Recruiters: Do you really get all this social media stuff?

This is part 1 of a 5-part series on e-Recruitment. Resource Management are sponsoring the "RPO and e-Recruitment Forum" on the 29th September. To find out how to book your place, click here.

We all know what social media is, and according to eMarketer.com, 62.5% of 16-54’s worldwide have a social networking profile. But how many of us really ‘get’ it? Especially where business is concerned.

To highlight some of the statistics surrounding social media, take a look at this video by Socialnomics.net.

It’s a real eye-opener as to how we should be utilising social media (in addition to traditional media) where sourcing new talent is involved.


Tools for e-recruitment

“80% of companies use LinkedIn as a primary tool to find employees”

[Socialnomics.net]

As well as the usual social platforms, some companies are thinking out of the box when “e-recruiting” new talent. Back in 2007, Informa announced that they were using the virtual world “Second Life” to advertise new positions, and help employees develop their careers.

Kelly Services launched their virtual island providing “in-world job scenarios” to show potential employees what their job would actually look like, along with a microsite.



And in November 2008, Kelly launched “The Jobbit” for searching Second Life for real-life jobs in real-time – still with me?


Associated benefits

So why e-recruit with social media?

According to the CIPD (Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development), e-recruitment:

• Reduces costs
• Decreases time it takes to hire
• Adds a greater flexibility for candidates
• Strengthens the employer brand image

Perhaps most importantly, e-recruitment helps us to form relationships with potential candidates and build a talent pool for future use.


Next week, we’ll be smiling inwardly to ourselves and looking at some of the worst uses of social media to date.