I read an interesting article the other day about social recruiting and how it's not quite here yet. That may be the case, but it's definitely pretty close. There might not be a one size fits all site where you can capture everything you need to know about a candidate from a personal connection, as the writer suggested there should be, but maybe there doesn't need to be. There's already plenty of opportunities for employers to personally connect with candidates.
Job site CareerBuilder has a Talent Network which includes social media, personalized job recommendations, employee referrals, and a mobile-friendly interface. Employers can invite candidates to join their Talent Network from Facebook. CareerBuilder's new Facebook referral app, Work@, makes it easy for workers to identify which Facebook friends are a match for open positions within their company and instantly share those opportunities.
Tech job site Dice has a social recruiting platform where job seekers can connect directly with recruiters. Candidates are able to create profiles, which can include links to their social networking profiles, including LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, and blogs. To take it a step further, employers and job seekers can directly connect on Dice via a message center, real time chat, an instant message tool, and email.
LinkedIn announced two new products this month. The Referral Engine will enable companies to generate more high-quality applicants by tapping the professionals in their employees' LinkedIn networks. Jobs for You allows companies to pick their audience based on LinkedIn profile data -- including function, seniority, industry, and more-- and distribute their jobs exclusively to individuals with professional backgrounds that match their hiring needs.
Look at LinkedIn company pages and you'll see who you know at the company and who your connections know.
Read the Facebook Marketplace Notifications email you get and you'll see which of your friends have posted jobs. You'll also be notified if your friends' friends post jobs.
LinkUp's Facebook application, Current Jobs at Our Company, automatically feed jobs daily from a company website to a Facebook fan page. Job seekers can 'share' jobs with friends by posting to their personal Facebook profile wall or by email.
Use job search engine, SimplyHired.com and click on "Who Do I Know" to see your Facebook friends and LinkedIn connections at the companies in the search results.
There may not be one way to get at everything employers want to know about an applicant or job seekers want to know about a company. But, again, maybe there shouldn't be. The lines are already blurred between personal and professional and I don't see anything the matter with keeping them that way, as best we can - and keeping your Facebook profile, along with your likes and your interests and your friends, as private as you want them to be.
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