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I'M BITTER ABOUT TWITTER follow this blog post

posted by on June 22, 2009

 

Well, besides the catchy title, I'm fairly bitter about most 'social media'. I'm hoping I can get a few people to yell "AMEN!" here because I know this post will have its critics.

So... Why am I bitter?

  1. It is not God's gift to Talent Acquisition. With all of the posts on this site and others, you would think that Social Networking is a gift given from above as if we have been in drought for the past 100 years. For those of us with jobs to fill, the gift is the enormous amounts of candidates at our fingertips coming from every media known to man right now. The best people are always hard to find, I agree. However, with a little work using a variety of different means we can find them! I don't need to Tweet to get results. Maybe I'm just not cool enough to be a Tweeter-Tatter.
  2. It is not the most difficult thing to grasp or learn. Every day as you read through the blog, you see about 80% of the posts dominated about 'how to utilize Social Media'. Really? Here's a tip: Hop on the tweeter box and start typing about how much you know... or how great the hamburger you just had was. It doesn't matter, make it interesting (or not for that matter) and you'll probably get some increased web traffic, a few candidates that you have no interest in speaking with, and become ERE famous for being a great social-networker!! Congrats! OK, OK... I'm being harsh now. Seriously though, if you can navigate the internet and are a member of 1 social media outlet, it's not that difficult to learn a 2nd. Or you can search "10 tips on being a great social networker"... I think you'll get about 100 different blogs/articles.
  3. It doesn't work for everyone. Allow me to give you a scenario from my world: Let's say I'm looking for a Project Director with a Degree in Engineering who can and has managed a multi-billion dollar healthcare facility. Further, he/she needs to have a P.E. License (Professional Engineer), be LEED AP Certified (environmental), and international project experience amongst many other things. Am I going to find this person by tweeter-twattering? No. In fact, if I tell someone like this to follow me on Tweeter the response I may get would go something like this: "Oh yes, I love those speakers too."
  4. Stop Already! Enough is enough. I've always had a general thought about Recruitment (aka Talent Acquisition - the fancy name we give ourselves... I like it). It's not difficult to be in our world... Our job isn't THAT difficult. BUT... it is time consuming and it does take a bit of salesmanship. Not everyone has that natural salesmanship in themselves. Last, you should know your market, whether that be construction, engineering, IT, finance, etc. This is all too difficult for some to overcome.
  5. I'm understanding. OK, I get it. Some of you tweeters out there do get results. If you're doing mass-hiring for Customer Service positions, looking for a great business developer, or even looking for a software guy/gal it may work for you! I also understand that there are many 3rd party folks, business owners, website developers, etc who are trying to get their brand out there... I get it! It probably works great for you. But for the every day Recruiter, depending on your business, it seems like anything more than 10% of your day spent on a few of these outlets would be a waste of time.

P.S. Does anyone know how I can get updates about what Cameron Diaz did today? I can't seem to find a good source. Oh... wait... never mind...

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43 comments

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  • 1 point 4 months ago
    I use Twitter as a "tool in the tool box" and love it.  I've always felt a key aspect of recruiting is having a dialogue.  Twitter allows me to have a dialogue with candidates, potential candidates, rejected candidates, recruiting thought leaders and social media experts.  I learn about them, they learn about me and my company.  Oh yes, let's connect on Twitter - I'm at @haroldmellor Harold Mellor Senior Manager, Talent Acquisition Boston Globe Media EMAIL: hmellor@globe.com
  • 1 point 4 months ago
    Bitter about twitter?
  • 1 point 4 months ago

    Just another tool in the shed. I think of it as a microblog.

  • 1 point 4 months ago

    Just another tool in the shed.

  • 1 point 4 months ago

    From BusinessWeek June 25

    "Online job-search and headhunting is changing rapidly, and frontrunner Monster is losing ground to LinkedIn, CareerBuilder, and even Twitter..."

    The Times They Are A Changing (Bob Dylan)

  • 1 point 4 months ago

    agree@suzy

  • 1 point 4 months ago

    Can I get yet another AMEN! in there? ...I think I will. Social networking for recruiting has been way overhyped and will continue to be an ineffective tool - I have yet to hear anyone say they have made multiple hires from facebook, twitter, or the next great one coming around the corner...and I don't expect to hear it any time soon. So I welcome recruiters to keep wasting your time on twitter, facebook, et al. while I roll up my sleeves and make my hires through methods that are proven.  Lastly, I will admit I have made a number of hires from LinkedIn so I will give that one a thumbs up!

