I’ve had this on-going love/hate relationship with Internet Explorer. Like many others, I use IE because it’s just the de-facto internet browser used by PC users. Lately, I’ve just had it with using IE. I always seem to have to deal with loads of pop-ups, security issues, patches, and the occasional virus – always when I least need to have these troubles. Of course, this doesn’t include unexpected fatal errors that close down ALL my tabs and windows from time to time – grrr. So I’ve committed myself to changing and begin using Mozilla Firefox. There are tons of people everywhere on the internet that rave about Firefox and how it’s better than IE. Namely, it’s an open-source browser. This means it’s supported by a community of developers and programmers that are always trying to make Firefox better. Since there’s a community that cares about the product, getting technical support is as easy as Googling for the answer. Another great benefit is all the neat and productive plug-ins or add-ons a user can use. You can literally customize your browser to meet YOUR needs and not be forced to use a canned browser. Of course, there are still those that will forever pick IE over Firefox.
So what does this have to do with my blog? Well, I got to thinking about how much college recruiting is very much a comparison between these two browsers. On the one hand, you have traditional college recruiting (the old guard) that still believes college recruiting should be done a certain way. Same old strategies – same old approaches. On the other hand, you have those that advocate a different approach – one that incorporates more technology, social media, and other non-traditional approaches. We should be more like Firefox shouldn’t we? Listening to the whole community, customizing the strategies, and sharing the information. This approach is what really makes the difference in creating change and making things better.
I still consider myself a novice (more like a zygote) when it comes to building an online presence via my blog, especially if it concerns knowing the right “jargon” regarding blogging and other social media tools. One term I finally figured out was “Google juice.” What the hell is “google juice” I wondered, and more importantly, regardless of not knowing what it means, how do I get some of it?! I figured anything associated with “Google” and “juice” had to be good for me and my website. I was right. In essence, Google juice is the value Google gives to your website for having a link from a very good site. As the worth increases for each link, you pick up improved search rankings (SEO) – hence the word “Google juice.” Check.
In my relentless quest for understanding terms like Google juice and other cool lingo, I got to thinking about what “lingo” is important to employers recruiting on campus. What came to mind were terms like: branding, relationships, planning, events, outreach, sourcing, scheduling, promoting, interviewing, screening, coordinating, traveling, tracking, communicating, researching, collecting, arranging, compiling, and handling. I’m sure there’s more I could’ve come up with – but you get my point. College recruitment doesn’t have a phrase like “Google juice” – terminology in this industry, let’s face it, is rather boring. So what’s your “Google juice” going to be? And more importantly, how can you as an employer apply the same principles Google juice commands on the internet? What tools, resources, and links are you going to use to improve your value and improve your ranking on the campuses you visit?
Louis Pagan over at Latino Rebranded shares an excellent post regarding the Hispanic Cyber Study put out by AOL. The statistics are eye opening and again can be applied to employers looking to leverage information on Hispanics, particularly Hispanic college students, and their online activities. A key observation:
They spend over 24 hours online per week, half of that time connected via mobile device. They are highly innovative, thus are early adapters.
Employers need to consider how this social media trend can benefit their campus recruitment efforts given that Hispanics are incredibly active in using this technology.
Poder360 recently had a great article discussing the latest Hispanic technological and internet-related trends. While there has been substantial progress in this regard among Hispanics, there is still a sizeable technological access gap that exists between Hispanics and other groups - known by many as the “digital divide.” While these statistics are both positive and negative, one can safely say they’re trending upward. In many ways, the advent of technology aligns nicely with Hispanic cultural traits. Take for instance social media.
Hispanics are incredibly communal. They enjoy being in groups: networking, sharing, talking, debating – anything that provides personal interaction. This cultural characteristic is also very evident on social media sites where Hispanics have formed any number of groups and networks to achieve the same but mediated interaction. Blogs such as Latino Rebranded, The Latino Edge, and others do a great job of discussing and blogging about how social media is impacting Hispanic cultural interactions. Jump on Twitter and search #latism, #latino, and #Hispanic,. Browse Twitteros - and check out the results there. Marketers, advertisers, entrepreneurs, and especially recruiters are and should be taking note that the digital divide is certainly closing – mostly with help of Hispanic cultural bridges.
