Crystal Umbrella

As British society embraces the digital era and all that it encompasses, it would seem the employers are now set to follow suit by using social networking sites as a recruitment tool. Stephanie Lee from Intel disclosed her use of social networking sites to look for job candidates during a recent event hosted by the Association of Recruitment Consultancies. Lee actually stated that while there would still be a necessity for face to face interviews, money could be saved through recruiting on popular sites such as Twitter instead of the traditional job boards.

This approach is already being piloted by some organisations. Head of RBS recruitment, Mark Bainbridge said that they are set to launch a social media hub aimed at addressing their recruiting needs while this approach is already used by the Army and Microsoft for the majority of their recruitment.

However, while this may sound like an appealing alternative to the traditional recruitment process, the chairman of ARC, Adrian Marlowe, had some words of warning. He believes that the apparent advantages of social networking recruitment must be balanced against the legal and practical issues.

Mr Marlowe concluded: “While there is a rush to use social media, only time will tell if the advantages of instant communication and information that it offers really bring something to the table. Employer branding is different from recruitment, and agencies have developed sophisticated methods of assessing candidates which might not be apparent in hirings made purely on the basis of social networking. The new technology should be embraced but only with the knowledge of the potential dangers and costs involved.”