Using Facebook to Recruit

Facebook:


You and everyone on the planet is talking about it, has an account, or saw the movie.
How do you get started using it for recruiting?
There are lots of sources out there. None of them are 100% correct because recruiting using Facebook is still in it's infancy. That being said, there are some basic rules that apply (see previous blog posts from August 2011). The following is my input on how to get started.


For recruiting on Facebook many of the same things that are listed above for Twitter will apply, but used in a different way.


Remember that Facebook, is a "PULL" media, unlike Twitter that is a "PUSH" media. The point of Facebook is to get people involved in what you have to say. TO do that try the following:


1. Post the job regularly on the wall with different titles to draw attention of different job seekers.


2. Shorten the link to your job posting. With Facebook apps more people receive their updates on their phone. This helps save space when reading the message on their screen. A sites like http://bit.ly/ can help.


3. Use the photo albums to post pictures about the company, company outings, the job, the other salespeople. Use the photo captions to help explain the job and the culture. Make sure the pictures are realistic if it involves the duties of the job, but positive when it comes to the culture.


4. Post video messages about the job. Maybe a message from the sales manager, testimonial from a customer, anything that gives the feel for the job. These videos can also be shared on YouTube.com so if the candidate searches on YouTube (as of this writing it is the second biggest search engine behind Google) they can find you there as well.


5. Make sure there is something new posted about the job on a regular basis. In the event the job is sent to a job seeker by several different people the job seeker will have a reason to look because there is something different.


6. Facebook changes rules and features all the time so remember that what worked yesterday might not always work well tomorrow.


7. Have postings get posted by a human being rather than an automated corporate response. Facebook is all about people. If company X posts a job I might not care. If PERSON X posts a job and I'm friends with them I will care more. So make sure the face or faces of your company are people and not only corporate logos.


Give these ideas a try and see how they do.
Thanks for reading!
Ev
"A Heck of A Nice Guy"

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August Jokes

If you need a little laugh (stress the word little), here are this month's jokes:

Two hydrogen atoms walk into a bar. One says, "I've lost my electron."
The other says, "Are you sure?"
The first replies, "Yes, I'm positive..."

A jumper cable walks into a bar. The bartender says, "I'll serve you, but don't start anything."

Did you hear about the boy who liked to keep cookies in his joke book?
He liked crumby jokes!

What kind of snake is good at math?
An Adder!

A turkey once swallowed a guitar. He plays a tune every time he's plucked!

Thanks for reading!
Ev
I've always said the jokes are clean enough to tell your mother. I've never claimed they would make her laugh!

Using Twitter to recruit

Now that the basics are out of the way, how should you best use social media to recruit anyone? There are lots of ways, however I'm going to give you some different ideas to take advantage of on the popular social media sites. The first site is:

Twitter:


1. Make sure if you tweet that you are looking for someone, include a link to a job posting or job description rather than a homepage or any other place that doesn't talk specifically about the job. Remember that most people check Twitter while on the go somewhere, coffee shops, lunch, so they want the information right away.


2. Tweet the job description with different titles. Remember you only have 140 characters to get your message out. Some words will resonate with some job seekers and some will not.


3. Shorten the link to your job posting to save you character space on your messages. Sites like http://bit.ly/ are great sites to do this.


4. Use Job Angels to spread the word about your job. For more information how it works: http://twitter.com/JobAngels

Social media sites are changing all the time. This is not meant to be a comprehensive list, but rather a way to get things started. Your feedback is always welcome.
Thanks!
Ev
"A Heck of A Nice Guy"

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Using-twitter-to-recruit.html 
Using-facebook-to-recruit.html 
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How to Recruit Anyone on Social Media Basic Tip #3: No Jargon

This is the third of three basic tips on recruiting. The next articles will deal more with individual platforms, but the basics have to be right first.

Here is tip #3:
Use plain English when creating the title and in the job description, NOT company jargon.

Sometimes the temptation is to use industry or company jargon. People think that qualified job seekers with industry experience will know what the position is because they will know what the jargon means. While that does have some validity, don’t forget that companies or industries don’t always speak the same jargon as your company.

