As I review open jobs in this tough economy, they seem to be more specialized and require narrower experience and education, making identifying and hiring qualified talent even more difficult. As part of a Talent Acquisition team, Human resource Department or Staffing Firm, we recruiters need to start doing a better job of leveraging our hiring managers’ networks and contacts as well as our own.

As we create a profile and build connections on Social Network Sites, we need to be sure we are connected with all of our hiring managers, so we also become instantly connected to their networks. We need to encourage hiring managers who don’t have profiles on social media sites or don’t have expansive networks to start building them. We can show them how to do it in a one hour webinar and illustrate the value of these networks – not only for hiring, but also for sharing best practices, asking for advice and getting ideas.

When a job comes open, are you utilizing your network and your manager’s network to advertise the position?  Just think about how many people you can target if you personally have 100 connections and your connections each have 50 plus connections. As an added bonus, these network audiences are probably more targeted since they are usually professionals we have worked with or for in a similar industry. This is a great way to identify passive qualified candidates as well! If the individuals in these networks aren’t interested, they may pass the posting along to someone who might be.

Hopefully, your applicant tracking system, if you have one, can simplify posting your open positions to your social media sites likes Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter. The jobs typically post as a status update on your site and you can reach thousands of contacts at the same time for free! We are receiving very positive feedback from our ApplicantStack customers who are utilizing this free benefit available in our software!

Another suggestion, if you have the resources available, is to start cold calling and reaching out to these connections. If you’ve never done it – or thought you’d never have to do it – now’s the time to start. It’s a lot easier than you think and can be met with great success. Write yourself a 30 second elevator speech, practice on some co-workers, and start making calls to those connections (passive candidates). The script is helpful to make sure you are saying the right things and asking the right questions.

We also need to remember, that the Generation “what-evers” that we will probably end up hiring use social networking on a regular basis. They grew up in the social media and technology age and it has become part of their culture. In fact, they probably seldom read newspapers or trade journals anymore because they can find all of the information they need on the web. This is a great topic for another blog……so look for more information on this topic coming soon!

Do you have a social networking success you would like to share?

As recruiters, we hire all types of individuals from entry level to executives, interns to experienced professionals, internal employees and external applicants, and fulltime to temporary workers.  How do we capture the appropriate information that will assist us to make an informed decision for each type of hire?  In most cases everyone who applies completes a standard employment application that has been written and approved by Human Resources.  But do the questions on our employment application take into consideration that the new graduate looking for their first professional job has no or very little relevant work experience?  Do we really need all of that information for a temporary worker who will leave us after completing a three week mailing project or is filling in for someone who is on vacation?  Is it necessary for your current employees, interested in advancing their career, to complete an entire application all over again?  Is that five page application always necessary and appropriate for everyone?

The application experience for potential hires can often attract or repel your prospects.  As they begin your employment process, they are excited they have found an opportunity that they can relate to or feel qualified for.  Do you know how many applicants take the bait and run or stay on the line?  If your process doesn’t feel right or comfortable, they may make the decision to exit and apply with one of your competitors.

My experience as a recruiter tells me that the recent college grad would like me to know what leadership roles they had in school organizations or what interesting school projects they completed.  The intern might want to tell me what they would expect to learn by interning with my organization and what skills they might bring from their educational experience.  The front desk receptionist applicant wants me to know about their customer service skills and what telephone systems they have used.  So after I collect the necessary contact, education and employment information, adding additional application questions that are directly related to the job is a great way to ensure they complete your application and feel like you have a real interest.

The ability to create these online questions can be very powerful and useful.  The applicant will have an opportunity to tell you why they are a good fit for the job and you will have better information to evaluate.  An added bonus is the ability to score the answers to your questions to more quickly narrow down your applicant pool and focus on the prospects who best match your needs.

If your applicant tracking system doesn’t give you the flexibility to create questions specific to particular jobs, you may have many “fish tales” to tell.