Thought for the week

Social media is the fancy awning that hangs from a building; human interaction is the bricks and mortar. – Karyn Polewaczyk, Free Agent Nation

Face-to-face meetings
With social networks almost ubiquitous, Karyn Polewaczyk asked ‘is old fashioned ‘meeting up the new black?

Linkedin in Australia
Linkedin is popular in Australia. Close to a million Linkedin profiles exists. Q&A with Cliff Rosenberg, the newly appointed GM of Linkedin Australia

Genuine Personality on social Networks
Research found a person’s Facebook personality is genuine and reflective of the personality in the real-world. Another reason why they will play an important role in recruitment?

Social Recruiting Strategy
Do you have a social recruitment strategy? Check this presentation by Michael Specht & Trevor Vas at the recent Recruitment Revolution conference.

Nothing endures but change – Heraclitus (540 BC – 480 BC)

Here’s a reminder that our world is changing rapidly. Version 4.0 of the popular ‘Did You Know’ series.

At Recruittech I argued that the balance of power has shifted to job seekers. I highlighted three trends which I think made this scenario possible:

1) Information asset increased: Barriers to corporate information and employment opportunities are broken. We are in an environment where job seekers know more about an employer then vice versa.

2) An explosion in job searching tools and options: Without doubt the job seeker of today have a myriad of tools to find jobs. If 250+ job boards are not enough, a whole world of connections is offered by social networks. New media continually offer new platform to announce availability.

3) Changing job search and work behaviour : While tools are abundant, it’s the changing behaviour of job seekers which will have the most impact on job advertisements. Job seekers are increasingly mobile, frequently change jobs and do not trust corporate advertising. Our view of workplaces and jobs is evolving.

Implications for recruiters and employers are many. Attention will be harder to win. Targeting and employment branding will go niche. Generic ‘employer of choice’ doesn’t mean much to job seekers accustomed to seeking contextual content. How recruitment advertisement (vacancy index) moves and behave will be dictated by the whims, behaviour and choices made by job seekers. Rejection or patronage by job seekers will dictate the winners.

Forget Twitter, Facebook and other new communication tools, it’s an old communication tool Australians are in love with – SMS. A new research by Pure Profile (Sponsored by Telstra) found Australians prefer using SMS to communicate. One in three Australians choose SMS to announce major live events like a job promotion or the birth of a child.  An average Australian SMS 1-5 times a day.

Mobile communication as a promising recruitment tool to reach candidates had been discussed here and here. Perhaps it is a good time to re-investigate how you can use mobile technology as part of your recruitment strategy.

Leaders from a cross section of society are congregating at the Future Summit, to discuss, ponder and plan how Australia will face the enormous challenges coming its way (You can follow the tweets here).

The fact is the world around us is changing rapidly. Macro-trends like globalisation, advancements in technology, global warming, demographic upheavals, ubiquity of information etc are changing how we work, play and live, with gusto. How will HR/recruiters cope in a world where change will be the only constant? It is estimated that  the youth of today will have between 10-14 jobs by the time they turn 38. Take a peek at Workplace 2012 to understand the workforce changes coming our way. One thing is for sure, how we perform our work and add value promises to be very different in the future. Only those who prepare themselves for the changes today are likely to survive. As serial inventor, Alan Kay puts it “the best way to predict the future is to invent it”.

Here’s a reminder of the rapid changes that is happening around us, and how the future might look.

Powerpoint version