Talent Management - December 2008 - (Page 19)

Online Networking’s Role in Passive Recruiting Deanna Hartley During the past few years, the popularity of online social and professional networks has continued to grow — the major players being Facebook, LinkedIn and MySpace. Talent managers have observed the transformation, and the savvy ones have asked themselves, “How can this phenomenon translate into a profitable business move for those recruiting passive candidates?” Lauryn Franzoni, vice president and executive editor at executive recruiting and human capital ﬁrm ExecuNet, said the plethora of information at recruiters’ disposal opens up a realm of recruiting opportunities that previously did not exist. “Ten years ago, people would sit around the management table and someone would say, ‘We need somebody to lead this new initiative.’ They would all look at each other and say, ‘Who do you know?’ and candidates would be identiﬁed that way,” Franzoni said. “[Today], there’s increasing demand. The war for talent is at an intense level and expected to intensify because the average job market has become very transparent, and people are more transparent,” she explained. “With the advent of Internet-based job boards and so many forms of social media, the word about people and opportunities travels faster.” Franzoni said sites such as Facebook and LinkedIn, as well as mediums such as blogs, are valuable tools for recruiters because they provide deeper insight into the lives and interests of passive candidates they intend to pursue. “Recruiters need to know the people they’re calling,” Franzoni said. “What interests do they have? How can I strike up a better, more powerful conversation? Like in any business, you need to know what the target market’s needs are.” Companies also must take into account the demographics of social network users, said Stephen Lowisz, president and CEO of Qualigence, a recruitment research and professional search ﬁrm. “The biggest mistake companies make with social networking is saying to their recruiters, ‘Here’s a social networking tool; go ﬁnd candidates.’ [And] they don’t know who’s actually on them,” Lowisz said. “Recruiters have to know what they are looking for and where to ﬁnd it.” Niche industry-related networking sites or online communities can be particularly advantageous to passive recruiters, said Barbara Ling, CEO of Recruiters Internet Strategic Education (RISE). For example, recruiters can tap into online communities to ﬁll difﬁcult-to-source positions such as mobility engineering professional and industrial boiler operator, which require specialized skills. “The idea is for recruiters to say, ‘I’m here to make your life better by ﬁnding you a new job’ — because these people don’t know they need a new job,” Ling said. “They may not need a new job, but they’re part of a network and that network might have [people who do]. If you can tap into the network and be perceived as a value-added resource, then you’re not just a recruiter — you’re presenting the beneﬁts that make you the recruiter of choice.” Recruiters need to present themselves as authorities within a given industry because passive job seekers are more inclined to trust and respect recruiters who are knowledgeable, Ling said. One way for passive recruiters to establish credibility with passive candidates is to leverage an online medium as a resource on speciﬁc industryrelated topics. For instance, a recruiter’s Facebook page may contain links that direct passive candidates to check out industry blogs, articles and other targeted resources that enable them to broaden their knowledge of a particular industry. “That’s one of the beneﬁts of Internet recruiting: You’re not limited,” Ling said. talent management magazine www.talentmgt.com 19 http://www.talentmgt.com

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Talent Management - December 2008 Editor's Letter Contents Human Performance Leading Edge Foundations Recruitment & Retention Assessment & Evaluation Compensation & Benefits Performance Management Learning & Development Succession Planning Insight Dashboard Application Advertiser's Index Editorial Resources Full Potential

Talent Management - December 2008

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