Social Networking Sites Become a Recruitment Tool

Mention online social network and the first thing that comes to mind is that it's a great tool for connecting with family, friends, colleagues and even potential customers. Social networking makes it so easy to stay in touch with large groups of people that are spread out across great distances that there is a constant effort to find new ways of utilizing its power.

However, while companies and businesses have found some ways of using social media beyond just social networking, for local governments it has remained just that; social media. Barring a few leading examples such as San Francisco connecting its 311 service with Tweeter, it appears that most local governments in US are still looking for ways to use social media effectively.

Here's one new trend though regarding the use social media by the corporate world that perhaps local governments can emulate now - recruitment and hiring. After all, getting right IT candidates has always been a task for local governments given the comparative low pay they offer vis-a-vis the corporate sector.

A recent study by a New Jersey-based search engine and social media marketing consultancy and services firm Jump Start Media has revealed that increasingly, hiring managers are turning to -- and even depending on -- social media sites for identifying and researching job candidates for meeting their hiring needs.

After some extensive polling -- that included 100 hiring managers at small, mid-sized and large companies -- on how social media is being used in the hiring process, Jump Start found that a good number of the hiring managers have started checking social media sites to research candidates before making a job offer. While LinkedIn-the only professional social networking sites to research the credentials of job candidates, is the favorite for three quarters of those polled, a good 48% turn to Facebook and 26% to Twitter.

According to Veronica Fielding, CEO of Jump Start, although on the most basic level, social media is still being used for social networks, that social media connects large groups of people is making it a powerful tool for job hunting as well.

"Social media is not only a great networking tool, it is a great way to bag a new job if you use the media correctly and do the right things," she says.

One big reason why the social media has emerged as an important tool in the hiring process these days, say hiring managers, is its power to offer hiring managers the ability to gain a broad picture of an individual.

"It allows you to see the professional beyond their resume," says Rosina Racioppi, President of Women Unlimited, an organization that trains and grooms women to pursue a professional career. "Utilizing social media tools enables hiring managers to assess whether a candidate is an appropriate fit for their organization."

Fielding says since of all the popular online networking websites, LinkedIn has been the most professionally focussed; it should be the first hunting ground for hiring managers. "The easiest, safest choice is LinkedIn because it has always been a 100% professional networking media."