Wrapping It Up Jan 22 2010

It's the end of another week and that means another quick list of blog postings that were worth checking out.  It was a great 2nd week of being actively reading and authoring blog posts this year and I was excited to see some pretty solid topics posted throughout the blogosphere as well as some great comments and dialogue found on RecruiterGuy.net.  So as I give you a list of my top items to reference for this week past, I leave you with a quote to absorb that was a favorite of mine in college [with a minor adjustment]:

"Some [blogs] books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested." - FRANCIS BACON

My Top 10 for the Week...

• Career Rocketeer: Google Me: Exclusive INterview with the Founder of Vizibility
  I recently began utilizing the services of a new start up called Vizibility. They have developed an innovative service which is like a “Google Me” button for individuals. It can be posted to online profiles, personal websites, resumes, email signatures, business cards and anywhere else a user wants to be visible. I believe it will quickly become a standard component utilized for personal branding.
• The 5 Reasons You're Failing in Social Media
  1. You really don't want to engage directly with customers, employees, etc.—you just want them to hear what you have to say.
  2. You're not ready to create new roles, update process, re-distribute resources and budgets, re-train people, and revise old policies.
  3. Social media actually threatens how you make money—but you pay lip service out of fear.

• I have to admit, I am not sure this is a good idea.
  I can't say for sure that it's not a good idea. I have just seen so many people, important people even, jump on the blog or Twitter bandwagon; because it's gained popularity, probably because someone is telling them they should do it, that I am wary. Very few have done this well. And boy do you have a microscope on you if you are someone like BillG.

• I am on Twitter, now what?
  After debating about joining Twitter for quite some time, I finally joined Twitter in September 2009, not necessarily an early adopter but certainly not late in the game. According to a recent blog about the 25 Most Influential Recruiters on Twitter at www.thetalentbuzz.com in early 2009 there were 900 profiles with the word recruiter and now there are over 10,000. In less then a year, the number of recruiters using Twitter increased more than ten-fold, yet I still know a lot of recruiters that are not using Twitter.
• EO, Social Networking, and ROI... oh my
  There is so much going on in the blogosphere about changes in recruiting. Search Engine Optimization for Jobs, Search Engine Marketing for Jobs, talent communities, pipeline building, ROI, and Social Media Recruiting are all the rage and this is a really exciting time to be part of recruiting, sourcing, HR leadership, and recruitment advertising. We've got new tools popping up every month or so (maybe faster) and I've had to stay silent.
• Recruiting Videos & Employment Branding: Take a Cue from Yale
  Okay, so it's kinda elitist for us to say this about my company. But it's true. It's easier to get accepted into Harvard as an undergrad than it is to get hired at APCO. Seriously! It's that competitive. When we look at stats for resumes received to candidates hired, you have a better chance of getting into some of the Ivy League schools. Yep. And of course, that means I'm lucky as a recruiter that we attract our the best and brightest college grads and experienced professionals in our industry.
• Social Media and Recruiting - Beyond the Hype
  I’m very much an anti-hype, anti-bandwagon person.
  I neither like to nor want to get caught in the undertow of the emotional rush associated with being excited about something that nearly everyone else seems to be excited about, where everyone celebrates the new and “cool factor” with little-to-no critical thought.
  When that next bright and shiny object comes along, it’s all too easy to be blinded by it.
• Three Reasons to Get Excited about Video Resumes
  Why complicate things. Simpler is almost always better. Some say video resumes are too much of a headache and just freaky to watch. Jobseekers have been emailing resumes for years. They are passed around and read under a few seconds. But here are three reasons to get excited about video resumes.
• Are You Measuring?
  What are you doing to measure your social recruiting efforts?  Because if you aren't doing anything to measure them and you're telling the world that social recruiting works then you're just winging it.  Or if you aren't putting any effort in place to try and account for your efforts while squaking to your peers and colleagues that it doesn't work - well, you're equally as full of it.