Inc. 500 CEOs Use Social Media for Business

What surprised me most about this report on large private businesses using social media was that LinkedIn wasn't the big winner here--it was Twitter:

To account for the rise in popularity of newer types of social media, this year's study also asked respondents about their interaction with sites like Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, and MySpace. Not surprisingly, the study found that many of the companies have already embraced these sites for running their business, with Twitter being the most widely used of them at 52 percent of the total respondents.

I can only guess that it is the immediacy of Twitter's usefulness that has allowed it to be so broadly used by businesses. Breaking news and the ability to interact with peers in (more or less) real time is not something that I get from LinkedIn.

Also, although the research touches upon how businesses are more broadly adopting and using social media for things like communicating with vendors and suppliers, I'm still not seeing much emphasis upon its value as an employment branding tool. It's so easy to think about using social media to buy products or services or even to think about its implications for the supply chain. Why is it so easy to forget about one of its most valuable abilities to connect people with opportunities at companies?

Inc. 500 CEOs Use Social Media for Business

Unemployment Statistics and Links

Here's a story from Forbes that was a good discussion of unemployment statistics stating that unemployment is likely still headed for 12 or 13%.

And here's a local story from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel by Joel Dresang about unemployment in Wisconsin holding steady at 8.4%. Angela Harris and I were quoted at the end of the story about our continuation of the Milwaukee JobCamp as a viable way for people still being affected by the economic downturn to stay focused and get good information to think about and search for their next work option.

Recruitalicious? Delicious!

The fine folks at Pinstripe have created a playful music video for the Social Recruiting Summit that was just held in New York. It was a hoot to see some familiar Wisconsin faces in the video and many kudos to the Pinstripe crew for putting themselves out there and trying to put some fun, original content out on the web.

And now, for your viewing pleasure, the music video.



I'm sure it was a big hit at the event. I wonder what they did as an encore?

Dear Recruiter, The Social Web is Not Your Cookie Jar

Over at AIRS, I noticed a training course for a Certified Social Sourcing Recruiter. Wow. I've got to wonder to whom this course will appeal. If you're already a recruiter who uses social media, you are well aware of how these technologies are enabling you to find and meaningfully engage with talented people. If you're not, I feel like this course description may give a somewhat skewed impression of the principles social media is fundamentally about.

If you read the description, there seems to be this undercurrent of somehow using the social networks to get more "passive" candidates in your hiring pipeline by finding them with Boolean searches, tips, and tricks. You have to really dig down through a lot of language about "name sourcing" and something about creating a "viral funnel of talent" (I get what they are saying, but the phrase sounds disgusting) before they say anything about using these tools to create a favorable employment brand for your company.

Significantly, the course description uses the words "leverage" and "create," but nowhere does it talk about engaging, interacting or contributing.

Isn't social media about building relationships and adding value to the networks? I truly don't mean to give AIRS a bloody nose here--they are a fine company and I only use them as an example--but these tools are not a cookie jar for recruiters. If you're just using the networks in a one-way fashion to source names or leverage networks and are not giving back to the community, then you're sooner or later going to be outed as a leech.

I hope that most recruiters get that by now. I am sure that many do not. On LinkedIn, for example, still a bastion for much recruiting activity, I continue to receive the "stupid recruiter trick" message in my Inbox asking me to send an invite so that the sender can connect. If you're so interested in connecting with me, then why in the world aren't you sending me the invite? This manipulative tactic is employed by individuals who wish to grow their networks but either no longer have invites of their own to send or else they are so close to reaching that limit that they are jealously guarding the few remaining ones they have. (The idea here is that the larger your network is on LinkedIn, the broader your ability to "see" everyone within the user base.)

My other favorite misuse is the recruiter who wishes to connect with me to see my network, but does not open his or her own reciprocally. These behaviors are driven by a fundamental misunderstanding of the how's and why's of social networking and proceed from nothing less than fear.

We have nothing to fear but social media itself...

