social networking sites, wikis, blogs, job boards, recruiting, networking, search engine optimization, keyword creation, user-generated content

If HR associates want to keep up with young professionals and industry trends, they will have to do a couple things—join social networking sites, contribute to wikis and blogs, become experts at keyword creation, and spend way less time on traditional ads and job boards. That’s the advice of recruiters, trainers, and industry analysts looking at HR markets on three continents.  

Manpower Professional says 12 percent of HR associates in Hong Kong now use social networking sites to do research on potential employees, but rarely to recruit them. A corporate trainer in Hong Kong estimates highly IT literate employees have been on blogs and wikis for six years or more, but others have just gotten their feet wet in the last 12 months. A U.S.-based consultant warns that job boards are dead but talent hubs are alive, stressing that the power of search engines is in creating keywords that will boost your message to the top of the results list. The web editor of a British-based online job site offers 16 HR-related blogs of totally user-generated content with postings linked to like-minded professionals. The site has seen a 300 percent jump in a year, with one-fifth of its traffic now international users.

Some firms can’t let go of traditional recruiting methods for fear of losing control over their labor pool. Many HR departments lack the technical expertise to jump onto networking sites or blogs. But the time and effort spent on testing the waters and getting comfortable with the technology may be worth the investment. Today’s young professionals are seeking out top employers across the street or across the globe in a new way—by interacting, networking, and socializing through self-governing sites. If you want to reach them, you’ll find them on job blogs and networking wikis. And don’t forget MySpace, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Xanga.   

1. What is online recruiting, and global recruiting?                 

2. What issues should HR associates consider when attempting new forms of recruiting through networking sites, blogs, or wikis?

3. Name some concerns that arise when attempting to conduct global recruiting or networking.     

“Blogs of talent: wikis and blogs have experienced exponential growth over the last two years, but HR professionals have been slow to recognise their potential,” China Staff, March 2009 v15 i3 p14 (6).