Articles - Recruiting and Candidate Dev

Our world of sourcing/researching/recruiting is much more complicated these days than it used to be. As staffing consultants, you can’t just post an opportunity on job boards and wait for candidates to come –

although some “old-schoolers” still do! (you know who you are) As technologies (Internet and mobile) are taking off, we in the staffing industry really need accept how recruiting is quite similar to a marketing campaign.

Social media has forced us to think outside of our comfort areas and to go to the talent instead of them coming to us. These tools have really revolutionized the way we recruit and have helped us leverage engagement and community messaging in order to reach active and passive diverse talent.

Our recruiting strategies won't be as straightforward as before. Whether or not you want to accept it, our industry is changing. When I think of where we will be after we master the areas of social media – and some sourcers are already ahead of the curve – my prediction is that mobile recruiting will be our next natural phase of direct engagement. 

We will extend our company’s or our client’s brand value in the mobile space and markets our jobs through apps and reaches the individual by a ping. Think about how many people look at their phone when they hear an alert sound – I’ll bet you do as well.

Our recruiting strategies ranging from talent market research, employment branding, integrated sourcing channels, communication strategy, and tools have become critical components to aid us in competing against our competitors and are necessary to gain a sharp edge in the talent war of the future. This quote really says it all in what we are experiencing with recruiting and technologies in the New Year to come “Life is learned backward, but lived forward”.

Whenever you want to move forward, the best way is to look behind. What I mean by this thought; is that we should learn from our past and be open of change and welcome new technology in which is changing our roles as recruiters no matter what role you are in (Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, etc)

Looking toward the future, these tools will continue to revolutionize the way we recruit and, as mentioned earlier, have helped us leverage engagement and community messaging in order to reach active and passive diverse talent. The sourcers who choose to work looking toward the future of sourcing are catching job seekers at home, at work, and now, on the go!

This is a wake-up call to the sourcers who still haven’t accepted the “Web 2.0” recruiting approach that has offered us a different way of engaging the talent we all seek. I say this affectionately – however, my personal choice for the future is mobile recruiting. It’s already changing how we master both our personal and corporate social footprints and add elements of communication to our existing recruiting campaigns.

Using both social media and mobile as means of sourcing and recruiting will connect you with the job seekers you want a lot quicker, and they will open new doors for you to form a relationship which will give you credibility and trust. By reaching them through a text, they instantly see that you're on hand to help with their job searches.  I like to call it “mobile one-on-one,” which allows personal communication to each individual; this is invaluable in our efforts of engagement!

But with all the focus now on mobile, what then are we supposed to do with our social footprint that we spent the last three years building? My thought is this: take it with you – “on the go” – on your mobile! In 2011, recruiting can expect to see these transformative technologies make the critical transition from early adopter status to early mainstream adoption.

A range of new applications will continue to explode in 2011, securing another critical plank in the new industry platform, and there will be no looking back.

The recruiting industry will scramble to secure their position in this rapidly expanding market; another battle will be taking place for dominance in the mobile apps and social media markets. What really distinguishes the year ahead is that these emerging technologies are finally being integrated with each other – social media with mobile, and mobile with social.

My prediction for 2011: MOBILE will be the next recruiting revolution to take our social footprint into the clouds!!

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About the Author

Kay Kelison is a seasoned researcher and social media strategist; creative, strategic and passionate with 12+ years of exceptional experience with such companies as T-Mobile, Amazon, Wachovia, Saltmine, Start-Ups, and is a Principal Sourcer/Research for Bing/Online Division Services for Microsoft. Knowledge of web 2.0 technologies and social media platforms. Proven aptitude identifying opportunities, implementing solutions, and increasing visibility through video, blogs and social networks. Experience with international teams and diversity initiatives.

Responsible for strategy and development of marketing Internet-based social media / social networks communities, including the development of Mobile Recruiting, Blogs, MySpace, Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter and online video spaces such as Vimeo, YouTube. Accomplished Published/Speaker engagements which include executive round tables, business marketing and leadership teams, MBA, and SourcCon, etc She is a part of the Pacific Northwest Sourcing 7 SIG which is a sub-group of Pacific Northwest Recruiter Association, this group is to enhance our local strategic Talent Engagement community by leveraging expertise in the areas of Sourcing, Research and Social Media to attract the right talent to our organizations.

Kay Kelison CIR, ACIR, CDR | Talent Sourcer

Advertiser and Publisher Solutions Group (APS)
Office 425-707-2702/  kaykel@microsoft.com / advertising.microsoft.com

and her blog http://kaykel.posterous.com/

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