Comments on: Facebook Recruiting Is All the Rage

By: Facebook Recruiting Is All the Rage | facebook4recruitment

Facebook Recruiting Is All the Rage | facebook4recruitment — Tue, 28 Aug 2012 10:25:03 +0000

[...] Read More Tweet You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site. [...]

By: Howard Adamsky

Howard Adamsky — Sun, 26 Aug 2012 02:22:48 +0000

@jessica.

I am sorry but I can’t seem to understand your statement. Can you elaborate?

I have no clue as to what the candidate experience has to do with FB or Social Media.

By: Keith Halperin

Keith Halperin — Sat, 25 Aug 2012 00:55:10 +0000

Thanks, Jessica. IMHO, “employer branding” is another recruiting snake-oil, like “social network recruiting”. Employers can no longer control their employment brand, except perhaps by treating applicants and employees well.

The goal of recruiting is putting quality butts in chairs quickly and affordably. If you want to build a talent pipeline: ramp-up your employee-referral bonus system, hire some outsourced internet and phone sourcers to fill your pipeline and/or invest in an improved job-website/application processes. You’ll get a lot bigger/better bang for your buck. Think I’m crazy? Show me some unbiased, neutral studies that show $ spent on EB or SNR result in faster, better, more affordable hires than $ spent on proven, reliable methods (such as those mentioned above and others), and I’ll change my tune.

Cheers,

Keith

By: jessica lee

jessica lee — Fri, 24 Aug 2012 21:37:15 +0000

i’m jumping in really late to this discussion and i haven’t read through all the comments… but one thing that seems to be lacking is the perspective on facebook or any other social channel for that matter as an employer brand tool and as a vehicle to improve candidate experience. that’s where i see the biggest win. but to make an impact and do it right, it’s likely got to be an enterprise level first and foremost, and then individual efforts ladder up into it. thoughts?

By: Jacob Madsen

Jacob Madsen — Fri, 24 Aug 2012 16:24:35 +0000

DO read Bill Boorman’s post/blog, – both in respect to this discussion and for anything else, – few have as much first hand through to thought leadership insight as Bill.

By: HR Blogposts der Woche 34/2012 | HR Software Blog

HR Blogposts der Woche 34/2012 | HR Software Blog — Fri, 24 Aug 2012 14:05:24 +0000

[...] auf und potenzielle Kandidaten zu identifizieren. Allerdings gibt es auch Nachteile, die auf ERE ganz gut zusammengefasst werden. [...]

By: Aurelio Sisto

Aurelio Sisto — Fri, 24 Aug 2012 13:27:40 +0000

Interesting posts… also, some are flat out comical to me. Some lose the point – I agree with what Steve said; some folks are looking for the magic bullet, or act as if they found it.

FB is just a tool, and if you keep that frame of mind, it can be useful. However, some of the better coders are not posting how many bars they bounced around to on a given Thursday night. There is a time/place to source particular candidates…

I don’t fully agree with Howard, as I can see FB being helpful on occasion, but he has a strong case. However I do focus my energy on LinkedIn (and other career-related sites) much more so.

Peace, love and happy hunting ~
Aurelio

By: Bill Boorman

Bill Boorman — Fri, 24 Aug 2012 03:58:47 +0000

Howard,
Thanks for prompting this discussion. It is one i have had many times. I started to post a reply but it was too long and became a post in its own right: http://www.recruitingunblog.com/recruiters-no-need-to-be-friends/
The reality is that for recruiting you don’t need to be friends, or give access to feeds. Most recruiting activity goes on via pages and applications. There is no need to be a friend. I think this is a lot easier for corporate recruiters who have brand content and a story to tell. Bill

By: Keith Halperin

Keith Halperin — Thu, 23 Aug 2012 20:40:04 +0000

Thanks, Howard.

“I also wonder if a time will ever come when something emerges that recruiters will examine and determine, no, this is NOT appropriate for recruiting purposes.” I doubt it, Howard. If there is a fairly-affordable, easy-to-use, effective recruiting tool/technique to misuse (I mean “use”), I’ll use it. If it’s too expensive, hard-to-use, or largely ineffective, I’ll let the VPs of Staffing buy it- it’s not as if THEY’D use it.