One recent position on a social media site was titled:
"Financial Sales Representative II"
What is this position? A Stock broker? Financial planner? Life Insurance sales?
In reading the description it was a bank teller who could open up new saving/checking accounts. A better title would have been: "New Accounts Teller" or "New Checking/Saving Accounts Teller"


Including the word "teller" is simple, easy to understand, everyone knows what it is, and it doesn't confuse the position with an outside or inside sales position (on a separate note, when did the word "teller" become a bad word? No bank or credit union uses it anymore). People inside the banking industry might know what a "Financial Sales Representative II" is, however as a company you might get candidates clicking on the position that are not qualified or think the position is something it is not. To me "Financial Sales Representative II" sounds like someone that sells mutual funds or bonds. As a salesperson I was interested in it. I clicked on the posting as was surprised at what I saw.

As a candidate you've wasted my time by having me click on a posting that I'm not interested in. It is also a waste of your time if I apply for the position and I'm not qualified.

Avoiding jargon, using plain language, and being blunt can also avoid confusion and save everyone time. Try the above tip the next time you advertise a sales position and see the difference it makes in your results.

Next articles deal with the different social media platforms.

Thanks for reading!
Ev
A Heck of A Nice Guy

If you missed the first two parts of this article click the links below:
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Tip #2

How to Recruit Anyone on Social Media Basic Tip #2: Be Creatively Blunt

Social media can be a great tool for recruiting. The problem is there isn't one simple way to do it. That being said, there are some basics of social media ads that customers have shared with me that are common to all effective recruitment ads. I'm going to have articles coming up with specific tips on how to recruit on various social media platforms, but I have to get some basic points accross first:


The second tip is to be blunt in the job description.
Being blunt can avoid confusion and save everyone time by not writing or reading a lot of fluff, and getting a bunch of unqualified applicants. Read the following ad:


Wanted: Outside Salespeople With Passion and Heart


Have you ever wished you could work with a professional company, with professional people, doing professional things, in a professional way? Well now you can.
We’re ---- Radio and we change the lives of business people throughout the ---- Valley.
We’re looking for help, sales people on a mission.


Have you already had success calling on CEOs and owners of small to medium sized businesses?
Can you close orders for 50 to 100 thousand dollars …and do it in two to three calls…selling conceptual services that companies need but do not want?
Would you love to brainstorm marketing strategies with the best and brightest business minds around?
Are you at your best when selling against lots of competitors? Can you close even when you’re prices are higher than the other guy? Do you play to win? Is Sales a blast? Last year did you make more than 80 grand…and do you want a lifestyle that demands three times that?
Can you imagine celebrating victory high-fives with a team of sales Olympians who genuinely care about everyone’s success? Radio experience is not even necessary. We’ll teach you all you need to know.


If this is you, you’d better call fast, because we are on a fast track and we’re looking for runners. Call Monday October 19th only…888-6-7-----.


When it comes to advertising for salespeople, or anyone, being blunt and specific can make a huge difference. There are several reasons for this:


1. As a job seeker I know what type of account executive position I would like. The second ad clearly says it is an outside sales position. I don't know what the first ad wants. If I'm looking for outside sales and I know right away that the job is for inside sales I’m less likely to click on it.


2. If ads have a descriptive title, and straight to the point requirements, I'll think more favorably of that company even if I don't apply for it.


3. If I know what exactly the company is looking for, I'll keep reading the ad as long as I'm meeting each qualification or close to it.


4. If I know exactly who I'm going to be calling on, what the expectations are, money and professional opportunities, I'm more likely to be excited about joining the company and you'll see that passion when it comes to the interview.


5. If an ad has too much junk and fluff but I apply for it, it wastes your time having to go through an unqualified resume.


6. There are other reasons to be blunt, however I have to save some ideas for when we meet to talk about how to improve your sales team!


