Social Networks Are Not Just About Having Fun.

I’ve been banging on about the importance of social networking to recruitment and my job networks on Twitter are gaining a considerable following @JobsAustralia @Jobseen @GamerJobs @ITJobsSydney as an example. Check out this article from the weekend Courier Mail by Amanda Horswill. Read article here. You’d have to be an ostrich not to notice the level of media coverage social networks receive these days. “These networks won’t work”, “It’ll take years before social networks are vital to recruiting”, said the critics. I say the critics need a rethink on these claims. I say, social networking is already integral. If you don’t believe me, read in this article what Iggy Pintado has to say about my ideas…

Ah. I love it when a plan comes together.

Other adaptations of social networking techniques create new takes on a traditional job board. Online Recruitment owner Geoff Jennings says he runs a number of different Twitter accounts that “feed” (provide updates to) “followers” (people who agree to receive his messages) a one-line description of particular categories of jobs, followed by a weblink to the job ad on a different website such as Careerone.com.au. The information he uses is collated by a third party, a website called an aggregator (www.recruit.net), which “scrapes” information off a number of websites and collates it into a single-line description called a “news feed”. Jennings takes this news feed, combines it with an RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feed from other sites than ban aggregation, and mixes in a few of his client’s positions that he is contracted to fill. He then broadcasts the jobs on Twitter, under account names such as ITjobsbris and ITjobssydney and gamerjobs.

“At this stage I am just testing the service. My company is not yet big enough to draw a large following on Twitter if I only put the jobs my company was recruiting for. But if I put many jobs on I can feed to a broader audience,” he says.

“That’s my strategy, anyway. I am very up-front about it (on those accounts).”

He maintains a personal account under his own name: “I don’t flog jobs in there, it’s to brand me as a recruiter. But on the other accounts, people don’t want to see me in there among the jobs.”

He says while he doesn’t get a large number of inquiries from Twitter to his company’s positions, the response so far is promising.

“I do get a lot of people ‘re-Twitting’. That’s when people pick up my Tweet and put a RT in front of it and send it out to their network. Then you get that community-based thing going. From that, I have had emails saying ‘I am interested, tell me more’.”

Social networking expert and author of Connection Generation Iggy Pintado says Jennings could possibly represent the future direction of Twitter.

Social Niche Job Boards

I’ve been banging on about social job boards for yonks now. And there are still folks out there who remain unconvinced of their supremacy over traditional job boards. Or, at the least, there are folks who think this so-called supremacy is a long way off.

So, in an effort to practise what I preach (amen, do you you hear me brothers and sisters?); in an effort to get that particular ball rolling, I’ve decided to have a shot at a couple of social job boards. Here they are: SalesZoo & GamerJobs

Go and check them out. Here’s a chance for the members of the congregation to critique me for a change. Be gentle:)