … we’ll post three questions – one per day …

You can opt-out of this process, but seriously, opting-out has got to equate to taking yourself out of the running. A person with the company is quoted as saying “ … this is a new way for them to demonstrate sophistication around using social media.”

I am not so sure how approving an app that will post questions on their wall to friends and family (who may be a little bit biased, ya think?) showcases social media prowess – it does show that R/GA is using social media in a new way – but to each his own.

This approach will likely be a fun exercise for the company and for the potential interns who are game. I think we’d all agree however, that this is not an approach that would sit well for the majority of hiring organizations and candidates who are already under enough pressure looking for gainful employment.

What is your take? A creative approach to recruiting? Another Big Brother experiment in HR-land? Let us know!

QR Codes. They’re popping up everywhere. I bet you’ve seen them and I bet that many of you have no idea what the heck these funky looking barcodes are all about. If you use a smartphone, you may already be onto this trend – one that’s effortless, fun and full of possibilities.

This QR code will take you to my bio on Alstin.com, complete with my 1st grade class picture.

A quick snap of the billboard in the below photo led people to a 40-second commercial featuring the (per usual) scantily clad CK models. At the spots’ finale, viewers were then able to share the code with their Facebook and Twitter networks.

The overall results? The ad agency behind the campaign used their own dynamic marketing metric software that told the client how many people watched the video as well as where and when they viewed it. According to an article on Print CEO, the agency further detailed that the measurable response “is way, way more than anyone expected. The campaign has now gone completely viral, and the hit rates are extremely high.”

The possibilities for such an application are now being explored by some forward-thinking recruiters. Just this week, ABC News reported on one such example:

Accounting giant Ernst & Young is launching a campaign in February targeting college campuses for its entry-level hiring. A unique QR code featured on campus posters and tabletop displays enables students to access a special area on the Ernst & Young website to take a short quiz that assesses knowledge of the firm. Job seekers are also prompted to sign up for optional text alerts to learn more about what’s happening with hiring at Ernst & Young.

Pretty neat.

Our society is no doubt becoming more “on demand” with every new application of technology and according to Nielsen, 51% of all Americans will be carrying smartphones by the end of 2011.

This approach really delivers. OR Codes are as immediate and on demand as you can get.

You can potentially add a QR code to anything you’re using to connect with job seekers – from your business card to an email blast (yes smartphones can read QR Codes off of a computer screen too – try out the one I added to this blog ), brochures, print ads, a billboard  … anything, and you’re able to take a potential candidate anywhere you want them to go, simply and effectively.

Have you used your smartphone to read a QR Code? If you don’t have a smartphone, are you thinking about making the switch this year? What do you think about this approach being used to help you connect with candidates? Do you agree that mobile is a great platform that needs to be tapped into more by recruiters in general? Let us know!

Did you ever wonder why certain friends’ posts always show in your Top News Feed vs. other friends? Or, why specific page’s or group’s status updates appear more consistently in your Top News stream?

Well, there’s an answer for that. Carrie Kerpen from Likeable Media wrote an excellent post on September 24^th on just this topic. And, I think you’ll find her discoveries (and her diamond ring analogy) very enlightening.

Many employers have Facebook “Fan” Pages but getting fans to engage and to remain “top of the heap” in the News Feed can be somewhat perplexing. Carrie’s article goes into great detail about “News Feed Optimization” and the three facets that will help your job related posts appear more frequently within your fans’ Top News Feeds:

Tip #1: Get new fans to “like” or interact (through “liking” or commenting) on your posts right away. The faster you can engage a new fan, the more likely you’ll appear in their Top News Feeds. This will also increase the odds of them engagement with your content in the future.

Tip #2: A comment weighs more mighty than a “like.” So, if you’re looking for Top News Feed listing, make your primary goal focused on fans’ and their comments, not just likes.

Tip #3: Promote content on your site that encourages fan activity. The more content you push out there that consistently gets “zero” comments or likes you’ll quickly drop to the bottom of the News Feed heap, or not appear at all.

The illusive News Feed…partial mysteries solved.

What are your experiences within your “Recent News Feed” vs. your “Top News Feed?” Do you notice the people you ‘stalk’ on Facebook appear more frequently than those you have limited (or no) interaction with?