An article in the New York Times today reports that from 2003 to 2008, 61 percent of black applicants and 46 percent of Mexican-American applicants were denied acceptance at all of the law schools to which they applied, compared with 34 percent of white applicants. While there are a number of issues, challenges, and cultural factors associated with these statistics, it again reminds us of how these trends have long-term implications in a variety of settings.
Particularly within the legal profession, a lack of racial and/or ethnic diversity in this important area of our society can potentially chip away the confidence people have in justice and equality in our courts. While there is a variety of research in this regard, certainly more needs to be done in a broader context to address the ethnic and racial composition of our legal industry (including federal and state courts). The legal industry is no different than what is occurring in most other work environments.
If you are interested in how social media is impacting recruiting – especially how it can be applied to college recruiting – watch the live stream graciously provided by ERE.com. Sessions are certain to provide some great insights to how social media continues to change the recruiting landscape. The sessions and tweets will be archived for later viewing. If you’d like to follow the discussion on Twitter use the #socialrecruiting hashtag. Enjoy!
Red Recruiter writes about the Death of Sourcing in a post today. Great insights that are applicable to college recruiting as well. Check it out.
Chris Brogan is what you would call a “guru” of social media and its applications to numerous industries and situations. I just recently have begun to follow his blog and have learned a tremendous amount – not about things like Facebook or Twitter – but how new technology can change everything. A recent post on his blog discusses “frameworks” and how social media can indeed change business thinking and, ultimately, the way business is done. It got me thinking about new models, particularly in regards to recruiting and college recruiting models. The recruiting industry is still grappling with how social media tools can be used most effectively. But as Chris argues:
When thinking about social media tools and how you’re looking to implement them in organizations, be sure to understand the frame of what you’re doing. Read more…
The last 15 years have seen significant changes in the recruitment advertising area. When I first began in the recruiting field, print ads dominated the industry. By 2000, job seekers jumped online to websites like Monster, CareerBuilder, and HotJobs. As we near the end of the first decade of the 21st century, another transition has occurred. Social networking sites such as Facebook, LinkedIn, and Craigslist are emerging as strong competitors to traditional online job boards. That’s why it’s not surprising that job board postings and revenues have dropped significantly over the last few years. Yes, much of it can be attributed to the economy, however, a lot more can be attributed to the declining benefits of online board experiences. Whether it’s the excess of advertising, quality of job listings, or registration requirements, job seekers are disenchanted by their overall experience. Employers are now skeptical as well. As a former director of recruiting, job boards produced less than significant response rates with the quality of candidates average at best. Many of the candidates I contacted were actively being recruited by other organizations, thus resumes came from a shared pool of candidates. Not effective. Read more…
Bitstream, a Cambridge, Massachusetts that produces the BOLT mobile web browser, reported that more than college half of college students with mobile phones use mobile internet for social networking, scholastic activities, and entertainment. It’s therefore not surprising to see organizations investing a lot of money and resources into the development of mobile internet-based recruitment strategies.
The Hispanic Institute and Mobile Future just released a study of Hispanic Americans’ use of mobile technology. More than half of America’s Hispanic population uses the mobile Internet, compared to about a third of whites. According to the study, Hispanic Americans account for more minutes used and for a higher percentage of cell-phone ownership than other ethnic groups, despite their comparatively lower incomes. The findings are similar to another study conducted by Pew Internet and the American Life Project reporting English-speaking Hispanics have made impressive gains in their use of mobile Internet.
Between 2007 and 2009, the percentage of English-speaking Hispanics who reported going online via handheld device on a typical day climbed from 18 percent to 29 percent. Hispanic Americans outpaced the growth in white users’ reported use of a handheld device to access the Internet on a typical day, which only grew from 9 percent to 17 percent.
The integration mobile internet with social media and other internet-based strategies provides an opportunity for organizations targeting Hispanic college graduates. As different online and “free” applications emerge, college recruitment is becoming more about creating communities and relationships than pulling potential new talent through a recruitment pipeline. Andy Church, co-founder of WhyHire.me, an online program that incorporates coaching, mainstream social media tools and personal branding techniques, aggregating the latest social media tools such as blogs, Twitter, Flickr, Vimeo, and RSS into an interactive profile will allow job seekers create professional connections with future employers. That’s we’re beginning to see cutting edge companies such as CloudRecruiting that are anticipating the growing trend toward mobile media recruiting.