“Holy Grail”?
Howard, you’re “getting downright medieval on our a**”. Personally, I would have thought you’d be more of the “Kadosh Kiddish Cup” kinda guy….

Cheers,

Keith

By: Alasdair Murray

Alasdair Murray — Thu, 23 Aug 2012 07:13:43 +0000

There’s no need to apologise to me Howard. I am totally in agreement. Was that not apparent from my comments? I cannot abide Facebook. It is something I visit rarely, and only because my daughter is on there. It’s strictly for kids or friends/family to communicate with each other from different parts of the world. I also get the feeling that, other than the 83m bogus accounts, many are deserting it, the novelty having worn off. Do I need to like a box of breakfast cereal? No. Do I need to post silly pictures? No. Would I look for a job on there? God, no!

By: Howard Adamsky

Howard Adamsky — Thu, 23 Aug 2012 00:56:33 +0000

Hi all:

I do so thank you for your comments on this topic. I have not seen comments pile up this fast for any article I have written and I sense that hit a nerve in many readers as well.

It is a great conversation of which I certainly am not the final arbiter. I thank Todd for inspiring me and I thank my wife for helping me to calm down a bit as I wrote it.

A few direct replies:

@ Justin, all the rage was just a play on words but under the surface, there is some very real rage on FB. I invite you to see Todd and Steves conversation here. Please, look at this: http://bit.ly/RbLELn

@ Alasdair: I Tend to think that FB’s best days are behind her. It was the celebrity for a long time and took the world by storm but for me, it has become a bore. Please do not misunderstand me. I am not saying I do not like it, I am simply saying I have grown bored with it.

@ Jacob: You are right. Only time will tell. Anything can happen but to me, once a product looses it élan, it is a slow slide into the abyss of second class and a replacement is soon on top. Such is the physics of our society.

@ Michelle: I think you might be wrong. I see FB as struggling, I do not see it as a place for serious recruiting and you will have to define “meaningful conversations” for me. Sadly, I might be missing the boat but I can’t even I imagine how FB would build a brand.

@ Maureen: Point well taken. It seems to be the way things go these days.

@ Francisco: “I say we are the ones with the inadequacy; not Facebook.” This is to a great degree, correct. Shakespeare said it best: “The fault, Dear Brutus, is not in our stars; but in ourselves.” As an aside, you are right about human nature and there is an article in that alone; perhaps 10 articles. Each day, we have to fight human nature to be fair and be reasonable.

@ Steve is right. This article is just a word to the wise. A few thoughts to keep in mind on things social as we now enter a time that will present us with new challenges and new friction points. How we deal with them will be very telling. Levy, we can never be friends for too long. I might just buy you a pastrami omelet.

@Neil: What happened to privacy? It is largely gone. And in 100 years, the concept will be seen as something quaint that we used to take seriously but fell by the wayside. We are a country of voyeurs and we are now technologically enabled. Say goodbye to privacy.

@ Rob: “Also, hate to break it to you but crime in the U.S. is half of what it was in the 90′s (http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/) Check out the Bureau of Justice Statistics.”

Rob, Even if this info is correct,( I am suspicious of studies…) we are still far too violent a country. I stand by my statement. Handgun violence is out of control. The numbers might be a bit “better” but the reality is that there is still too much blood being hosed off the floor in this country every, single, day!

As an aside, lets get together soon and have a few pints as we recruit our way through the bar!

@ Todd: My thanks to you for allowing me to share what I consider things that make others think about life and reality and recruiting. You are right. FB Is personal and that is the very start of a very thorny problem.

@ John, “Question: do you think the recruiters in that organization resolved their debate and chose to check Facebook before making offers in the future?
Answer: they didn’t need to. The hiring managers took it upon themselves to do so.” This is absolutely correct John. Not in all cases but in many.

@ Keith I agree to some degree. I also wonder if a time will ever come when something emerges that recruiters will examine and determine, no, this is NOT appropriate for recruiting purposes. We seek the Holy Grail and once again, we are fooled as those who seek the Holy Grail usually are.

