Social Networking and Recruiters

[Jackie Teal]

Using social (and “professional”) networks should be a common practice
among recruiters. Just the other night I used my knowledge of social
network sourcing to generate a handsome list of candidates for a
client. I personally use LinkedIn as my professional networking
site. You can say that Twitter is my a networking tool as well.
Facebook is all about me and the friends and family I associate with.
Very savvy recruiters learn to take advantage of these sites by
joining groups and becoming fans of organizations.

There are many ways to take advantage of social networking sites.
Here are some ways that recruiters can use social networks to their
advantage:

Establish your own business profile
Build business-relevant networks
Maintain a networking interchange
Make new connections
Conduct candidate searches
Find new business
Research people and companies
Real-time communication
Expand visibility and influence
Develop information exchange portals
This list is not exhaustive by any means. With functionality and
benefits like those on the list, it is no wonder social networking
has been widely adopted by recruiters. Jobscience even integrates
their ATS and strategic sourcing tool with today's most popular
networks including: LinkedIn, MySpace, FaceBook, Twitter, etc.

You would be amazed at the amount of information that is accessible
within seconds. Invest in yourself and career and join a social
network. The experience and networking will be valuable.