Social Networking Becoming More Used By Recruiters

Tuesday Oct 30

Social Networking Sites such as Facebook are becoming a more frequently used tool for recruitment consultants looking to source new staff – especially with in the IT industry.

According to a poll by the Association of Technology Staffing Companies, 58 percent of the participating IT recruitment firms  said that social networking websites are more useful for finding staff that printed advertisements.

Interestingly, 49 percent of the companies questioned also said that searching socila networking websites like Facebook or Myspace is more effective than banner advertising on-line.

However, seven in ten recruiters said that on-line jobs boards provided an overall better standard of candidates, with only nine percent seeing social networking websites as the best tool to provide the most appropriate candidates.

On the other side of the coin,  seven in ten recruiters said job boards provided a better quality of candidates, and two in ten preferred cold calling. Only nine percent saw social networking as providing the most appropriate candidates.

Atsco revealed that recruiters favour special interest groups on the sites to find candidates with the right background and knowledge. However, they also believe that print and on-line recruitment advertising will remain to be as important for brand building and to target candidates for senior level positions.

Ann Swain, chief executive at Atsco, said "Social networking sites make it very easy for recruiters to become trusted advisers to candidates and genuinely get to know them," she added. "Candidates often reveal far more about themselves on these sites than they would do on the phone or in interview."

The survey also revealed that recruitment firms were risking their candidate databases on line, with only a quarter of the companies writing restrictive clauses into consultants' contracts.  It also showed that company's are failing to assert ownership of databases and contact lists that are constructed by staff whilst perusing social networking sites.

This shows that the databases are in need of being more secure, which is something that Ann Swain said needs to be addressed in her comments.