@Paul “We will overcome this faddish obsession with ‘social’ in due course, or at least learn to use it properly. Societal rules, protocols, politeness, discretion, and so on exist (outside of social media) for very good reasons.”
Brilliant. I hope you are right. I for one am not that optimistic. We live in a society that is in many ways, crumbling.

By: Keith Halperin

Keith Halperin — Wed, 22 Aug 2012 22:51:30 +0000

Thanks, Jacob. I’m shocked, shocked that FB might be running afoul of privacy regulations!

;)

By: Howard Adamsky

Howard Adamsky — Wed, 22 Aug 2012 20:49:57 +0000

@Paul Tseko. “All the rage” was just a play on words as I was trying to be cute.

I do not see FB as a bad place but I do see danger that is inherent if it is misread by the wrong people in a way that is out of context. The content of the article was not an afterthought either.

So many comments that I am trying to form a response I will get out in a day or so. Perhaps late tonight.

Amazing reactions yes?

By: Jacob Madsen

Jacob Madsen — Wed, 22 Aug 2012 17:36:15 +0000

From a small place in a big European country that may or may not be the start of a trend: http://mashable.com/2011/08/19/germany-like-button/

By: Keith Halperin

Keith Halperin — Wed, 22 Aug 2012 17:06:07 +0000

I find it rather puzzling how the U.S with our emphasis on individualism has weaker privacy laws than our European friends. Consider if you will: someone in a public place snaps my pic on their phone, or when I go in to work I get scanned to enter the building. This catches my biometric data. Do I own the rights to my biometric data? In the first case, someone looks up my public-info digital dossier (I’ve discussed this before.) and finds out all about me. In the latter case, my employer sells my biometric data (along with thousands of its of employees and the non-biometric data on hundreds of thousands of applicants) to marketing companies. Think this is unrealistic? I expect some groups could do this NOW, and a whole lot of ‘em within 3-5 years. It’s technically feasible, and no laws out there prevent it…

Cheers,

Keith “They Will Seek You Out- No Place To Hide” Halperin

By: Todd Raphael

Todd Raphael — Wed, 22 Aug 2012 15:23:09 +0000

Paul – how about this one?
http://www.examiner.com/article/deputy-fired-for-clicking-like-on-facebook

By: Paul Myers

Paul Myers — Wed, 22 Aug 2012 14:00:17 +0000

I love all the comments, it’s amazing how many people get riled through mis-reading and mis-interpreting the content of the article and of the comments made thereafter.

Wait for it guys an girls “Facebook Killed My Career”……..

Trust me the headline is coming, only a matter of time!
Who knows, maybe I’ll be the one making the statement!
;0)

By: Paul Tseko

Paul Tseko — Wed, 22 Aug 2012 14:00:03 +0000

I have to go back to the very first comment from Justin Miller: Howard – How is this article about Facebook being “all the rage” in recruiting? Reading this, it feels more like a soapbox piece on your disdain for the social networking site, and the recruiting aspect feels more like an afterthought.

Well, Howard?

By: Jacob Madsen

Jacob Madsen — Wed, 22 Aug 2012 12:30:04 +0000

@paul, – re Resume’s and Linkedin: A well written resume and Linkedin profile can speak absolute volumes why Linkedin far from just a source of names, used to its max capacity and with creativity it is a treasure chest.

By: Alasdair Murray

Alasdair Murray — Wed, 22 Aug 2012 12:27:24 +0000

I think Paul’s right. It really is a “faddish obsession with ‘social’” that seems to be trying to drive a rather lame argument. We have made recruitment more complicated than it need be. We have channells, good channnels, that work. Why cloud the issue? Facebook is by and large for kids and family who want to keep in touch when on different continents or far apart. It will be history in five years and the world will be wetting itself over some other new channel that the snake oil merchants will be touting to all and sundry. Much of social is shallow and nonsensical, whereas recruitment is a serious business. Do we need to know someone better by being able to pry into their Facebook account? I think not – though more fool you if you expose yourself to the world in a derogatory way like that. That’s partly the point though – Facebook is primarily for goofing around, so why on earth would anyone go there to find the very best people? Why, many of them don;t even have Facebook accounts, or, if they do, they’ve long realised that FB is not the place to be if you want to actively further your career.