Twitter Recruiting: List Is Still a Four-letter Word
Lists are powerful tools. We use them to save time, to remind ourselves of what we want to achieve, and to recognize what and whom we value.
Honey-Do Lists
Grocery Lists
Twitter Lists
Top ___ Lists
Lists can also leave things behind, because they're only as valuable as the goals of the person creating them. I recently read a list of 230 of the top brands that are recruiting on twitter (http://amplifytalent.com/2014/03/04/brand-recruiting-twitter-list/), published by a friend of mine, Lars Schmidt of Amplify Talent.
Make no mistake, this is a good list, and helpful for those of us in recruiting. But I think it's more a list of companies that simply have recruiting presences on Twitter.
They're not really leveraging the channel for recruiting, as it's defined by Wikipedia.(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recruitment)
"Recruitment refers to the process of attracting, screening, selecting, and onboarding a qualified person for a job. At the strategic level it may involve the development of an employer brand which includes an 'employee offering.'"
Most brands are using their Twitter handles as recruitment ads, or job posting channels. This appeals mainly to those searching for a job. (underemployed, unemployed, unsatisfied) Which in and of itself is not a bad thing.
What kind of 'passive' candidate responses are they getting? Very few and far between, based on their public '@ mentions.'
I'll wager that most gainfully employed people don't want to interact with career-focused accounts on Twitter publicly. So the real value is for those active seekers. What's the difference between a passive and an active candidate prospect? For truly great recruiters, about 90 seconds.
This is a sample of three distinctly different recruiting tweets for a Java Programmer role. Which of these tweets understands the audience, speaks to its desires and isn't afraid to alienate people who aren't a fit?
(tweet image thanks to Stacy Zapar https://twitter.com/StacyZapar/status/429022908896116736/photo/1)
Here are ten of the companies from the list that in my opinion, are actually doing it right.
Not only do they understand their audience, they understand their corporate culture and aren't afraid to share it.
There are definitely more out there and this list is in no particular order.
Which accounts have you seen that are nailing 140-character recruiting? Join the Tweetup at #twitterbrand with your thoughts.
Bryan Chaney is an experienced global leader in recruitment and talent attraction. He consults with portfolio clients on talent strategy as a Sourcing Executive at Kenexa, an IBM company. He is the founder of CareerConnects and was previously the Manager of Global Social Media Strategy for Aon talent acquisition. Prior to Aon, Bryan worked in recruitment, technology, and marketing providing him insights into the marketing of hiring, the importance of technology and the buying process candidates make when applying for jobs. Learn more and connect with Bryan at http://about.me/bryanchaney.