Social Recruiting: is this the future of recruiting or just the latest trend?

Last week at ERE Expo I had the opportunity to meet Katie Del Guercio, Director of Business Development & Marketing for KODA.

As a follow-up to the conference I conducted a brief interview with Jeff Berger, CEO & Co-Founder of KODA.us, the site that helps new talent and smart companies connect on Social Recruiting.

Cartoon by Hugh

Social Recruiting: is this the future of recruiting or just the latest trend?

There has been a lot of discussion recently on the topic of Social Recruiting. Is this just the buzz word of web 2.0 recruiting or does it represent the next generation of online sourcing tools? The answer depends upon how you define “Social Recruiting.” If you believe it’s about Tweeting job openings or having a Facebook page, then it’s just about using already existing networking tools in a new way. However, if it’s about innovative new spaces that facilitate both identity-sharing and hiring transactions, then maybe you’re onto something revolutionary.

How do you define Social Recruiting?

Social Recruiting is bringing the identity-sharing process that makes social media successful to a job recruiting space shared by talent, companies, and other stake-holders.

My definition of Social Recruiting uses the lessons learned from both social media and job boards to reshape online recruiting. While today’s social networks are free and provide access to millions of people, they are untethered and simply aren’t recruiting vehicles that will replace job boards. That said, the reality is that transactional recruiting via job boards is just too costly and impersonal.

What are the crucial elements of Social Recruiting?

1. A professional pool of talent that includes both active and inactive job seekers.
2. Transparency from both people (who you really are) and companies (what is it really like to work there).
3. System logic that presents job listings to focused candidates.

We hear a lot of talk about transparency. How important is it?

The importance of transparency cannot be overstated. People are enchanted by brands that appear to have some kind of authentic voice. The thrill of self-publishing (and feeling like somebody cares to listen) is one of the biggest reasons that social networks succeed. People in today’s web love to talk about themselves (i.e. Twitter), but to what end? The most successful tools of tomorrow’s web (dare I say Web 3.0?) will still encourage identity-sharing, but towards some kind of focused goal.

How has social media + networking along with this historic economic downturn changed recruiting?

The goal for recruiting in the new economy should be that people find more than just a job to apply for – they find the right job at the right company in the right industry. Companies need to figure out how to interest top talent, and that means giving them a peak inside the office doors. Companies also need a richer way to vet talent before the interview. To reach this place of deeper context, we need platforms that create a true marriage between job boards and social networks: Social Recruiting.