I had the chance to watch a recent video from Clay Shirky and listened to him talking about how social media has upset institutions like newspapers. During the interview (forward to about 8:30 to hear what he says exactly), Shirky talks about how newspapers have struggled mightily with social media because it has shattered the old cost structures and made it harder to collect money for print advertising.

Sound familiar? I firmly believe that this is precisely what's happening to recruiters and why we're seeing all of these bad behaviors.

Third party recruiters are feeling pressure from fewer and reduced placement fees, a commoditization of the profession that I attribute directly to the democratization of information and cheaper cost structures of social media. Corporate recruiters are worried that their already misunderstood and maligned ability to find talented people for the company will be further denigrated and eroded by hiring managers who believe that they can just as effectively recruit for their own open positions using social media tools. Fear drives strange and desperate actions.

Recruiters can try to pretend (for a little while longer at least) that the social web is just another evolution of the rolodex full of business cards, but ultimately we'll be taken to task for misusing networks by breaking trust with those who are legitimately there to interact and contribute. Unlike a static database, your participation in a social network implies a social contract that you will be present to contribute interesting, helpful ideas to the community for the betterment of all and not simply to fatten your wallet.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not against making money from what I do. However, I do care about how hiring professionals represent themselves in the social web. Do we want to keep creating the impression that recruiters are nothing more than sharks milling about the social network waters for fresh meat? There is a better way: participate in online communities and become a trusted advisor to the pool of talent you wish to recruit. But this way requires presence and commitment and contribution and there are no shortcuts.

The Recruiter is Dead. Long live Facebook?

This week, the Globe and Mail site published an article talking about how recruiters, "head hunters" in particular, are being sidestepped by employers who are using social networks like Facebook and LinkedIn to recruit directly. By leveraging their personal social networks and posting a need out on Twitter or other networks, these hiring managers can avoid hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of placement fees.

The love-hate relationship that old school recruiters have with social media is something that has been with us a long time. On the one hand, it makes it so much easier for a recruiter to learn about a company and find people for their requirements. It's quicker and much more targeted than the days when recruiters would have to use their rolodexes or, worse, dial in "cold" to a company with any of a variety of ruses like "I was referred confidentially to you as someone who has an excellent professional background in [fill in the blank]."

Has the day of the recruiter passed? Has social networking obviated the need for the recruiter who turns over rocks until the perfect candidate is uncovered? What happens when all the "rocks" have been removed?

Recruiting Has Changed

I have for a long time said that recruiting will be less and less about the ability to turn over a database with good search terms. And while I don't think that the recruiting profession is going the way of the dinosaur any time soon, I firmly believe that it is being eroded.

Let's face facts. Most hiring managers barely have the time to set aside to manage a few interviews. An increasing number will grow savvy about leveraging social networking tools to grow their business, which will increasingly damage the profits of contingency and retained recruiters. This pressure will change how recruiting works and will almost certainly marginalize recruiters who take the view that their networks should somehow be protected and private hunting grounds.

Is this a good development?

Milwaukee Employers: Please Support Professionals with Disabilities, Attend Thursday Event

Of all the local groups I have been involved with AbilITy Connection has been the most rewarding. The group is sponsored by Goodwill Industries of Southeastern Wisconsin and has been a source of employment opportunities for professionals with disabilities for many, many years.

The AbilITy Connection Business Advisory Council consists of professionals from throughout the region. A couple of times a year, we make a drive to raise awareness and find new participants for the council. This Thursday is one of those events. We'll be holding a panel discussion of opportunites in Information Technology, looking at the current market and what we may have to look forward to over the next year.

AbilITy Connection fills your diversity hiring needs
Simply put, if you are an employer and hire IT professionals, you should be here. No excuses. Many organizations have diversity hiring initiatives, but disabled professionals are a chronically underemployed and underrepresented group. You can sign up for the program here. It's free and no pressure. Come and see what we're about.

2009 AbilITy Connection Fall Forum

View more documents from Todd Nilson.