Social Networking & Recruiting

What does your social networking page say about you? Social Networking isn't just for "kids" on MySpace. The numbers are astounding and I don't want to discredit MySpace by not focusing on them because their community is enormous, where Facebook is climbing and comes in a far second with 100Million registered members and LinkedIn which started as a business network is growing rapidly with 1M new users ever 20 days (give or take). These are the more common household social networking sites where people can make friends, ask questions and passively and actively look for connections and jobs.

What does this have to do with Hiring and Recruiting - as a potential candidate passive or otherwise here is a tip - google yourself. Review your social networking sites and be sure that they represent you well. This doesn't mean set yours to private, although that is a definite option especially if you are in search mode, but it does mean keep anything that could be looked at as potentially inappropriate off your site. Don't be afraid to be yourself and show who you are because you want to fit into the company you are going to work for but you want to be viewed as reliable and professional too.

As recruiters and hiring managers - if you have social networking sites follow the above but also try and brand yourself and your company as the place of choice by adding some personality and flare. The market right now is actually tight when it comes to the good passive candidates and they are being even more selective in making a change and are looking to you as a recruiter to share all of the great details about your organization. Share team building photos, contests and company missing statements to name a few.

Use these sites as a way to build your network and gain trust with potential candidates to get yourself the edge on your competitors.

What are others seeing out there with social networking and recruiting?