Leveraging the New Internet and Social Networking for your Career

It was not that long ago that the World Wide Web was only cool for chatting and checking out various static pages, job boards and some blogging for those looking to make a change in their careers. What happened? The WWW truly went worldwide and is now in the homes and on the laps of many of my beloved remote Alaskan family members. Now they can see the latest jobs we are working on, harass me real-time on Facebook, and even apply to my tweets on Twitter.

If you think your networking skills are a bit rusty, I am willing to bet that you may have very little or no internet social networking experience. Not to worry… you are not alone. Many of the clients I help are in the same spot: mid to late career professionals who have rarely had to present a resume, let alone now having to navigate the complexities of the latest in internet resources. The big question is, Where do I start?” Staying true to form, I will say “it depends.” It depends on: Where are the people in your industry hanging out, where is your personal network lingering these days on-line, who is hiring in your career niche and where are they putting their money and time on-line?

Before just jumping in and making real work of trying to be on every social networking site, job board and reading all the latest blogs, first sit down and try to answer the questions just asked above. Chances are good that you will find niche communities, groups and recruiters (internal and headhunters) on very specific sites or part of specific groups. In a short amount of time this can give you more exposure to a larger group of people than sprinkling yourself all over the web, taking hours at a time to monitor. Better yet, just start with your personal network and see where that takes you. People like to help other people and nowhere is this more evident than on the internet.

Here is another trick that a highly trained recruiter will be looking for…your resume or career highlights posted on various independent web pages, or key words from you on the profile(s) you do build on these sites. Take some time to build a thorough career profile on the sites you decide to be part of, as string searching the web will get traffic to your profile, thus putting your in-demand skills in front of the world.

For assistance with your Job Search or Resume from Chris Wellington and others on the staff visit
The Career Store or Get in Touch.

Chris Wellington “The Recruiting Guy”, President, The Wellington Group

For those who are unaware of what Bounty Jobs appears to be here is the website; no secrets, as I truly believe success in the recruitment business all has to be transparent or the end result, the job seeker taking a position with the hiring company, will not happen. www.bountyjobs.com

Bounty, like many other “tools” or HR / Recruitment short cuts before and after them, truly does not understand the motivation of human nature. People want to communicate and be part of an engaged community. Honest people genuinely want the resources a Bounty or others can provide to help make these invaluable connections possible. Most run-of-the-mill, basement dweller or 3 month recruiters can’t provide the knowledge base, infrastructure, bandwidth or network a “tool” like Bounty Jobs promises to deliver. A couple great examples are Facebook and inside919.com. For the most part they are free and unrestricted and as a result, people are making not only money but building empires, finding careers, creating causes and even reconnecting with old friends from remote Alaska. If this is the case then why do these “tools” want to restrict the very ingredient which can make them a king’s ransom?

Here are excerpts from the “non-typical email” myself and my staff, industry peers, clients and vendors received TODAY from Bounty Jobs, cut into the pieces that one assumes to hit their message to the core.

We want total control of a process that can’t be totally controlled in order for it to be a true success.

“Unlike the typical “how it works” email… With 20,000+ registered headhunters (and counting!)…, we will be [re] moving the name of the hiring company one step further into the BountyJobs process… BountyJobs remains absolutely committed to providing an efficient communication and recruiting solution. ”

While my firm is using Bounty at the request of a couple clients, we (the team, the clients and all involved) agree the handcuffs by this “tool” inhibits communications and any chance of immediate success and long term survival of this “tool.”  How long will they be around? I am not sure, but I have seen many “tools” come and many go, with most that are remaining now on the edge of financial crises in this current economy because they do not allow for full human interaction which is the very root energy of the recruitment and HR professions.

The complete link to their new Q&A for recruiters and hiring companies on these changes can be found at: http://image.exct.net/lib/fefc1174706500/m/1/Company+Name+FAQ.pdf

My advice is think twice before engaging in these resource robbing “tools.” Take the time to ravage their sites for information on the true fulfillment rates verse just number of jobs posted and recruiters involved. After all, graduate school did teach me statistics and how numbers can always “look beautiful in the eyes of the reporter.” Best of luck in your recruitment efforts.

Chris

To engage The Recruiting Guy to train or consult with your staff visit our services page or contact The Wellington Group @ info@thewellington-group.com