  • 1 point 5 months ago

    AMEN, Scott!!     I also consider myself to be a person who gets excited about new technology available, and while TWITTER is a good SOCIAL networking tool, I find it to be useless for recruiting purposes.   And if I get ONE hire from Twitter, it will not justify the hours spent on it.  

  • 1 point 5 months ago

    Seen on Twitter today:

    "Watch what people are cynical about, & 1 can often discover what they lack"

  • 1 point 5 months ago

    I'm cynical about eating fish too. I lack the palette to eat them.

  • 1 point 4 months ago

    Just reportin' what I saw, Scott.

  • 1 point 5 months ago

    The best advice I ever received was "nothing replaces a live conversation via phone or in person" - email can lack personalization and sincerity - I value my relationships and twitter, facebook, email or any other social networking site isn't going to make a big difference to how I do what I do for a living.  It makes a difference on my personal life and causes I'm involved in but recruiting? not for the type of positions I work on.  I am still waiting for someone to show me the ROI - put your money or tweets where your mouth is IMO.  

  • 1 point 4 months ago

    Ditto. I'll buy in on Twitter when I make even one hire out of it, or even read about a real business case that shows a measurable ROI from tweeting.

     

     

  • 1 point 4 months ago

    i made a hire off twitter @ microsoft about 6 months ago.  the role had been open for over 3 quarters & thank God Twitter came along to save the day!

     

  • 2 points 5 months ago

     

    I appreciate your ideas.  That said, I think perhaps a bigger point is being missed.  On a macro-level, I believe recruiting is challenged at how to integrate some "high touch" back into what has become a "high tech" recruiting process.  We have found that using social networking and social media is a great method of enhancing the candidate experience.  Additionally, Social Network sites are great databases of target talent since much of our target audience are in those communities.  Since these communities have already formed by the target audiences that we desire to reach, then it makes sense that we may want to join them in those communities.

     

    I agree with you that using a social networking tool is not difficult.  However, determining how to leverage that tool and integrate it into a recruiting process can be challenging.  This is pioneering work and as such, there is great excitement on the wild, western frontier of technology.  I am very encouraged by the sharing of best practices and new found knowledge by the staffing community.  There is a sense of "we are in this together" that goes far beyond any hype or any shiny new thing mentality. 

     

    The old ways may work for you.  But for many of us that are pursuing technical talent who seem to be the early adopters of social communities, then we need to get in front of this rapidly changing technical landscape.  We already have learned we much adopt the new ways to succeed in our quest for talent.

     

  • 1 point 5 months ago

    Thanks for the comments Marvin. Seeing that you work at Microsoft, I think something like Twitter is probably a very solid tool for you. No arguements here.

  • 1 point 5 months ago

    Marvin, I wanted to take a moment to commend you on a well-thought out and very coherent comment.  You make outstanding points.

    If I may, let me add the following: I am very much an early adopter when it comes to technology (I'm even working on the early phase of building a social network for a highly popular video game [sports] franchise) . . . but being an early adopter isn't always about being bullish regarding everything that's new, hot, or shiny.  In fact, early adopters can be the most critical of all market segments when it comes to new technology adoption.  In that sense, it may seem as if we, as a group, speak out of both sides of our mouth when we weigh the value of a tool or application on different planes.  For example, I love Twitter as a personal tool, but question the hype about it as a recruiting tool.  Twitter is a tool that is capitalizing on the newfound era of citizen journalism.  Citizen Journalism is here to stay, Twitter will evolve as a communication medium.

    As far as pioneering new ground regarding the establishment of communities, I completely agree with you . . . however, given my love of marketing, I can tell you the real problem our industry is having, and it's this: We're looking through our own eyes and not the eyes of our 'target market'.  Our industry is trying to craft the candidate experience from the inside out (i.e. from our board room out), instead of outside in.  This is a tragic flaw of 90% of early-stage technology firms (because Exec Teams think in terms of what they believe the market needs, not necessarily what the market believes it needs) . . . and our industry is experiencing nothing more than this on a grander scale.

