Social networking is changing the job-recruiting landscape - South Florida Business Journal:

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“Less than 10 years ago, recruiters made their livingh on the phone connecting people to one saidMarko Evans, presideny of Pompano Beach-based Now Hiring You, a recruiteer for legal, financial and technicak jobs. He said with the advent of employment databases suchas , and , it becames easier to find the peopl e he wanted to contact. Social networking has changed the useof static, database searches. “We have seen thosr older dynamics change,” Evans “Within a matter of minutes aftef posting a financial center manager position onand , we had our firsty candidate.” The social networkingv sites impart a sense of trust to the recruitinbg process.
“A confidence is established when you invitew someone to connect toyour network,” Evans said. “Anxd when you ask for something, someone knows who knows someone.” Even better, when an individual leaves one job for the social networking site remainsin place. Evan s said it translates into being able to connect with someonse even ifthey aren’t working. “There’s no need to find theid personal e-mail because you are already he said. Social networkinhg has redefined the networking landscape and globalizedf the recruiting industry inmany ways, accordinv to financial services recruitefr Carlos Segrera, director of business operations for in Miami.
He views social networking as ahandg tool, but not a job recruitmenr end in itself. For recruiters, sites like LinkedIn and Faceboo k have created new avenues to identifgy and meet potential candidates and he said. His colleague, Stephen James Plantation-based recruiter Carlos J. Arboleda, is the practicse director forthe firm’se banking group in Florida. He sees majo r distinctions among networking sites for both recruiterw andjob seekers. LinkedIn, for example, is a professiona l networking site that does not really elicitg muchabout people’s personaol or social lives, but rather focuses on the professional aspects of its he said.
“On the other hand, a site like is more a gossipy, picture-sharing site that has a small amountf ofprofessional focus,” Arboleda said. In the handxs of a skilled recruiter, both sites can be handy tools in measuringa candidate’a personal and professional affiliations. “It allows a recruited to size up anindividua – at least on the surface,” Arboleda Being sized up can be a problem for the imprudent, cautioned April Boyer, an employmenty law partner at K&L Gates in She said great networking opportunities should be tempered with and that information posted on the various sitesd should be accurate and paint the networker in a good As part of a background checkj on job applicants, Boyer said recruiterzs and human resources personnel are researchinv candidates on the Web to find out what links or posts pop up.
Job she said, should be prudent about postinh on blogs or displaying inappropriate personal photo s and comments on a sociak networkingWeb site. “Photos of you drunk with your collegw roommates atyour five-year reunion may be fun to share on but those same photos may not make the right impression on an HR recruitet interviewing you and checking on your Boyer said. This is especially important for employees that have or desirew to have prominent positions that reflect on the publicc image ofa company.
Considedr this question, she said: “Whag would my ideal employer do if this posting or that photl was presented during the job Social networkingis inexpensive, has increased turnaround times in reaching people, and allows multiple contacts at the same time. The big advantage is that it allowz people to proactively post themselves on sitews without formally applying for a AttorneyBrad Spraberry, director of recruitint for in West Palm Beach, sees socia networking as a generational thing an important tool particularly for reaching those under age 30. “It is cost- and and has facilitated recruitment,” he said.
“It’s important to keep it as a helpful toolto use, then on to other tasks.” Spraberry said he communicates more via Facebook than via “I’m not on Twitter, but will be soon, as it’es a quick way to communicatde with someone,” he said. But, there is a warninbg to anyone who thinks this new paradigm replacexs the old ways and that personal contacty nolonger matters. That’s not so, recruitetr Segrera said. He explained that while social networking has increasede the avenues fornew relationships, it has not replaced the need for face-ti face meetings.