I’m back from a significant time of rest during the holidays. I took one of the longest stretches of consecutive days off than I’ve ever taken before – and I did it to reconnect with my family and friends during my favorite holiday season. I only fired up my work content in the case of (3) emergencies and dealt with them swiftly in order to return to the original plan… Connecting. And it was good. And it was overdue.
Let’s face it – 2009 was the year of connections. We were given more tools and options to connect with friends, family, peers, colleagues, pets, celebrities, and strangers than ever before. We sent out quick messages consisting of 140 character descriptions of our most profound moments as well as our most insignificant thoughts. Some of us focused on getting our message to as many people as possible. Some of us measured our worth by stacking up numbers under a ‘friend’ or ‘followers’ column and insisted that large numbers meant our voice was being heard. While this isn’t a new practice (think: LinkedIn) it was certainly one that became much more popular to the masses than we’ve ever seen.
So I’m challenging people to make 2010 the year of actually connecting to people – not just making connections. I’m challenging every recruiter or staffing person that considers themselves a “power networker” or “social guru” to take the time to get to know, or have a level of dialogue, with their “friends” and “followers.” I’m opening up Pandora’s box to one of the most vocal and active groups in the sphere of social influence and saying that we should all be interested in connecting to our networks as opposed to just broadcasting to them. C’mon… try and tell me I’m wrong – I dare you.
Of course, this doesn’t mean life streamers should slow down. This doesn’t mean that Ping addicts should trim back their delivery. It simply means that some time should be allotted to listen to our networks and respond to retweets and Facebook comments. It means that emails could be answered if only to say something was appreciated or that the blog comment was interesting and we’d like to see more of them. I can think of no one that calls themselves a Recruiter on any level that can’t afford this time. But hey – I’m open to debate the issue with anyone.
After all – simply being connected doesn’t mean there was ever any connection actually made with anyone. I believe that recruiters will find significant value in such a shift from what they may be doing, whether they’re just ankle deep or even if they’re already up to their neck in social recruiting exploration.
2010 should be the year of connecting – not connections. #2010connect
