The Undercover Recruiter - Job Search and Career Secrets

How Social Media is Changing Recruitment [Video]

Jorgen Sundberg — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 03:09:54 PST

Whether you like it or not, hirers are using social networks to screen job applicants. This video infographic from Reppler sheds some light on how recruiters are using social media today to screen prospective employees.

Reppler spoke to 300 hiring professionals to map out their behavior on social networking. The results were that more than 90% of employers and recruiters have visited a potential candidate’s profile on a social network as part of the screening process.

If you like this, be sure to check out How Employers Use Social Media to Screen Candidates Infographic.

How To Search for Directors and Executives Online

Guest — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 07:02:33 PST

Are you using the internet to try and recruit staff? Or perhaps you are simply looking to research the competition? In today’s economy everyone is clamouring for recognition online be it through a Twitter account, using Facebook, LinkedIn, or through search databases.

It is much easier for you as an employer to get the dirt on your potential future employees and your competitors if they are using these accounts – even if they don’t realise it. There are many out there who have lost that crucial job because of a flippant comment on a social media site.

More on this at How Employers Screen Candidates on Social Media (Infographic).

Roll up your online research sleeves

Investigating companies and people has never been easier. Director search is a great way to find out about those at the top of the ladder. Examine their function and position and whether or not they held a previous company directorship. Once you have found these details you can discover more about the company they are currently working in or those where they built up experience in the past. This is a great way to look at recruiting for new staff, identifying your competitors, but also considering what type of work experience you might need in order to become a company director.

Networking gives you additional insight

If you are looking to build contacts a search like this is also a great way of networking. Whether you are already a member of a site that connects people or you want to become one, you can find those working in the same industry to check who they are networking with as well as potentially getting in touch with them for advice, or in order to discuss topical issues. In addition it can be useful to try networking with those in different industries with similar roles, that way you have a broad range of contacts who you can call upon where necessary.

See more at The Top 10 Networking Books for Your Career.

There's always the headhunting route

Headhunting is becoming a more resilient business; particularly for those working in senior positions as often these are the types of people who are not actually looking to move so must be approached with some encouragement in order for this to happen.

Want to attract headhunters? Here's How To Get Headhunted.

Beware of pitfalls

There are some downsides to this method, for example it can rule out people who are perfectly capable of doing a job or who have potential. You may not even consider bringing them in for interview yet they could be the right fit for your organisation. The internet may be a useful tool to make information more readily available and make people more visible but it can also have the opposite effect, hiding those who are not necessarily rating but who have hidden talents or who have simply not gained enough experience to be recognised by these searches yet.

Remember that doing research and actually making a decision to hire somebody are two separate things. You cannot rely totally on tools which do not give you any idea about personality or potential but they can be a useful starting point. In addition they can give certain candidates a helpful foot in the door.

More on this topic at What Social Networks Have Most Job Search Activity?

Image credit JensChapter3

The 7 Rules of Effective Personal Brand Statements

Jorgen Sundberg — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 06:43:49 PST

I will assume that you have already crafted a personal brand statement and you may even have used it a few times. Before you spray every social media outpost with it, take a few minutes to go through this checklist to make sure it does you justice.

Here are seven hallmarks of an effective personal brand statement:

1. The length of one out-breath

You should be able to take a deep breath and then comfortably deliver your statement. If it’s any longer than this, you risk not making that impact you were looking for so chop it down.

2. The WOW-factor

Just like any performance, your personal brand statement should be received with a mixture of surprise and delight. If this isn’t the case, you are probably saying something very similar to your peers. Make it unique and you’ll evoke the WOW on people’s faces.

3. An eight-year-old understands it

Or a four-year-old if you are really tough on yourself. Your statement should never contain any technical terms or jargon, it should be in plain English and touching on the lowest common denominator. Test it on your children and see how you fare, can they tell you exactly what benefit and value you add?

4. Yours and only yours

Can you be sure that your statement is unique? Well and easy way to test that is by asking colleagues, peers and competitors what they use. Or you can go to an industry event and do some eavesdropping to see what NOT to say. If you find that your statement is similar to others, try harder to really make it stand out by examining exactly what you do uniquely and how to present this.

5. Delivered with confidence

The delivery is equally important to the content. You must be able to put on your best story telling voice and really mesmerize your new found acquaintant. Great delivery comes with practice so get in front of your mirror and get rehearsing today.

6. Leaves them wanting more

A classic trick in show business is to dazzle the audience and have them begging for more. By only giving out a teaser that is interesting enough, you are likely to be asked to elaborate and that’s when you go into selling mode.

7. Catchy, memorable and repeatable

To cover a lot of ground you are going to need others to spread your statement via word-of-mouth marketing. In order for them to do this, you have to stay punchy and memorable enough to get repeated over and over.

Final thought

Remember that your personal brand statement will always be a work in progress and you should update it as your career or business changes over time. Revisiting the statement every now and then is great for introspection and give you great direction in your professional life.

Would you say your statement cuts the mustard?

For more on this topic, check out Personal Branding from the Inside Out, a workshop series in the UK.

Image credit Kevin Lallier