It’s no wonder that recruiters and HR professionals are excited about social-networking sites like LinkedIn and online information resources like ZoomInfo. These sites contain millions of profiles on potential recruits, including their job histories, areas of specialization and contact information. What’s more, some sites offer a glimpse into thecandidate’s personal Rolodex (their network of contacts) and even list referrals.
But even though networking sites and tools are a potential boon to recruiters, it’s important to consider the ethical implications of using them. One of the concerns that many recruiters face is that the majority of social-networking users are considered “passive candidates," meaning that they are not actively looking for a job. Recruiters who target these contacts are essentially trying to woo candidates away from their current employers — unless they are freelancers who are available for a variety of positions.
Recruiting, like email marketing, should be an opt-in proposition. Or in other words, candidates should be aware that they may be approached about job opportunities. One way to ensure that candidates have opted in is to look for potential hires on professional-networking sites. They’ve already filled out a profile listing their experience and references, so it’s pretty safe to assume that they would welcome possible inquiries.
This is different than finding candidates by conducting a random search on the Web for people listed in professional directories or on social-networking sites that aren’t business-oriented. These passive candidates have made their information available, but they haven’t really opted in.
The best bet for attaining quality leads on potential candidates is to stick with professional-networking sites and job boards.
Social networks often operate on the theory of six degrees of separation, which is basically the idea that no one on earth is more than six “steps” away from any other person. Under the theory, everyone you know is one step away from you, everyone they know is two steps away from you and so on.
Social-networking sites usually allow you to see contacts up to two steps away. This already gives you a pretty big pool of contacts to access when looking for potential hires. Because you personally know the people one step away from you, you can ask them for introductions to contacts that your company is interested in pursuing. This is not only a more ethical approach than “recruiting spam,” it’s usually more effective, because your contact can tell you who is looking for a job or who is a potentially good candidate.
Recruiting in this manner offers other advantages as well. People who have set up profiles on professional-networking sites know that their current and past co-workers can view their information and are more likely to be honest about their work experience. Furthermore, their references are often a click away and are listed in their personal network.
If you want to search beyond your personal network, some sites like LinkedIn offers tools designed specifically for recruiters. On LinkedIn, for example, you can subscribe to an account that gives you a certain number of introduction requests, email communications and searches per month, allowing you to target passive candidates outside of your network. Packages range from $19.95 per month to $200 per month.
Although you are contacting passive candidates, you are doing it in a limited fashion on a site where professional networking is expected, as opposed to sending out mass emails to people listed on various sites or networks. It may not seem like a large ethical distinction, but the bottom line is that people who sign up for LinkedIn and similar sites are there in part to learn about the opportunities available to them.
In contrast, directories like ZoomInfo aggregate online information about people to create a profile. Some people who are profiled may not even know that their details are available through ZoomInfo, so getting a recruiting call could come as an unwelcome surprise. The same is true for sites where members trade business cards for contacts. The people on those business cards may not know that their information has been bartered on a social-networking site.
LinkedIn has another distinct recruiting advantage: a job board. For a fee, you can post jobs that are searchable by other LinkedIn members. When someone on the network applies for a position at your company, you receive their full application email and LinkedIn profile, as well as your relationship to the candidate, their reputation, and their references, all pooled from the site’s networking information. Posting a job costs $145 per listing, and buying a bulk package will bring the cost down.
Source:
http://www.hrworld.com/features/ethical-online-recruiting-011508/
But even though networking sites and tools are a potential boon to recruiters, it’s important to consider the ethical implications of using them. One of the concerns that many recruiters face is that the majority of social-networking users are considered “passive candidates," meaning that they are not actively looking for a job. Recruiters who target these contacts are essentially trying to woo candidates away from their current employers — unless they are freelancers who are available for a variety of positions.
Recruiting, like email marketing, should be an opt-in proposition. Or in other words, candidates should be aware that they may be approached about job opportunities. One way to ensure that candidates have opted in is to look for potential hires on professional-networking sites. They’ve already filled out a profile listing their experience and references, so it’s pretty safe to assume that they would welcome possible inquiries.
This is different than finding candidates by conducting a random search on the Web for people listed in professional directories or on social-networking sites that aren’t business-oriented. These passive candidates have made their information available, but they haven’t really opted in.
The best bet for attaining quality leads on potential candidates is to stick with professional-networking sites and job boards.
Social networks often operate on the theory of six degrees of separation, which is basically the idea that no one on earth is more than six “steps” away from any other person. Under the theory, everyone you know is one step away from you, everyone they know is two steps away from you and so on.
Social-networking sites usually allow you to see contacts up to two steps away. This already gives you a pretty big pool of contacts to access when looking for potential hires. Because you personally know the people one step away from you, you can ask them for introductions to contacts that your company is interested in pursuing. This is not only a more ethical approach than “recruiting spam,” it’s usually more effective, because your contact can tell you who is looking for a job or who is a potentially good candidate.
Recruiting in this manner offers other advantages as well. People who have set up profiles on professional-networking sites know that their current and past co-workers can view their information and are more likely to be honest about their work experience. Furthermore, their references are often a click away and are listed in their personal network.
If you want to search beyond your personal network, some sites like LinkedIn offers tools designed specifically for recruiters. On LinkedIn, for example, you can subscribe to an account that gives you a certain number of introduction requests, email communications and searches per month, allowing you to target passive candidates outside of your network. Packages range from $19.95 per month to $200 per month.
Although you are contacting passive candidates, you are doing it in a limited fashion on a site where professional networking is expected, as opposed to sending out mass emails to people listed on various sites or networks. It may not seem like a large ethical distinction, but the bottom line is that people who sign up for LinkedIn and similar sites are there in part to learn about the opportunities available to them.
In contrast, directories like ZoomInfo aggregate online information about people to create a profile. Some people who are profiled may not even know that their details are available through ZoomInfo, so getting a recruiting call could come as an unwelcome surprise. The same is true for sites where members trade business cards for contacts. The people on those business cards may not know that their information has been bartered on a social-networking site.
LinkedIn has another distinct recruiting advantage: a job board. For a fee, you can post jobs that are searchable by other LinkedIn members. When someone on the network applies for a position at your company, you receive their full application email and LinkedIn profile, as well as your relationship to the candidate, their reputation, and their references, all pooled from the site’s networking information. Posting a job costs $145 per listing, and buying a bulk package will bring the cost down.
Source:
http://www.hrworld.com/features/ethical-online-recruiting-011508/
