Forward-thinking recruitment agency Anne Corder Recruitment has increased its online presence – by setting up a Facebook account.

The Peterborough-based agency is the first in the city to set up a business page on the social networking site. The launch has been timed to coincide with a series of open afternoons the agency is staging to pinpoint potential new candidates.

“This is the ideal way of us using social media to reach new people,” said recruitment partner Karen Dykes. “Our open events are targeted at a specific audience and our new Facebook page gives us another opening to get in touch with them.

“Recruitment is such a fast moving business that all the online social media tools that are available now are the perfect way to help us keep up – and for our candidates and clients to keep up with us.”

The open events being publicised on the ACR Facebook page are aimed at qualified and experienced temps specialising in accounts, administration, secretarial roles and business to business sales.

“The upturn in business many companies are talking about has resulted in an increased demand for skilled temps,” said Karen. “We are helping our clients to find the right people to help drive their businesses forward over the coming months.”

Potential candidates are being asked to pre-register for the open events by emailing their CV to recruitment@annecorder.co.uk or by getting in touch via the Facebook page http://tiny.cc/ACRfacebook

The events are being held on Thursday March 18 at ACR’s Park Road office and Tuesday March 23 at the satellite office in Tyndall Court, Lynch Wood.

~ Career Expert Provides DOs and DON’Ts for Job Seekers on Social Networking in the New Year ~

As social networking grows increasingly pervasive, more employers are utilising these sites to screen potential employees. More than half (53 per cent) of employers reported in a recent CareerBuilder.co.uk survey that they use social networking sites to research job candidates.  Another 12 per cent plan to start using social networking sites for screening. More than 450 employers participated in the survey, which was completed in December 2009.   

Of those who conduct online searches/background checks of job candidates, 43 per cent use search engines, 12 per cent use Facebook and 12 per cent use LinkedIn. Three per cent search blogs, while an additional 4 per cent follow candidates on Twitter.

Why Employers Disregarded Candidates After Screening Online
As job seekers gear up their search for employment in the new year, they are cautioned to be mindful of the information they post online and how they communicate directly with employers. Forty-three per cent of employers reported they have found content on social networking sites that caused them not to hire the candidate.  The top examples cited include: 

  ·         Candidate lied about qualifications – 38 per cent�
  ·         Candidate showed poor communication skills – 31 per cent �
  ·         Candidate made discriminatory comments – 13 per cent �
  ·         Candidate posted content about them drinking or using drugs – 10 per cent �
  ·         Candidate posted provocative or inappropriate photographs or information – 9 per cent �
  ·         Candidate bad-mouthed their previous employer, co-workers or clients – 9 per cent �
  ·         Candidate shared confidential information from previous employer – 8 per cent

Why Employers Hired Candidates After Screening Online
Job seekers are also encouraged to leverage social media in advertising their skills and experience. Half of employers reported they have found content on social networking sites that caused them to hire the candidate.  The top examples include:

  ·         Profile supported candidate’s professional qualifications – 61 per cent
  ·         Candidate showed solid communication skills – 41 per cent�
  ·         Candidate was well-rounded – 37 per cent
  ·         Profile provided a good feel for the candidate’s personality and fit – 28 per cent
  ·         Candidate seemed creative –24 per cent
  ·         Candidate conveyed a professional image – 22 per cent
  ·         Candidate received awards and accolades – 15 per cent �
  ·         Other people posted good references about the candidate – 15 per cent�
 �
“Social networking is a great way to make connections with potential job opportunities in 2010 and promote your personal brand across the Internet,” said Farhan Yasin, president of CareerBuilder EMEA.  “Make sure you are using this resource to your advantage by conveying a professional image and underscoring your qualifications.”

In addition, once job seekers land a position, they need to mindful of their online usage. Forty-eight per cent of employers monitor employees’ use of e-mail and the Internet. Twenty-eight per cent of employers reported that they have fired an employee for information found on his/her social networking profile. The most common reasons for termination were due to negative posts about the company or another employee, because they shared confidential information or because they represented themselves in an unprofessional manner (38 per cent each).

Yasin recommends the following DOs and DON’Ts to keep a positive image online this year:

1)    DO clean up digital dirt BEFORE you begin your job search.  Remove any photos, content and links that can work against you in an employer’s eyes.

2)    DO consider creating your own professional group on sites like Facebook or BrightFuse.com to establish relationships with thought leaders, recruiters and potential referrals.

3)    DO keep gripes offline. Keep the content focused on the positive, whether that relates to professional or personal information. Makes sure to highlight specific accomplishments inside and outside of work.

4)    DON’T forget others can see your friends, so be selective about who you accept as friends.  Monitor comments made by others.  Consider using the “block comments” feature or setting your profile to “private” so only designated friends can view it.

5)    DON’T mention your job search if you’re still employed.

LONDON, UK, (Only Marketing Jobs – http://www.onlymarketingjobs.com), December 2009 – Only Marketing Jobs, the UK digital recruitment advertising platform, has announced that it has hired its first social media manager.

