STAN talks Twitter with BBC's Richard Bacon 1st Jul 2009
The economic decline in the wake of the credit crisis has claimed many victims, yet unlike previous downturns technology is helping those in the market for a new job. Recruitment agencies and business are using Twitter to find new staff and advertise opportunities.
STAN's Account Manager Alex Wood spoke to Richard Bacon on BBC Radio Five Live discusses the benefits of Twitter and social media for employers.
"As unemployment goes up more and more people are turning to Twitter to find jobs. Companies advertise in 140 characters and you can click on a link for more information and employer details", said Richard Bacon.
"Twitter is a mixed blessing," replied Alex. "Lots of businesses jump on it expecting it to solve all their woes only to realise that it isn't necessarily a suitable tool for their purpose. One of these purposes is as a recruitment tool. It might be great for looking for a web designer or SEO expert, or for more general roles, but anything specific which isn't digital media orientated will inherently be less successful."
The discussion arose from an article in the Daily Telegraph about Twitter undermining normal recruitment methods. Alex suggested that candidates and businesses focus on its growing use as a recruitment engine.
"Many recruitment agencies are essentially just another sales call centre. They don't care who they're flogging or who to, as long as they meet their targets and make the sale. Most businesses will agree that they want more than that from the recruitment process, and Twitter makes listing jobs and making the public aware of vacancies a faster and easier process."
Alex continues, "even better, someone doesn't have to be a member of Twitter to read the job listings, as there are several free websites that trawl Twitter for job listings and post them up for all to see. Twitter is also Google-optimised, so candidates searching for a specific job title will find businesses that are tweeting those vacancies."
What of the inherent dangers of recruiting through social media, and pointed out that many applicants might be time-wasters who spend too much time on social media at work? Richard Bacon suggested is it a "kind of spying on your employees and potential employees."
"While that's true," responded Alex, "in PR and digital media a working knowledge of social media trends is essential, and making contact through such a platform is proof of the pudding. Also, just because you recruit though another channel doesn't mean the person won't be a time-waster."
"Another disadvantage is that recruitment agencies trawl Twitter looking for job listings and then hijack them. When we listed a job on Twitter, we specifically stated 'No Agencies', but within minutes we were bombarded by phone calls from completely irrelevant agencies desperate to 'sell' us their candidates. One thing to learn from the experience is that when you post something on Twitter, it can be read by anyone, and you need to be prepared to deal with a very strong response, whether positive or negative."
STAN's honest and open approach to social media trends has won the team a lot of work in the field, including most recently a PR project for a completely new social networking site.
Follow Alex on Twitter: lexplex_