Online recruitment is fast becoming the dominant form of job hunting – both by candidates and those seeking them – swiftly usurping the days of searching through newspaper jobs listings then sending out hard-copy CVs.
Recruiters and candidates are now finding that social media, however, is also becoming an integral part of the recruitment process. People looking to fill a job are able to check out their candidates’ histories online, via sites such as LinkedIn and Facebook.
Candidates, on the other hand, are using the sites to post electronic CVs and even videos of them pitching themselves to prospective employers.
Graeme Anthony was one candidate who used new media to his advantage in his hunt for a new job in PR. He told the BBC that his interactive video CV was able to give an accurate picture of who he was, and also allowed him to demonstrate his technological nous.
“It brings me to life in a completely new way,” he said. “It shows off my personality in a way a paper CV can’t. It’s got the wow factor.”
Graham Goodkind, the chairman and founder of Frank PR, the company that hired Graeme on the back of his video, said his pitch was novel, but very effective at communicating his skills and creativity.
“This really opened up our eyes to how it really could be done and we wanted to meet the guy straight away,” he said.
Fixed fee online recruitment specialists Recruitment Genius are also benefiting from social media in recruitment. Geoff Newman their chief executive commented “We have dedicated Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin channels which are starting to attract a small quantity of candidates. We hope our investment in social media will deliver stronger relationships with our customers whilst allowing the viral nature of social media to expand peoples awareness of our business.
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