Want to be cutting‑edge? Try online recruiting!

A powerful combination of human resources, brand image, Web 2.0 and technology, Recruiting 2.0 will turn you into a top-notch recruiter! Find out more about this phenomenon and learn how to take advantage of new trends that are leaving traditional methods in the dust. The Internet can be used for more than simply planning your next getaway. A refined brand image is important not only to customers and the marketing department. The Internet and this image are of direct concern to human resource managers because they use selection tools to screen job seekers.

Recruiting 2.0

In today’s world where offline means off the radar, a company’s Website becomes much more than a display for job openings. It must introduce the organization and its values, provide background on the vacant positions, describe the work environment and spotlight the specific benefits of working at the company (stimulating challenges, opportunities for advancement, compensation strategy, etc.). Furthermore, it must do so in a dynamic fashion, making use of multimedia like video, music, etc. The information must also be up‑to‑date and easily accessible, because speed is the order of the day when it comes to browsing, using and communicating.

Combined technologies move beyond your Website

A corporate Website is not the only way to create a Web presence. Recruiting 2.0 requires using a variety of strategies, such as the examples provided below:

• Post the jobs to be filled on various employment portals. These types of sites offer various tools, to both employers and job seekers, for posting jobs and résumés, doing searches (by skills, competencies, types of job, etc.), interacting and even matching up jobs with candidates. In addition, the Internet’s elimination of geographic limitations increases the potential pool of candidates.

  

• Enter the YouTube era. There are innovative sites that make the recruitment process more dynamic: www.youjob.com calls itself the first Recruiting 2.0 Website. It provides job seekers and companies alike with a showcase and the technology to create and display video résumés and recruiting videos, as well as a platform for interaction. Pre‑hiring interviews can be conducted via videoconferencing. When we consulted the site, the Accor Group was listed first in the Company section. With a simple click, one could view a video explaining the company’s profile, its values, the types of employees sought, reasons to work there, etc. (Take a peek at the site and you’ll see what we mean!)
• Use social networks to get the word out about vacant positions. Some companies have used Facebook to create groups, free of charge, so they can present themselves as dynamic workplaces and recruit employees. An employee can become a member, broaden his or her network of contacts and engage in recruiting on the employer’s behalf. Now that technology allows external modules called widgets, companies can link their services to the Facebook platform.
• Use technology to facilitate the recruiting process. Webcams, cell phones, videoconferences, chatting and other methods can speed up the pre‑interview process, eliminate the problems associated with distance and solve mobility issues.
• Surf the Web. Job seekers have created their own blogs to publicize themselves and develop their network of contacts.

Five companies even banded together to launch a recruiting drive in the virtual world of SecondLife. The most convincing avatars then pursued the traditional process in the real world.

Sephora, a major retailer of beauty products, is planning to launch an HR blog to advertise the company’s jobs: fifteen or so employees selected from around the world will go online to describe what they do all day.

Software programs can be used to manage (that is, tag, classify, order, etc.) an entire “pile” of electronic résumés.

Employers: monitoring your Web image

If TripAdvisor makes you shudder, you should know that employers can also be rated on the Web. Not surprisingly, just as there are sites to review doctors and teachers, there are now sites targeting companies, bosses and even internships and summer jobs.

To evaluate a company on www.jobvent.com, all one does is enter the company’s name, address and phone number, rate it from ‑5 to +5 on various criteria (salary, respect, benefits, job security, work environment, etc.) and then explain the ratings given. Result: the site lists the most appreciated companies (I love my job) and the most detested (I hate my job).

Using the Web to check up on potential employees!

As an employer, should you wish to find out more about interesting job applicants or even your current employees, you can find a wealth of information on the Internet because Web activity leaves a trail. In fact, all blogs, social networks (Facebook, FlickR, etc.) and discussion forums on the Web can reveal a lot about a Web user’s personality and cyber‑reputation. Employers can “happen” upon an employee’s indiscretions or even go as far as to register under a fake name to infiltrate social networks.

Discriminatory practices?

These new practices can obviously cause some controversy. While a paper résumé enables candidates to avoid disclosing certain things about themselves, a video résumé is much more revealing.

In addition, the growing popularity of exclusively using online forms for job applications has earned the UK hotel industry a warning from a London law firm. The industry may face charges of age‑based discrimination (with laws and statistics to support the claim), because the practice excludes people in certain age groups who do not know how to use a computer.

Don’t just be a top employer, be a top recruiter

These new tools not only facilitate the recruitment process, they also:

• Project a cutting‑edge, dynamic corporate image
• Help you be more competitive
• Speed up the recruiting process
• Suit the lifestyle of young people and attract people with various profiles
• Eliminate geographic boundaries and increase the pool of potential candidates

Everything moves very fast in cyberspace, so the number and variety of sites and tools will continue to multiply, evolve and change; it can be difficult to keep up. Welcome to Recruiting 2.0!

Sources:

– Ancelin, Brice. “Youjob se lance sur le marché du recrutement 2.0,” [www.focusrh.com], September 19, 2007.
– Chevrier, François‑G. “Contrôler son image sur le Web, comme employeur,” 7th annual HR day for the tourism industry, La gestion du changement pour réussir le virage techno en RH, held in Trois‑Rivières by the Conseil québécois des ressources humaines en tourisme, September 26, 2007.
– Hunt, Susan and Robert Landry. “Chapter 7 – The Importance of Employer Branding,” The Future of Work, Financial Sun Life, [www.sunlife.ca].
– May, Kevin. “We Need To Talk the Language of Social Networking Sites,” [travolution.blogspot.com], September 13, 2007.
– Montaigne, Caroline. “Séduire et recruter grâce à Internet,” [www.lesechos.fr], July 16, 2007.
– Rocha, Roberto. “Facebook Used To Recruit Employees,” Canada.com network, September 4, 2007.
– Ross, Jeff N. “Why Hospitality Employers Are Poor at Replying to Job Applications,” [www.hotel-online.com], September 28, 2007.
– Walton, Christopher. “Online Recruitment Only Can Lead to Age Discrimination,” [www.caterersearch.com], October 19, 2007.
– Zerbib, Corinne. “Voyage dans la blogosphère emploi,” Courrier Cadres, No. 1623, March 30, 2006, p. 40‑41.

Employment portals:

www.emploitourisme.ca
www.youjob.com
emploiquebec.net/francais/index.htm
www.guichetemplois.gc.ca
www.jobboom.com
francais.monster.ca
www.workopolis.com
carrieres.lesaffaires.com/RepereEmplois/fr/carrieres/accueil.asp
www.cvtheque.com
www.jobster.com
LEntreprise.com
www.careertours.com
www.i-resign.com

Company review sites:

www.jobvent.com
www.bossrater.com
www.stagescritics.com
www.ehss.org/sections/students/student_eval.htm