Social Networking and its link to Recruitment
As skills become more specialised and the needs of employers rely increasingly on specific expertise, candidate selection can be a difficult experience for both employer and candidate.
An inside track or additional knowledge of one party by the other and vice versa can be hugely beneficial to the recruitment process. Social Networking can, if used correctly, be just the vehicle to facilitate this.
There are a number of ways in which social networking and web 2.0 technology is being used in the recruitment process. One example is the high number of firms taking advantage of the business profile option on social networking sites such as Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace and Bebo. Companies are using their presence on these sites to sell themselves as an employer and make contacts with potential employees – this has benefits for both parties. The employer can look at their contacts personal profiles and see what kind of person the potential employee is, and this can help with personality profiling and help judge whether this person would be a good match for the culture at the firm. The potential employee can find out more about the company from its profile e.g. corporate social responsibility, ethical policies and it may help them decide if that is the type of organisation they would like to work for.
Facebook: one of the many places where candidates exist
Another way in which firms have embraced social networking technology to aid their recruitment drive is through blogging. International firms such as Microsoft and Accenture have bloggers from within the company posting on their recruitment sites talking about their work and inviting comments from others who are interested in working there. This can add a human touch to what can sometimes be quite a sterile process when applying for a job in a multinational organisation. The only potential downside to this is that many people will be cynical about the comments of a current employee published on their employers website as the blogger is hardly likely to say derogatory things about the company.
There is also the thorny issue of privacy. By connecting with people in the social networking domain, companies can get access to a wide range of personal data and information about an individual. Firms using social networking will have to be very careful in how they use this data (if at all) and be aware of the multitude of laws which are designed to protect home users on the worldwide web.
In summary, although social networking is the current buzzword in the online world, there is no definitive answer as to how it can be successfully utilised in the recruitment process. There is increased opportunity to interact with candidates and build a wider network of candidates but social networking is still quite a way from replacing the more traditional forms of advertising such as online job boards and print advertising.