I have one more generic tip before getting to strategies for the different platforms.
Bear with me.
Thanks!
Ev

How to Recruit Anyone on Social Media Basic Tip #1: Creative Title

As a HR manager or recruiter you've probably used job boards, newspapers, and referrals to recruit your candidates. You've probably also jumped on the bandwagon and tried using Facebook, Twitter, Google+, MySpace, Ning, Second Life, and a host of other social media sites.  Now that social media is here to stay in our world, how do you use it to recruit top talent? Ever wonder where to start and what rules to follow? Before I get to the individual social media sites, there are some basic rules I have to cover.
Here are some practical guidelines:


Most job ads that are posted on social media sites currently fall into one of three categories:
1. a link back to a company employment site
2. a link back to the posting on a job board
3. a posting on "the wall" or in the discussion/note page on a company account like on Facebook
With recruiting on social media there is no absolute method on how to recruit, however the companies I've worked with have said that "old tips" still apply and get the best results.


What are the old tips?
Here is #1:


Make a creative job title for your ad.
Instead of saying “Car Salesperson,” try “Audi & Porsche new/used Car Salesperson.”
Little changes like that can make the posting stand out in the search results and give the job seeker an immediate idea of what the job entails.


Below is a search I did for “Account Executive” through a social media site.
Which posting would you click on first?

Account Executive / Project Coordinator
Madison, WI


Account Executive/Enrollment Counselor
Brookfield


Account Executive
Milwaukee


Account Executive/Enrollment Counselor
Madison


Account Executive
Madison, Wisconsin


 LENDING COMPANY--Account Executive
Statewide


Account Executive
Milwaukee


New Media Account Executive
Milwaukee


Account Executive
Green Bay, Fond Du Lac, Oshkosh


Account Executives and Directors of Reverse Mortgages
Northern Wisconsin

Imagine any of those posting titles showing up on a social media site like Facebook.
They look dumb,generic, un-hip, boring!
Especially with all the bells and whistles a site like Facebook has!
If I was a job seeker, nothing would compel me to click on any of these postings!


Which one of the above postings would stand out for you?
What separates the interesting posting titles from the rest?
Have your postings ever gotten lost in a sea of generic titles?


When it comes to advertising for candidates, this minor change can make a huge difference. There are four reasons for this:


1. Creative titles grab attention!

2. As a job seeker I know what type of account executive position (or mechanic, IT, or whatever the job is) I would like.
Some companies consider account executives salespeople, some companies consider them strictly customer service positions.


If I'm looking for automotive sales and I know right away that the job is for a Radio Sales Account Executive I’m less likely to click on it, however I am more likely to click on the ad if it says “Salesforce Development Tools Salesperson.”


3. If ads have a descriptive title, I’m more likely to keep looking through a long list of jobs with descriptive titles to find the right one, rather than click on a couple generic ads, get bored, and move on to something else.


4. If an ad has a more descriptive job title and I do not apply for it, it saves you the time of having to go through an unqualified resume


Try the above tip the next time you advertise a position and see the difference it makes in your results. Next time I'll cover one more basic rule then we'll get into the meat of the sites.


Thanks!
Ev
"A Heck of A Nice Guy"

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August Newsletter

Greetings!

So why are you getting this from me?

If you don’t remember getting a monthly email from me before, I’ve been sending out a short email newsletter for about 10 years now. It has taken many forms over the years, but is always meant to inform and be light hearted for those of us in the worlds of HR, Recruiting, and HR Sales. This blog grew out of those emails. I still send out the email, but I also republish it here.

Please look at the links below. If you are interested in an article click on the link and it will open for you.

You may have heard about Google +. Is it good for recruiting and what is it:
http://everetsblog.blogspot.com/2011/07/google-finally-recruiter-friendly.html

Poorly written resumes are everywhere, what resume catch phrases annoy you:
http://everetsblog.blogspot.com/2011/07/recruiters-do-these-10-phrases-kill.html

Other Articles:

Why you should update your personal brand:
http://everetsblog.blogspot.com/2011/07/need-to-update-your-personnal-brand.html

Non compete agreements for recruiters/salespeople:
http://everetsblog.blogspot.com/2011/07/non-competes-for-recruiters-and.html

At the end of the newsletter there are always a couple of jokes.
These are puny and always clean enough to tell your mother:
http://everetsblog.blogspot.com/2011/07/july-jokes.html

There are other articles as well so please feel free to search my blog.
Last month almost 800 of you clicked on the links.
Thank you for everything!

