Social Recruiting

Given all of the media hype about social networking lately, it would be easy to feel out of step if you weren’t actively trolling the profiles of candidates on social media outlets for your next staffing need.  However, recruiting exclusivley on these sites may not necessarily be the best strategy for every organization. The Internet isn’t connecting us as closely as we think it is.

The reality is that not all social networks make it easy to build relationships with people.  A person can appear to be a rock-star on-line, but that doesn’t tell  you if they are capable of engaging in a one-on-one conversation, making eye contact, having a good handshake or if they would be the right fit for a firm’s culture.

Social media, in all of its glory, is still in its early stages. The general candidate population simply doesn’t equate LinkedIn, for example, with “job search”, at least not yet.  Social networking is important, but it’s not always the most successful method for recruiting.

The best talent is often difficult to identify and not everyone is on a social network; there are still great people that cannot be found online.  Our teams do use Twitter, Facebook, Spoke, Jigsaw and other popular sites, but we also attend truly ‘social’ events.  This means we go to outings such as job fairs, conferences and community gatherings of networking gurus.  We meet people who refer people to us who would never go public with their job search.

So,  yes…we may tweet, update, link, connect, follow, blog, fan or whatever else can be done on these sites but that’s not how we spend most of our day.  Our talent lies in furnishing our clients with first-hand knowledge about candidates that help them make successful hires.  We do all of this so you don’t have to.

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The Office Party

The annual holiday party is a key occasion for employees to mingle casually with coworkers, impress managers, and get to know people they don’t interact with every day.  Unfortunately, this celebratory event is also a prime opportunity to tarnish one’s professional reputation, alienate others, and miss the chance to network and schmooze with bosses.

There are many office party blunders. Some are just missed opportunities, but some may cost one their career.  A few of most common gaffes to avoid are outlined below.

  • Failure to show up without a good reason.  Attending a party not only signals commitment to the firm but also an employee’s understanding of the intention of the gathering. A couple of hours a year is barely worth a complaint.
  • Drinking too much is the most flagrant offense.  Drunken attendees have been known to make passes at significant others, harass supervisors on the dance floor, and touch coworkers in inappropriate ways.
  • No matter how festive, an office party is a business occasion; professional, not sexy or suggestive, attire should rule the night.  Errors in clothing selection affect others’ opinion of a person’s judgment and credibility.
  • Flirting especially mixed with alcohol, with coworkers or their partners is unwanted and can result in complaints if not more serious consequences.
  • Bringing not just a significant other, but also children, grandparents and two cousins who happened to be visiting from out-of-town.  Uninvited guests only add to an employer’s expense and distract from the reason for the festivity.
  • Forgetting that an event is still a company business function and using off-color jokes or complaining about the boss.
  • Staying too long at the party.  The possibility of drinking too much and committing other gaffes increases with the passing of time.

The company event should be joyful but appropriate planning will help ensure that employees don’t risk their professional reputation.