    The real progress will be made when the Recruiters stop thinking about what *they* want, and more about what the candidate wants.  But these conversations are a tough slog; they're not easy.  In that sense, I'll end with this: just because a group of people is passionate about social media does not mean this will translate to progress.  You also need inquisitiveness, knowledge, and a level of marketing acumen.  Recruiting acumen alone won't cut it because the market doesn't care what we want.  Our industry's entire paradigm needs a shift.

  • 1 point 4 months ago

    You nailed it.

  • 0 points 5 months ago

    ditto

  • 1 point 4 months ago

    Double Ditto....well said Joshua...

     

     

  • 3 points 5 months ago

    *yawn* You and every other person who uses Twitter has a bad day with it and proclaims that it sucks. Get in line. And yes - I've been there before too.

    No tool - including the PHONE - is THE answer for recruiting success these days. The way our society has evolved with the ways we communicate, you cannot rely on one communication medium. If you do, you're screwed.

    I would like to offer up a thought for describing what we do: it's simple....but not easy. There's a difference between the two. Simple means that anyone can do it - but easy means that anyone can do it ::well:: which is simply not the case - for both recruiting, AND for using social media. Any idiot can sign up for an account on a social media resource. That's simple. But gleaning value from it? That's not easy - like you said, it doesn't work for everyone (I completely agree) and it's time consuming (even though that's what you said regarding what it takes to be a good recruiter). Using social media and getting some value out of it IS time-consuming, because the very nature of it is social, and it takes time to develop lasting relationships in a social setting.

    My Jerry Springer final thought here is this: just because it doesn't work for you doesn't mean it does not work, period. In my personal opinion, any method of communication that connects one person with another, or a group of people, is going to be a valuable resource in SOMEone's recruiting toolbelt. 

  • 1 point 5 months ago

    "yawn" - Ha, love it... I'm responding to this because my post wasn't necessarily anti-twitter as much as it is was about the million of posts we see about twitter and recruiting. I think it is useful for some, but I stop there. Thanks for the comments Amybeth... even if I had you yawning.

  • 1 point 5 months ago

    :) it's all good Scott. I was in a feisty mood today hehe. I just don't want you to lose all hope in these communication tools - for that's all they are, tools. They're just one method of reaching people, and you don't have to use them or embrace them if they don't serve a purpose for you! But that doesn't mean that others won't find value in them and consequently get excited by that :)

  • 1 point 5 months ago

    Just to give some perspective on what may/may not be out there on Twitter, check out Hubspot's latest report http://bit.ly/sotwitter

  • 1 point 5 months ago

     

    AMEN Brother.. 

     I will believe that social networking is a viable way to recruit when I get ONE hire out of it.  Really the only reason I do is because all the cool kids are doing it.

  • 1 point 5 months ago

    This might be interesting to some of you.

  • 2 points 5 months ago

    Typical, to be expected, and *nothing new* responses in there for the most part. I'd rather be on the innovation side of the fence than lagging way behind and having to catch up when it's too late. BUT:That's just my humble opinion!

    I can't tell you the countless amount of people I have directed to social media that were not aware of it and they thank me to this day because it helped them find a job, helped them connect with someone influential, with their project etc.

  • 1 point 5 months ago

    OK- Maybe it needs to be spelled out in simpler terms. You remember the Yellow Pages of old, when you could look up industries/ciompanies and individuals when you were looking for something or someone?

    As an example of a good Twitter tool, Twellow.com, the Twitter search pages, has everything categorized nicely- tons of industries and sub-industries.

    Looking for an accountant in Park City, UT? Looking for a new client in the Cardiology field in Wilmington,DE? Looking to keep up to date on news in the Engineering industry? You can find all these and choose to follow these profiles on Twitter.

    Bottom line is: the whole WORLD is on Twitter in some form or fashion and you can probably find who you are looking for if you keep the networking going- trust me on this one. It is even playing a historic part right now with the Iran elections by keeping people with like-minded interests updated and connected.

    Who's Cameron Diaz again?

     

     

  • 1 point 5 months ago

    Scott I found your article entertaining as well as provocative.  I found myself laughing out loud, and loved your humor.  Yes there are pros and cons to Twitter.  It's knowing what works best for each opportunity.  Keep telling us like it is.

  • 1 point 5 months ago

    Scott I found your article entertaining as well as provocative.  I found myself laughing out loud, and loved your humor.  Yes there are pros and cons to Twitter.  It's knowing what works best for each opportunity.  Keep telling us like it is.

