Finding New Employees, via Social Networks

Article Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/31/jobs/31recruit.html

Here's an article that pretty much sums up what we already know and have experienced at one point or the other.

Software has been created for this purpose alone!

A friend who gets a referral can apply for the job if interested. If that person is hired, the company can use Appirio’s service to track which employee found the match and offer a referral bonus.
To address privacy concerns, the list of possible candidates is available only to the friend/employee and not to the hiring company or software provider. “People’s Facebook friends don’t want their personal information going to any companies they haven’t specifically authorized,” Mr. Nichols said, “so to protect their privacy, the candidate list isn’t sent back to the hiring company or reused in any way.”

Jobvite offers a similar service with a wider range. While the Appirio software can currently search Facebook contacts, the Jobvite tool can search Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter contacts. “And anyone who receives a Jobvite can search their own networks and pass it along again...

We all know that employees usually refer friends for jobs. Jobvite just does the matching for them. Recipients who are hired can be tracked to the original sender for a referral bonus, even if the Jobvite has been passed from one mailbox to another up to six times.

If only the market just got better and made it easier for us!

Thats pretty interesting. It is amazing how much technology and social networks is helping employers and employees fill job spots with qualified people that may not have otherwise heard about the job opening. Social networks has helped bridge the gap between job postings and a multitude of people looking for jobs.

I think it is interesting how in the past sometimes people saw having a facebook account as detrimental to finding a job due to the information you may find there but now the social networking site is being used for something that we can all agree is useful and can help people in these difficult times.
My favorite part about this is: "This accelerates the personal referral process and widens the field, as many social network users have hundreds of friends or contacts in their networks, she said." and the idea that hiring people is not just HR's job anymore but that every employee can and should act as a recruiter.

http://www.businessweek.com/debateroom/archives/2008/03/employers_get_o.html

The above is an interesting article that discusses the cons and pros of not allowing employers to get a view of your facebook profile. I think this is an issue that depends on the individual case of the prospective employee and the employers. As discussed in this article, in some cases, these social networks can be very useful in hiring an employee (both for the prospective employee and the employer). The article makes good points, such as:
"a job applicant’s well-crafted online persona can serve as an asset, acting as a kind of extended résumé. In many white-collar occupations, a candidate can use his Web presence to demonstrate passion and depth of knowledge for his or her area of expertise. When hiring a writer, for example, I’d be more likely to choose one who had a blog (assuming it was well-written) than one who did not, even if I disagreed with some of the views it contained."
This is only one of the many advantages one could have with a good online profile.

On the other hand, there are just as many disadvantages. Facebook is a network that was designed for people to interact in their casual lives, not for a place for employers to search for future employees. Therefore, many employers can make inaccurate decisions base don ones profile. Here is an example from the article:
"Also, let’s remember that people use the anonymity of the Internet to portray themselves as they want to be seen rather than as they really are. With a few pictures and a strategic paragraph, a shy and quiet intern-to-be can easily make himself look like a party-hopping raver. In his bid to meet exciting people and liven up his nightlife, did he cost himself a job because a hiring manager thinks he’s too wild and crazy to work in a corporate setting?"

So, as stated earlier, I believe that whether or not facebook is an advantage or a disadvantage for employers and employees depends on each individual circumstance. However, I do believe that based on earlier years, such social networks have become better tools for both sides based on earlier uses of online social networks.