Using social (and “professional”) networks should be a common practice among recruiters. Just the other night I used my knowledge of social network sourcing to generate a handsome list of candidates for a client. I personally use LinkedIn as my professional networking site. You can say that Twitter is my a networking tool as well. Facebook is all about me and the friends and family I associate with. Very savvy recruiters learn to take advantage of these sites by joining groups and becoming fans of organizations.

There are many ways to take advantage of social networking sites. Here are some ways that recruiters can use social networks to their advantage:

• Establish your own business profile
• Build business-relevant networks
• Maintain a networking interchange
• Make new connections
• Conduct candidate searches
• Find new business
• Research people and companies
• Real-time communication
• Expand visibility and influence
• Develop information exchange portals

This list is not exhaustive by any means. With functionality and benefits like those on the list, it is no wonder social networking has been widely adopted by recruiters. Jobscience even integrates their ATS and strategic sourcing tool with today's most popular networks including: LinkedIn, MySpace, FaceBook, Twitter, etc.

You would be amazed at the amount of information that is accessible within seconds. Invest in yourself and career and join a social network. The experience and networking will be valuable.

Does News Print Advertising Really Deliver

This week I was the presenter for one of my company's webinars called Active Sourcing.  During this webinar the audience and I discussed the different types of sourcing typically done noting the difference between active and passive sourcing.  Of course the number one passive sourcing strategy was advertising in newspapers.

When I look at today's job market I see the need for jobseekers to be as productive as possible.  So online job hunting makes sense, saves time, and saves gas.  Why would anyone want to pay for an ad in a newspaper?  At one time I worked as a recruiter for a large healthcare system.  When I joined this organization it was spending over $250,000 per year in paper advertising.  After three years I had reduced the advertising to less than $60k and even increased the amount of jobseekers applying.

How did I do this?  First I listened to what other people were doing.  Next, we purchased an ATS from a company called Jobscience.  We had to provide a lot of education to the hiring managers who felt recruitment wasn't doing their job if they didn't see the job in the newspaper.  If you are still using newsprint as a means for sourcing, take that money and invest in Google Ads or Job Boards.  You're just throwing away money if you continue.