Have a great August!
Everet Kamikawa
"A Heck of A Nice Guy"

Responses to Resume Phrases That Need to Go Away

A couple of weeks ago I published an article talking about what resume phrases I would love to see go away because they are cliche, boring, uninformative, or just dull.
Do These 10 phrases Kill A Resume?

My original list was:
1. "I'm a Team-Player."
2. "I Have Great Communication Skills."
3. "I Have a Proven Track-Record."
4. "I Have a Strong Work Ethic."
5. "I'm Self-Motivated."
6. "I'm Accustomed to a Fast-Paced Environment."
7. I'm a Hard Worker"

It started an interesting discussion.
Here are some of the comments:

Nazimah SM• ..and in its place, what would be recommended? I understand that seeing thousands of the same phrase would be exasperating but to the person putting himself forward - this is the only chance to tell the recruiter what kind of employee he is. Its calling a spade a spade and as a recruiter, I would appreciate that. We can't run away from cliches and generic phrases -- when job adverts and employers ask for "team player, independent individuals with good interpersonal skills" themselves - what chance does an applicant have unless he parrots all that in the application - or risk the CV being trashed for "not meeting the requirements"?

GWB 房东 • " At the end of the day " gets on my nerves as does " I can think outside the box" which leads me to ask, so what were you doing in there in the first place?

Charles Stoten • I think because is one of the strongest words on a CV. I am a team player because... I have great communication skills because.... They are relevant to an application but they are banded about and inevitably have no meaning unless they are substantiated. I goes back to features and benefits. The above are all features we look for but what is the benefit of these. I am a team player because in my previous role I had to work with a team to achieve a joint goal or target and this was achieved by......

Brian Gordon-Stables • Most people put the generic phrases on their CV which does ultimately cheapen or dilute the impact. Charles is right - if they back it up with reasons why then it becomes more credible. Everet - I don't agree with all of your hit list. "Proven track record" is very useful in sales roles if you can back it up with facts and figures. Again - "accustomed to fast paced environment" is something that some of my clients ask for. I think we grow weary of seeing the same phrases but as Zazimah says, what do they replace it with? If you can substantiate it then it could be considered a valid statement.
Personally I don't like "punctual, presentable and honest". I expect that as a given not a CV highlight!

Michele L. Perry • Everyone makes valid points in this discussion. Industry standards says to pick up the words and phrases from the job description to show that your skills and abilities fit what they are looking for. However, that can become a trap of its own if people are just mimicking what they see in the ad without really possessing those qualifications. I agree with you about what you expect as a given, Brian but I'm thinking not all potential employees are punctual, presentable or honest. Besides, they may be focusing attention on those things to cover over a lack of experience for the specified job.

Paul Roberts • "I'm a fast learner"
Go on then. Give me an example (with proof) of something you learned faster than someone else...

David Gillies • My "vast" knowledge/experience.....

Jim Replogle • I like this question....Never say I was responsible for-...if i wanted a job description I can call your employer and get that....Never say I would have, could have, should have....tell me what you did....I love data so numbers are even better.....tell me things you identified as a problem in the work place and how you fixed it....tangible things you have done!....and lots of em

Jo Ann Stewart • As a Recruiter I really don't look at those phrasings--I am looking for the "meat".

Everet Kamikawa 

There are lots of great points so far:

Nazimah makes a great point about what should candidates replace the phrases with. Part of it is the job ads. Employers need to learn to write better ads. If they don't rely on cliches then candidates won't either. Brian, Michelle, and Jim I agree with you to back up phrases with numbers. A sales resume is a great example. "A proven track record" is a phrase I see a lot with no numbers to back it up. Changing the phrase to "A proven track record of raising revenue from $500K to $2.7M in three years" provides more meat.

