Social media for recruitment appears to be all the rage, but just how much of the rage should it be? Opinions vary, and one of those opinions is that of recruiting industry trainer
“Social media is not going to make a lot of placements,” said Bartos. “You’ve got to be on the phone calling people. You should do it as an afterthought, not as the main portion of your business.”
Bartos did indicate that social media does serve a useful purpose, even if it doesn’t lead directly to more placements all of the time.
“It’s great for branding and for image,” he said. “It doesn’t equal placements—at least not yet, anyway. If you rely on that stuff [to make placements], you’ll starve to death.”
As an illustration, Bartos had two researchers in his office a couple of years ago. One relied solely on social media, while the other utilized more traditional methods. According to Bartos, after one year’s time, he could attribute just one placement to the social media researcher. The researcher who used more traditional methods? Three placements.
“Social media is sexy branding,” said Bartos. “But that doesn’t mean you should hang your hat on it.”
(Jon Bartos is a leading trainer for the recruiting industry. Visit his “Talent Wins” website at www.JonBartos.com, and be sure to check out his library of free information for recruiters.)