  • 1 point 5 months ago

    AMEN.  Whatever happened to networking via conversations to find the passive candidate?

  • 1 point 5 months ago

    I loughed out loud at your post Scott, and will chime in with my own "Amen!"  All the social networking is exactly that - social.  Its application for recruiting is relatively minor, similar to 'networking events' we've all attended.   Thanks for putting into (clever) words what many of us are thinking....

  • 1 point 5 months ago

    Scott, "agree, agree, disagree".  That's a sample of a twitter post I received from a follower. What the *%$# was my reply back.

    2.0 Social Media has been around since 2004.  Just now nudging its way into "recruiting" as NEW, low cost source of attracting talent.  Kind of like sending your accountability to China.  

    The value however, is that Twitter can direct me to folks like yourself who I would not have otherwise discovered.  Good post.  

    My Twitter address:  LEANVSL.  

    Jim Baran

    Owner, VSL

     

     

     

     

     

  • 1 point 5 months ago

    Scott, your points are well taken and validate my own approach with my clients. No tool (old or new) is THE answer. Twitter is a very effective marketing tactic but so is direct mail. The key is to have a well executed strategy and then choose the tools that best align with that strategy. Using Twitter is easy but using it effectively does not come naturally to all people. Is Twitter a fad? The tool is sure to evolve but to focus on the tool misses the bigger picture - which is how we find, and engage customers, gather market intelligence and sustain our brands.

  • 1 point 5 months ago

    Amen, Scott. Granted, I'm a recruiter for just one company, but the last thing I want is to keep getting tweets from an applicant that I sent a "thanks, but no thanks" letter.

    Ironically, it's called "social media", not "business media". You hit the nail on the head with this:

    But for the every day Recruiter, depending on your business, it seems like anything more than 10% of your day spent on a few of these outlets would be a waste of time.

  • 1 point 5 months ago

    Too funny. I hadn't even thought about the whole twitter thing after a candidate gets a 'dear john' letter. Awkward... Thanks Brian.

  • 1 point 5 months ago

    you've got my "Amen, brother!"

  • 1 point 5 months ago

    Scott, Twitter is all the rage in the Recruitosphere for 3 major reasons:

    a. It's "new", and being "new", it appeals to the average recruiting tactician . . . average meaning tenure between 12 - 15 months.  When you change jobs every year, interviewing often comes down to the "cool new tools" you can brag about knowing how to use . . . instead of the real value you can bring to the table.

    b. Just like interviewing is less about value and more about smoke and mirrors, the same can be said of new business development presentations.  It's a crazy world when HR would rather hire an Executive Recruiter who showed them how to do a basic Twitter search than someone who has a solid track record of success (and relationships) within their niche.  I see this happening more and more . . . and it represents the further 'dumbing down; of our industry.

    c. What's "new" or "hot" sells.  It's as easy as that.  Our space has become known for people selling webinars, DVDs', etc. that serve to nothing more than capitalize on short term demand (read: make a few, quick bucks and move on to sell the new emerging tool.)

    There is no denying that Twitter and Social Media are amazing tools - I can say Facebook has enhanced the quality of my life by helping me reconnect with old friends, as well as make new ones.  But are these tools the "be all, end all, silver bullets to recruiting's woes" that the sales reps would like us to believe they are?  No way.

  • 1 point 5 months ago

    AMEN, bro!

    I recently read two very interesting facts about Twitter:

    1. The retention rate of those joining Twitter is something like 20 percent. Most join, play around for a while, then leave.
    2. A mere 10 percent of Tweeters generate 90 percent of the traffic.

    It is my opinion that Twitter is little more than a fad (like pet rocks), not a long-lasting trend to be banked on. While some may achieve successful recruiting results in the short term, long-term success will belong to those who dig deeper.

  • 1 point 5 months ago

    What is a pet rock?

  • 1 point 5 months ago

    The pet rock fad lives on at:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pet_rock

  • 1 point 5 months ago

    Like a breath of fresh air, Scott.  You nailed it.  Thank you for a great read and what I have been saying now for the past year about Twitter.

    Sung N. Kim, Managing Partner

    Servane Cross, Inc.

    www.servanecross.com

  • 1 point 4 months ago

    Still see a lot of arrogance from the recruiting community that thier jobs are way too important to get value from Twitter.  Ask President Obama about Twitter value in seeking a job.

    Jim Baran

    Owner VSL