Brian mckenzie • I would quit using them, when employers quit keying them into the ad and and using them as Taleo X key word filters.
Just a few of my favorites from the other side of the cutting table, this afternoon:

• Performance management and quality improvement (when it is a government social agency that is neither branded as quality or performance)
• Diligence and integration (when the business cannot manage to follow up with a call or email)
• Exceptional organizational skills (when the ad has its own spelling errors; especially in the certifications it is seeking)
• Translates business operations (especially when it is NOT language job)
• Required B2B solutions experience ( when there is not history of the company, and they are NOT ready to delineate between practices between retail and corporate)
• Excellent interpersonal, verbal and written communication skills (pure jibber jabber)
• Career advancement potential locally, nationally and internationally (when in fact, they don't have an overseas location, have no corporate intentions of it, and think that answering a phone call from outside of the US means they are 'international' )
• Don't even get me started on Divercity, Esperienced, Liscensed, Accrediated, Certificated and my all time favorite HIPPA
• (spelling errors are from their ads, and not mine)

Mark Thomas:
Some of my resume pet peeves:

“Successfully (insert some activity)……” I would hope is was successful if it was on your resume. “Creative….” Who says? One person’s creative is another person’s passé.
“Visionary…” Means you have hallucinations.
“Tenacious….” Translation: Obnoxious
“Resilient….” You must have screwed up plenty to develop this to be your strength.
“Empowering….” Does not manage nor make quick decisions
“Sense of urgency…” Also means senseless urgency, which is just wasted energy.


In each case, if the term really applies, you can create a bullet point that illustrates how successful the project was, how creative the idea was, how visionary the direction was, how tenacity led to achieving a goal, how resilience helped you overcome adversity, the extent to which your empowered team moved critical metrics, and how your sense of urgency implemented a solution before anyone knew it was a problem.
Just my two cents (or, too sense)

If you have other resume phrases you cannot stand please feel free to comment. Thanks to everyone who participated or read this article!
Ev
"A Heck of A Nice Guy"

Informational Interviewing: Do You Do It? How, Why, Do's & Don'ts

Do you accept requests to sit down with job seekers on informational interviews?
We as recruiters don't usually have a lot of time to spend on interviews that are not going to fill a position we have available.
They are however a good way of building a candidate piepline so that whe  the time comes we need someone a person can be top of mind and save the hastle of placing ads and going through resumes.

For a job seeker
informational interviewing is a good way to build their network, get information about your industry, job duties, research companies, and practice their interviewing skills. Job seekers are those enough reasons for you to pick up the phone and call some companies? Who do you talk to? Ask your network who to talk to? How do you start?



Recruiters, the next time a job seeker calls for an informational interview and you have the time, will you accept or better yet refer the job seeker to someone in your company that does the job they want to do? 
Thanks to my colleague Susan Fischer (Susan Fischer) click here for some answers:
G:\Informational interviewing.pdf
To see part of a presentation I did about both regular and informational interviews click here:
Informational Interviews
Thanks!
Ev

Why They Say No-Tips to Job Seekers pt. 5 Conclusion

I was recently invited to speak at a couple of job seeker clubs, Forty Plus of Wisconsin and Career Crossroads at Elbrook Church.

I gave a presentation about what are some of the common mistakes job seekers are making that gets them rejected for the jobs they are applying for.
Here is part five. The conclusion.
I hope you found this information useful!
Thanks!
Ev

why-they-say-no-tips-to-job-seekers part 1: email addresses, voice mail, resumes

Why-they-say-no-tips-to-job-seekers-pt. 2: Resumes

Why-they-say-no-tips-to-job-seekers-pt. 3: Networking, Interview Techniques

Why-they-say-no-tips-to-job-seekers-pt. 4: Interview Questions

Why-they-say-no-tips-to-job-seekers-pt.5: Conclusion

5 Cool Tricks to Get More Out of LinkedIn

Recently at a family gathering a nephew of mine mentioned that I was "all over LinkedIn" everyday.
Everyone has their favorite tools and resources. One of mine has always been LinkedIn.
Do I use all of the features, no. Do I  think some of the features could be made better, yes. Am I shill for them, no. Has it been a great tool to help me make contacts and make what I do more successful, absolutely!
If you have a LinkedIn account but don't know how it can help your business, below is an article with more tips.
Thanks!
Ev
p.s. I promise no more articles on LinkedIn this month!