And, my top (sort of related) question, “How does Facebook decide to rotate in the friend photos into your profile Wall?” These photos DO rotate and they seem to rotate with some “rhythm” as it relates to who you’re looking at on Facebook and who’s commented recently on your activity, but not 100%.

Feel free to leave your thoughts and tips here! I’d love to hear form you J

Oh, and my funny YouTube clips for the day: Sesame Street spoofing the insanely popular Old Spice campaign. Hilarious stuff. Way to go Sesame Street!

- Elmo “live’ video blogging

- Grover – “Smell Like a Monster”

I’d like to take a minute and talk about Mobile. Social and search go hand-in-hand in my mind. Like someone once said (I forget who, so apologies for not giving credit where credit is due), “Social and Search are like peanut butter and jelly.” Well, add to the mix is an extra special layer of…butter? (like my dad likes to add) or Marshmallow Fluff? or Nutella?…would be Mobile. 

Mobile is the ugly step-child of social media recruitment marketing. And, I’m not quite sure why. I hear over and over, “…it’s not proven, it’s untested, where’s the ROI? How will people apply? How will people search for a job…much less our jobs?” Yadda yadda yadda.

I’m telling you, mobile is the untapped frontier in the recruitment world and people have just started to dip their toes into this HUGE market. Of the 500 million Facebook users…150 million of them tap into the site via mobile platform.

I came across a great article about social and job search and thought, “There’s got to be an app for that!” And there are many! Do a key word search on Jobs or Careers in the App Store and you get a lot of results! 

So, what’s an employer to do about it?

Why not develop your own company “Jobs App” for people to download to their mobile device?

My perfect ‘company-focused’ jobs app would include the following:

• Search open positions (duh, but this is important – geo, keyword, industry- it must include robost searching otherwise you’ll make the end user delete your app)
• Email the job position to the end user or their friend
• Alert messages from the app when new jobs match their search queries.
• Employee testimonial videos on specific job opportunities (ie. Customer Service, Retail, Sales, Account Management, etc.)
• Calendar of events (for upcoming hiring initiatives)
• Ability for applicant to send notification of their LinkedIn profile as an ‘interest’ contact
• Promotional giveaway, or other coupon code, to entice higher download rates

 Want some more reading on the subject? Here’s what they are saying over at Forbes,  The Washington Post, and Mashable.

Mobile is the untapped frontier within the human resources industry. What are your experiences within this new space? Let me know! @JenHitchens

Tony Rosato sent me this pretty funny Dilbert cartoon the other day. I am sure many of you will also get a laugh from it, as well as relate:

A while back I wrote up a blog on this very subject. I called it “I’m taking a virtual lunch.” In a nutshell, it’s been proven time and again that productivity isn’t necessarily increased by a company policy forbidding access to social media, or for that matter decreased by the lack of one. (Most of us can log on anytime, anywhere, including the workplace, from a smart phone anyway!)

Are there social media addicts and time wasters whittling away the day on Facebook in America’s offices? No doubt. However, I would suggest that their managers manage that problem like they would any other issue vs. a blanket policy that screams “We don’t trust you!”

I also hear from many out there in HR this argument – allowing employee access to social media and/or encouraging them to act as social media ambassadors for our organization is just opening up a can of worms. The fear of Facebook and Twitter – and to a lesser extent LinkedIn – is also holding many organizations back from engaging and only encourages such policies.

Here are some stats courtesy of Social Media Examiner’s 2010 Social Media Marketing Industry Report on social media users:

• 33% visit social media sites to engage in product research before making a purchasing decision
• 47% say social media sites influence their decision to purchase specific company services and brands
• 26% changed their minds about purchasing a product after reading about it on a social media site

All of these stats effectively translate to recruiting (and retaining) strong candidates to work for your organization. Candidates – at least the smart ones, the ones you hope wind up in the interview chair – are going to research your organization. Whether that research occurs before they submit a resume, accept an invitation to interview or after an offer has been made, isn’t limited to the company line on the corporate website.

They’re certainly checking out social media to see if your company is representing and if people (current and former employees) are talking. Considering your current employees, who may be wondering if the grass is greener someplace else, the same could be true for them when it comes to investigating what your competitors are up to.

