Over the last few weeks I have presented at two different REC events - the Executive Recruiters Autumn Congress and yesterday at REC's first ever Annual Conference, as well as the cleverly titled Recruiting Unconference. The audiences have therefore been a good selection of the recruitment industry.
I have been very surprised at the very small numbers of them that say they are using the different types of social media to help them in their recruitment jobs.
Yes, the majority have a Facebook account, but that is solely for their friends and family networks. Many have LinkedIn accounts, but very few are using them properly to help them with their day job. I met with a recruitment industry salesperson yesterday at REC, who didn't even realise that they could source target companies (recruitment agencies) via LinkedIn. And when it came to Twitter, I might just as well have been talking about the anti-christ!
One of my slides when I have been presenting, includes the images below. For me recruiters fall into one of the three categories:
Total Apathy.
Confused about which way to go.
Simply sticking their head in the sand.
I actually think it is a bit of all three!!
I guess what I have learnt is that the majority of people in the recruitment industry just don't get social recruiting yet!!
I have already had feedback via Twitter (yesterday when I posed a similar question), that we should equate this whole social recruiting thing to job boards and the time it took for them to be accepted. Well that may be the case, but I think things are changing at a much faster rate! I was around in recruitment when job boards first arrived on the scene, to fanfares and ticker tape parades. It took years for recruiters and companies for the online penny to drop (and some still don't believe it works now!!), so we know it will take time.
But, and it a very big but, social recruiting is no respecter of time. The companies and recruiters that have 'got it' are already reaping the benefits. They are accessing and engaging with candidates like they have never done before, and are finding it to be truly revolutionary for recruitment.
And do you know what?
Candidate expectation of companies and recruiters using different social media channels to communicate and engage with them, rises every single day. It is they who will be the drivers. They will dictate how recruiters and companies will succeed or fail within social recruiting.
Why? Because social media has no respect of reputations. Big or small - it doesn't matter who you are; by not getting involved sends a bigger message out than getting involved and making some mistakes. Candidates will be attracted to companies and recruiters that they can engage, communicate and build a relationship with via social media, not the ones don't even try!
Now you may be thinking that it doesn't matter at the moment, because of the recession. Yes, there are loads of candidates out there at the moment, but that will start to change....and it will start to very soon. If as a recruiter you have been 'toughing' it out, waiting for the good times to roll again, think again.
The recruitment landscape has now changed for ever.
Social Recruiting IS HERE TO STAY. The quicker you get started the less ground you are going to have to make up with your competitors!
So if you need help in 2010 with understanding the benefits of social recruiting just ask - I will be happy to oblige!
