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We signed up to host the hugely popular Carnival of HR about a year ago ... how time flies!
If you would like to be included in the 13 May event, please email a post from the past two weeks to: susanna.cesar-morton (at) advorto (dot) com. There is no sub theme -- I like chaos a challenge.
Meanwhile, check out the current Carnival at HR Minion.
-Susanna
Photo credit: gbastini
There's a great article over at People Management about why only twits would ignore the potential (and pitfalls) of Twitter.
It points out that Twitter has gone mainstream since Jonathan Ross and Stephen Fry adopted the micro-blogging platform, and that its connective nature has many business benefits -- including using it instead of making long distance phone calls.
But HR needs to be wary -- employee usage can get out of hand and how do you (should you?) monitor this kind of activity? Where it gets interesting is the grey line between business communication and personal communication -- which seems to be the challenge of social media.
It's a nice post, make sure you read the whole article.
-Susanna
There's been a lot in the media recently about whether Facebook is a good thing or not.
On the negative side, Kimberly Swann, a 16-year-old office worker in the UK, was sacked from her job for moaning publicly on Facebook that her job was "totally boring". Not really a smart thing to do (watch the video -- she doesn't come off as the brightest bulb), but I bet she is more careful about what puts into a public forum in the future.
That's the key here -- everything you write in a public forum (i.e. THE INTERNET) is "out there" for good. So think before you write.
On the positive side, the accountancy firm Deloitte is paying employees a bonus if they recruit staff by using their Facebook accounts.Very clever. Given Facebook's rising popularity, this seems like a no-brainer.
On a related note, here's a great article on how to triple traffic to your careers site using a Facebook account.
-Susanna
We are always going on about how a recruitment blog can be a valuable part of your recruitment marketing mix. Blogs are a great way to keep in touch with your audience, get the word out, and optimise search engine optimisation.
But where are all the recruiting blogs?
Microsoft's Jobsblog, perhaps the mother of all recruitment blogs, is the best example. The chatty blog offers job advise in a fun, easy to navigate platform. It covers topics from what it's like to work at Microsoft, to resume tips, and interviewing. It even has an RSS feed so readers can stay up-to-date with the latest posts and they utilise Twitter as well.
What was the winning formula? It started with two microchicks, Zoe and Gretchen, who gave cheerful recruiting advise to mainly techie guys. It worked. In fact, they became so good at it, they started their consulting company to help companies start recruitment blogs.
It's not complicated, but it works. Have a look and let us know what you think.
-Susanna
There are lots of reasons you might choose an off-site venue for an interview -- you may be travelling, it may be a very senior position and you want to keep it under wraps, or it just simply may be more convenient.
Being out of your own familiar environment has it's challenges. You are at the mercy of grumpy staff, traffic conditions, and a whole host of factors that are out of your control.
Once I (tried) to fly over a candidate from Munich and she showed up at the airport with an out-of-date passport and missed the interview. Needless to say she didn't get the job. On another off-site interview, at a hotel near Heathrow, there was a couple in a heated discussion about their divorce sitting at the table next to us. We got through it, but it was a tad uncomfortable.
What's been your most interesting off-site interview experience?
And for some pointers, check out this article on the do's and don'ts for lunchtime interviews...
-Susanna
Photo credit: fred_dela