While I do not think that every single hiring organization or recruiter needs to be an aggressive social media player at the moment, there’s a very good chance that people are talking about your organization. And getting back to that Dilbert cartoon – with policies like these, what are you truly saying back?

“Over 75 million professionals use LinkedIn to exchange information, ideas and opportunities.” At least that’s what LinkedIn’s home page says, and I bet you are one of that 75 million.

LinkedIn has become an essential tool for most recruiters and professionals alike. Taking a quick look at my connections, within my network there are certainly people I’ve never actually met, directly worked with or am even likely to reconnect with. However, I have taken care when selecting those who fall within that league of my connections. I know them (or of them) on some level.

When I came across the story of “Robin Sage” this summer – a character created by Thomas Ryan, a 20 year security veteran and founder of the company Provide Security - I was pretty amazed by how far this ruse played out on social media went.

"Robin Sage"

For starters, here she is folks. As a person in the marketing world who has given hours of her life searching stock images for just the right picture, I have got to give it to Ryan, he picked the right one for the profile shot. (He created similar phoney profiles on Facebook and Twitter too.)

There’s a great interview with Ryan by ComputerWorld on his experiment to see how many people in the information security, military and intelligence fields would willingly connect and share personal information with a stranger claiming to be an expert in security/computer hacking for the Naval Network Warfare Command. Although his biggest drivers were “all the talk about cyberwarfare and cyberespionage – and what’s real and what’s not real” his findings demonstrate how getting a little too comfortable with these tools can really backfire.

Putting a magnifying glass on her profile – a 25 year old with 10 years of professional security experience? – would (should!) have resulted in a red alert. Some people who Robin Sage attempted to connect with did do a little research – calling the phone number provided on the profile, or asking her to email them directly from her military account. Yet, still others – all told 206 on LinkedIn, 226 on Facebook and 204 on Twitter – were more than happy to accept her invite.

She even got this message:

“If I can ever be of assistance with job opportunities here at Lockheed Martin, don’t hesitate to contact me, as I’m at your service,”

At your service?!! In the midst of several additional offers to apply for jobs with other organizations, there were also invites to speak at a private-sector security conference in Miami, and to review an important technical paper by a NASA researcher. Oh yea, and more than one request for dinner.

What’s your take? The old adage not to judge a book by it’s cover never gets old, that’s for sure. If you’re using LinkedIn to recruit, are you also always making a point to use Google, or other tried and true approaches, to see if things match up? We’d like to hear some of your “Sage” advice too.

Debating an email marketing campaign vs. the old familiar direct (snail) mail approach? Let me give you a few good reasons why an eblast may be the way to go.

First, let’s get the big question out of the way: Isn’t this approach just creating more spam? We’re an information and technology driven society. People opt-in (and have the ability to opt-out) to receive these messages – messages that are proven highly effective.

Effectiveness: An Ad Effectiveness Survey commissioned by Forbes Media in 2009 revealed that email and e-newsletter marketing are considered the second-most effective tool for generating conversions, just behind SEO.

Reduced Cost: We are always looking for ways to reduce costs, aren’t we? Most email blasts are considerably less expensive than direct mail – no postage, no printing. (Plus, it’s Green!: No postage, no printing = a paperless solution.) According to the Direct Marketing Association, advertisers are likely to spend $700 million on email marketing campaigns in 2010. That number jumps to a projected $45.5 billion for traditional direct mail efforts in 2010. (Makes you wonder, is there more “spam” in your mail box, or your in-box?)

Ability to Measure: When building a strategy on budget the ability to measure ROI becomes essential. Stats on open rates, click thrus and applies are made relatively easy with an electronic approach. This is valuable data that can be further used to refine your message and approach.

Highly Targeted & Personalized: Email blasts are an excellent way to target both active and passive job seekers in very specific skill sets and geographies. Plus, there may be an opportunity to personalize the message with the subscriber’s name – you can increase click-thru rates tremendously this way!

I know from experience that email marketing works. Want to learn more about how an eblast may be thie right solution to fill your next “hard-to-fill”? Drop me a line here, or send an email to: blog@alstin.com.