5 Cool Tricks to Get More Out of LinkedIn
5-cool-tricks-to-get-more-out-of-linkedin
By Steve Strauss

Q: I get so tired of hearing about Twitter. Can’t I just run my business and not worry about social media? And if I do need to think about it , which site is the best for growing my business? That is all I care about. – Zoe

A: I get where you are coming from, sister. When it comes to small business, is there anything getting more attention these days than social media? Everyone is atwitter about Twitter and you can’t seem to go five minutes without hearing something about Facebook. But, while most folks seem to have a LinkedIn profile, that site never seems to get the press that its two more popular social media cousins get.
But that’s too bad.

The fact is, for many entrepreneurs, there are few spots online that offer more, or can do more for their business and careers, than LinkedIn. I think a main reason that it seems to get shortchanged is because many people don’t realize just how powerful it is, how much you can do with it.
Here then, are some little known ways to get a lot more out of LinkedIn:

1. Tap into the groups tool: I bet that you probably are a member of a few LinkedIn groups, and probably even get group update notices via email.

Big deal.

The groups function of LinkedIn is so much more powerful than that. How powerful, you ask? Not long ago I heard about a woman who started her first business. She decided to get involved with a LinkedIn entrepreneurs group, but unlike most of us, she jumped in — posting and sharing, meeting and greeting.
Six months later, when she decided that she needed a board of advisors, she turned to her LinkedIn group, asking for volunteers. More than 50 highly qualified, experienced entrepreneurs offered to sit on her advisory board — for free.

2. Use “advanced search” to really search: Of course you can use the search tool on LinkedIn and find someone you are looking for, but what if you don’t know who exactly you are looking for? That’s where “advanced search” comes in. Jackpot.

Using advanced search, you can really drill down and expand your network by searching key words, professions, industries, businesses, groups etc. If you are looking for people with a specific job title, use advanced search for that title, or a company name, school, zip code, etc.

Example: Say you want to find people who have done marketing for Dell, but you don’t know who exactly. By searching the terms “Dell” and “Marketing,” you will get a list of people both inside and outside your network. Then search your shared connections to those people, and off you go.

And here is another great advanced search trick: You can save the search results for later use. To the far right of your search result is a link that says “save this search.”

3. Get found: Why be on LinkedIn if not to expand your network, right? But that’s a two-way street. Yes, you want to be able to find new contacts, but equally, you want people to be able to find you.

Here’s how: Think of your LinkedIn profile as your website, meaning, fill it with key terms and key phrases - SEO-friendly phrases. That way, when someone does her own “advanced search” using key phrases, your profile will more likely populate her search results.

Our Dell marketing alum might also list — in addition to the words “marketing” and “public relations” — words like PR, media, media relations specialist, publicist, IT marketing, and advertising. As with a website, the more you sprinkle specific SEO phrases around, the higher the likelihood that you will end up in an appropriate search result. If you are unsure what keywords to use, there is no need to guess. Check out the Google AdWords Keyword Tool. It will tell you what terms people use to search.

4. Go big: If you install the apps linked in this sentence, anytime you tweet or update your Facebook status, your LinkedIn profile will automatically update with those posts. It looks to the world like you are very linked in that way.

5. Discover important events: LinkedIn has a great feature that allows you to easily discover important industry events.

So no, Twitter with its (to me) frustrating 140-character limit is far from the only social media game in town.
Find me on LinkedIn: Steve Strauss


Steven D. Strauss is the senior small business columnist for USATODAY, and author of the "Small Business Bible." His latest book is "Get Your Business Funded: Creative Methods for Getting the Money You Need."

Apply Using LinkedIn

I don't need to be a shill for LinkedIn, however I've been wondering since they started when they would make it so applicants can apply using their profile.
To read how it works click the link below:
Apply-with-LinkedIn

Thanks to Todd Nilson of WISPRR (Wisconsin Professional Recruiters Resource) for his help in making us aware of this change!
WISPRR website

Thanks!
Ev
"A Heck of A Nice Guy"