Facebook in Recruitment

[Kimc]

Is anyone out there using Facebook as a recruitment / attraction tool? If so, how and what has been the feedback/ results?

[tshaw]

You would actually be suprised how many recruiters use this for headhunting etc. Results have varied depending on the roles they have been seeking.

There is a document I wrote on "recruiting with facebook" available for download here.

http://www.recruitmentdirectory.com....k_applications

Business's should NOT create a "user profile" you create a "Facebook Page". Employers such as Ernst & Young, Mcdonalds, Tiger Airways , various recruitment agencies, etc have pages. Even if you are not using it for recruitment - you need to protect your business BRAND.

Groups are good to search for talent in different industries and there are 1000's of different groups. What is the best approach would be to combine a facebook page with an application to showcase your jobs or so forth.

[Kimc]

Thank you for the feedback.

[Moz]

Originally Posted by tshaw

You would actually be suprised how many recruiters use this for headhunting etc.

Go ahead, please surprise us with some evidence

I can see why headhunters might find it useful, but I'm skeptical about the value of Facebook as a recruitment tool.

[DaveG]

I can think of a way in which Facebook could be quite dangerous for an employer. Apart from the groups that exist which express very negative sentiments about certain employers the biggest worry are the closed groups for specific employers which attract thousands of their employees.

I found a group recently for employees of a global investment bank which had over 4000 members. Membership was by invitation only, which suggests that all those members were probably employees.

Imagine what could happen if a disgruntled employee (or ex employee) gave their fb access details to a headhunter. It would provide a veritable goldmine of employee names, what office they are in, most likely their job title and probably some details about their personal life.

Think of it as putting your org chart on the web

[tshaw]

Originally Posted by Moz

Go ahead, please surprise us with some evidence.

Hi Moz, I cant discuss exactly what recruitment organisations/job boards I consult to, but you can search facebook for jobs/recruitment/recruiters and you will see who is currently using it.

Some applications I can show you are:

http://apps.facebook.com/recruiterdaily - news articles from recruiterdaily.com.au
http://apps.facebook.com/onlinerecruitment - digital media jobs from onlinerecruitment.com.au
http://apps.facebook.com/retailworld-au - retail jobs etc.

David... in relation to privacy - groups can either be public or private. If a business was going to use facebook for something, they would create a "facebook page" or "application", which do not show anyone else who is currently using/installed the application. If you had a smart developer he would write into the application, some code that can track the installations/users who are using it which would install on your database.

Remember users agree to terms and conditions when they sign up to facebook, all data they enter into facebook is then open to their friends or open to anyone depending on their own privacy settings.

Have a look at Ernst & Young's facebook business page.

Please contact me directly for more details

[Moz]

Originally Posted by tshaw

Some applications I can show you are:

http://apps.facebook.com/recruiterdaily - news articles from recruiterdaily.com.au
http://apps.facebook.com/onlinerecruitment - digital media jobs from onlinerecruitment.com.au
http://apps.facebook.com/retailworld-au - retail jobs etc.

Hmm, these appear to be little more than the companies web sites presented in a facebook window that is too small and requires both vertical and horizontal scrolling to view the page. It also requires the fb user to log in and provide access to user's fb profile etc whereas they would have a much better experience on the company's original web site, in anonymity. I notice the retailworld group has 15 friends and no recent activity. Nothing to shout home about.

People use Facebook for communicate with their friends. If they want to find a job they go to a job board.

It would be great if someone out there could provide some empirical evidence that facebook provides real value as a recruitment tool.

[Moz]

Thought this was an interesting and insightful article by David Gillespie, the 'Digital Manager' at Hippo Jobs, a job board for the younger workers (well at least it seems to be!)

Incredible as it may seem to some people here, Hippo Jobs do NOT have a Facebook application.

Among other things David says in his article;

"What people fail to understand is the activities carrying the social media boom have always been social. Music, movies, fan clubs, photos of friends, staying in touch, whatever."

"Now think about things that aren’t traditionally shared. It’s an easy shot for me to take, but I’m going to go with job hunting."

Never a truer word spoken in jest.

read the full article here

[mspecht]

Moz,

Hippo is a job board for younger workers but also addresses the needs of part time workers as well.

I agree but disagree with David that job hunting is not a social activity. Yes most people don't want to share the details of the job hunt process, the interviews, rejections and the fact they are even looking for a job. However the process of sourcing jobs (and candidates) has always been a social activity and will always be a social activity. Job boards having a FB application makes no sense, in fact other social networks having a FB application makes even less sense, we have seen variations on both in Australia to date! But using FB to source possible candidates does make sense, but not in the general run of the mill sourcing process. In industries where demand is outstripping supply yes it can help. But as with the shampoo and it won't happen over night but it will happen :-). Social networks are not an overnight success.

On a related note the use of LinkedIn and Linkme by recruiters is growing rapidly.

Rgds
Michael