Kammi Hackett has joined the Only Marketing Jobs team to manage and control its increasing activity within the social media channels.

Simon Lewis, editor of the niche-sector job board said, “Only Marketing Jobs remains committed to building tangible relationships with its various communities.  Most marketers are social media savvy so we need to be where they hang out.  Developing our expansive social media engagement ensures our clients receive a fully integrated digital recruitment solution.  Kammi’s holistic approach provides additional dynamism to our team.”

Miss Hackett said of the appointment: “Having met the Only Marketing Jobs team at one of their own social networking events I was impressed by the enthusiasm they showed not only in their own products but the marketing and staffing industries as a whole.  The fact that I was hired via an event is evidence that taking online communities offline works.”

Miss Hackett is responsible for enhancing jobseeker and client communities via LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Ning and Xing.

About Only Marketing Jobs

Only Marketing Jobs is a premier digital recruitment advertising platform specific to the UK marketing sector.  It combines automated digital processes with offline events and social networking, for integrated jobseeker & client services.

Further details can be obtained by emailing Simon Lewis, Editor, Only Marketing Jobs | simon@onlymarketingjobs.com

I come to you today with a cautionary tale of the woes of the Internet. Don’t worry I’m not about to start preaching about how good the old days were and how I wish we could all go back to corresponding by letter and using quills… although anyone that knows me will know this to be true! Instead I come with a warning, of the perils of disclosure, and how it can get you into trouble in the workplace.

The virtual love train for Twitter has far exceeded my expectations, especially as ‘flash in the pan’ was what first sprung to mind. I remember my first interaction with Twitter, forever the cynic at new social inventions, I entered my details with a raised eyebrow and expected to find a whole host of things I had to gripe about.  But shockingly, I loved it, and still love it. It has turned out to be a socially convenient, work friendly, staple of my day- my boss was even the one to alert me to the wonders of Twitter Fox; allowing me to be at one with my Twitter stream, tucked neatly in the corner of my browser, twinkling away when a new tweet appears.

Although Twitter is a fantastical tool and especially handy for job seeking, like anything fabulous on the Internet you can waste hours idly reading people’s tweets until you end up somewhere and have no idea where you began! N.B to my boss: I don’t do this… honest! Time-waster browsing aside, there is a bigger problem with Twitter. The potential for rants. You see a white box with the potential for 140 characters worth of getting-things-off-your-chest. Cue angry messages about irritating late trains, rude people in shops, poor customer service… and you can’t help but feeling a little better knowing that you’ve released your negative energy into the vast abyss of the world wide web.

And of course the potential for rants is endless, especially when you spend a large proportion of your day at work. Let’s face it, there are going to be annoyances to you in the workplace. Your sleep deprived, desperation for caffeine makes you intrinsically angrier than usual, and your colleague has just done that one annoying thing too many…

Just typing the words, ‘I hate my boss’ or ‘I hate my job’ into the Twitter search brings back a scary amount of angry employee rants. But has the term ‘Facebook fired‘ escaped their attention?! Many office workers have gotten into trouble, and even fired for their errant Facebook statuses, which either incriminate them in falsely claimed sick days or has alerted the company to their intense dislike of the business.

Either way, choosing to disclose your hatred of work on Twitter or Facebook is a seriously misjudged and terrible idea. Helen Popkin, on msnbc.com calls it ‘virtual darwinism’- people who fail to realise the error of posting such rants on public channels, almost deserve their fate.

And if anyone isn’t familiar with the infamous Cisco/Twitter related job incident, read this and cringe at your leisure.

So the moral of my cautionary tale is this: if you want to keep your job, avoid social networks on those days when you just might blow… or it could be far more trouble than it’s worth. And remember the ‘delete’ key may not save you; Google has a lovely way of caching historical data so your deleted tweets may still turn up somewhere you don’t want them to…

It’s no surprise that the way we communicate with people is changing. Some call it the Communication Revolution and it’s characterised largely by the use of Web 2.0 technology and websites such as LinkedIn and Facebook, otherwise known as Social Networking & Media.



With this in mind, Michelle Fischer of Creative Leadership, and Linda Parkinson-Hardman of Grow a Better Business, invite you to contribute to their research into the trends that are taking place within the context of Social Media and Recruitment. by completing the following questionnaire at Survey Monkey before Friday 18th December.

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=9m00FDmhA781rOYugN7hnw_3d_3d

You’ll be asked questions about YOUR business use of Social Media, and particularly when recruiting new staff.

The questionnaire is completely anonymous, although you’ll need to leave your name if you’d like to receive a copy of the White Paper and be eligible to win the thank you prize of a bottle of France’s Finest Champagne. This will be given to a lucky participant chosen at random at the end of the research project. The interim report will be out before Christmas.

If you’ve any questions about any element of this research, please get in touch with Michelle at Creative Leadership on 01202 853647 or Linda Parkinson-Hardman on 01305 755607.