Recruitalicious

This just in! Now anyone can post their own news stories on YouTube via YouTube Direct. The idea is to connect citizens and journalists, and is designed as a “new tool that allows media organizations to request, review and rebroadcast YouTube clips directly from YouTube users.”  YouTube posted the announcement on its YouTube Blog a few weeks ago, and, judging from the posts on social media sites like Twitter, the idea seems to be well-received.

I think this is pretty cool. On its blog, YouTube discusses how news is changing with video cameras. Anyone can document what’s happening, as long as some kind of camera is there to capture it. YouTube has positioned itself as a major site where people from all over the world can go to watch news, and now news organizations can use it to connect with citizen reporters and broadcast to a larger audience. Citizen reporters benefit as well, since they can broadcast their footage to their own audience and also gain more exposure if a news organization picks up their stories. According to a Mashable post, ABC News, The Washington Post and the San Francisco Chronicle are already using the application. Read the rest of this entry »

I want to pose a question: how do you use  LinkedIn to source candidates? If you’re like me, you use the “Relevance” option to sort your search results. And while I thought this was a great way to help me find the best candidates, after reading a recent Boolean Black Belt blog post, I realized that I’ve ignored a large part of what LinkedIn has to offer.

My long-held assumption was that “Relevance” only returns results based on the words I enter. However, sorting by “Relevance” is the default value. Duh, why didn’t I know that?  I thought it was awesome that my computer knew me so well that it automatically went to “Relevance” to sort my search results (apparently, that’s not the case).

According to the post, when you sort by this value, you’re getting results based on what LinkedIn thinks is relevant, which differs greatly from how other source sites like Google, Twitter and Applicant Tracking Systems work. These sites sort according to what keywords are entered. LinkedIn sorts by a combination of factors– this includes what you searched for, but also your “social graph” (1st, 2nd, and 3rd degree connections).

About a year ago, LinkedIn launched a new search platform. It explained that the relevance of search results is affected by each person’s professional network on the site. Relationship is key. That means that LinkedIn tries to personalize the relevance, placing professionals that are most likely to be of interest to the one executing the search at the top of the first search results page. Read the rest of this entry »

It took me awhile to find something to write about for this week. I wanted an idea that was a little more specific than social networking sites in general. So, I decided to focus on Twitter, and Twitter alone. Twitter serves as a virtual conversation, a way to pass along ideas, see what everyone’s talking about, and learn some new information along the way. But, like physical conversations, Twitter can be overcrowded and noisy. And when you’re a recruiter, you’re on a social networking site for a specific purpose, and you want to be noticed among all the other talk happening at the same time. A CruiterTalk.com article discussed four ways for recruiters to creatively use Twitter. I found the article to be very interesting, and wanted to share some of the insight it contained:

1. Creating a Twitter account for one specific purpose helps to keep the conversation noise to a minimum, and therefore be able to hear what you want. For example, recruiters can refer to a database of people they’ve found elsewhere, either from résumés sent to you or e-mail addresses. Then, you can find these people on Twitter and follow them. That way, your account follows only those you want to see for a particular job. Read the rest of this entry »

A push exists for recruiters to integrate social media into their everyday routines. It’s not just about phone calls anymore– suddenly we’re expected to have a reach beyond the telephone line. Lately, new recruiting efforts have emerged, thanks to the rise of social media. This trend seems as though it’s here to stay. Matt Alder’s article, “Six Key Elements of Social Recruiting,” lays out what he believes are important ideas to strengthen a company’s social recruiting skills. While I agree with his elements as imperative to social recruiting, I think a big part of the picture is to combine the digital world with the physical world. Read the rest of this entry »

I’m new to the Twitter-mania. Yes, I tweet, re-tweet and follow people, but I’m still learning how to use some of the site’s features. For example, I just learned how to use hashtags (and also what that word means, for that matter). I also recently installed Twitterberry to my cell phone. It seems like everyday I learn one more Twitter-related idea. Today’s lesson? Twitter is now home to some of the largest companies’ job boards.

Many large companies, like Microsoft Corp. and Viacom Inc.’s MTV Networks, now list their job openings on Twitter. Since the recession, online job boards have skyrocketed in number, and companies are choosing to go the cheaper route. Although this seems a bit unconventional, after reading The Wall Street Journal’s article, I found myself agreeing with this practice. Read the rest of this entry »

With economic bad times continuing to loom overhead, employers and business owners are getting creative in how they bring in their next great employee or long-time customer. I recently read an article that combined the best of both worlds: network with prospective employers and receive a free pair of  !iT Jeans valued at $65 – $70. WOW.

Read the rest of this entry »

Are you having a hard time coming up with ways to find top notch talent?  Check out the Boolean Black Belt website.  This site offers information on the latest ways to source for candidates on LinkedIn, Twitter and more.  I use this site often to learn new ways to search for candidates or to see how others are using the latest technology.  There is an archive to view past postings.  It is free to sign up and receive their email which usually includes a lot of information.  I have found this site to be very reliable and hope others will as well!

Image by tcmhitchhiker