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When an industry feels threatened by new technology it's not uncommon to start seeing a communication campaign to remind consumers of their real value. You saw it with gas stations when self-serve pumps were first introduced. The service stations touted the benefits of their personal service and the importance of having a human being check the oil, clean the windshield and pump the gas in inclement weather. Self service won, except in New Jersey where you can't pump your own gasoline.
You saw it with the newspaper industry when their circulation started dropping because readers were going online for news. Not only did newspapers remind readers of the patriotic role newspapers play in sustaining a democratic republic through an informed citizenry, they also reminded people that newspapers, unlike computers, are portable. Unfortunately for newspapers, that argument lasted as long as it took for people to use smart phones to access online news.
Now, you are seeing industries that are finding themselves at risk because social media is doing the job they used to do. Job Recruiting is one of those industries. One group that is trying to get their message out is the Association for Graduate Recruiters (AGR). In an article in PersonnelToday.com the association says Facebook and Twitter are not the place for graduate recruitment.
Carl Gilleard, AGR chief executive, told Personnel Today: "Employers should use social networking sites to communicate, to raise awareness, and to get messages across but they shouldn't use them as a selection or pre-selection tool, especially out of the blue with no prior contact with the graduate. There's a line to be drawn; you have to listen and understand the market you are trying to engage with."
The spokesman for the AGR is not the only one who is trying to put a positive spin on the advantages of hiring a professional recruiter instead of relying on social media. From Applied Abstractions,
Headhunters are the proverbial networkers - they derive their value from knowing not just many people, but the right people.
CanadaBoom Edmonton tells readers that using a recruiter can evaluate your resume, provide tips to improve your job hunting methods, and provide additional feedback that can improve your chances of finding the right job, or any job.
Headhunters will be able to tell you which job offers fit your qualification. They might also be ready to find you job or career opportunities that aren’t your usual career options.
Steadfast Finances offers 10 key reasons why its a smart decision to use a headhunter including the fact that recruiters don't cost job applicants, they don't take a lot of time, and they can help job applicants get a higher salary.
For many, the recruiting industry's message is being drown out by headlines and stories of people who are finding their jobs on Twitter. Earlier this month, The Wall Street Journal ran a story headlined, "A New Job Just A Tweet Away." CNN ran "Hired! I got my job through Twitter" and The New York Times ran a story on its shifting careers blog called, "How Twitter Can Help at Work."
Then there are the blog posts that paint a very dismal picture of the recruiting industry. With headlines like Tech Crunch's, "How free social media beat the recruitment consultants to death," the Irish newspaper, The Post's, "Twittering threat to job agencies" and Fistful of Talent's, "Are Recruiters like Dodo Birds?...Soon to Be Extinct?"- it's easy to get the sense that recruiters are indeed a dying breed.
It doesn't help the deathbed perception that almost daily someone is writing about a new tool to make it easier to use Twitter in your job search. (Anti)Social Development provides links to job search designed for Twitter and a listing of job postings and resources to follow on Twitter. @onlinersume recently provided a list of the Top 50 People on Twitter for Job Seekers and ljaar has a post with 10 Excellent Tools For Twitter Job Search.
Meanwhile, The Association of Graduate Recruiters decided to build its case against social media by surveying recent graduates. According to their survey, 70% of the 1400 graduates participating in the survey did not want businesses to use social media sites to recruit new employees.
Without seeing the exact questions it's hard to understand why graduates would be so adamant about excluding these sites from their job search.
Bob Athwal, head of graduate recruitment
