This morning I was interviewed for a national newspaper in Ireland, in relation to Expect Talent and our incredible 2010, a very positive piece of PR thanks to Anne Kiely & Associates. One of the questions I have been asked to comment on is "How important has networking and relationship building been in your business, and do you think it is important for a recruitment company?".
Whether you are a jobseeker, business owner or hiring manager reading this, my answer has to be that it is CRITICAL. Your network of contacts should be one of the best sources of help, support and referrals and is absolutely key to your success. My own business has grown through effective networking, relationship building and word of mouth, through involvement in organisations like BNI. I learnt how build relationships and grow my network by educating and upskilling myself on referral marketing. I have always applied "Givers Gain" to all apsects of life and work, which is the key philosophy of BNI. By helping others to grow their business and giving something back to other people whether it be a referral, testimonial, advice or support is one of the best ways to grow your business and increase your visibility and credibility which leads to more business.
The depth and breadth of your connections in your personal and business life will always play a major role in the development of your career and your business. Any recruitment business owner who is not upskilling themselves and their recruitment team on networking both face to face and online will find it increasingly difficult to grow their client and candidate base. Why cold-call when you can learn how to effectively grow a business through relationships and word of mouth? It still amazes me how many companies are cold-calling rather than really getting to know the people around them who can help. If you want to learn how to leverage your contacts then I recommend reading "Life, Business and Speedboats" written by my good friend Iain Whyte.
I was also asked the question in my interview - "How has the recruitment sector evolved in the last 18 months?". The importance of social media and online networking has meant a huge shift in the way that companies now hire and source great talent for their business. For example, over 95% of companies now use LinkedIn for recruitment. If you want to learn more amazing stats on social media and its impact on the recruitment sector, just take a look at this video from Socionomics.
Most internal recruiters for large organisations are now trained on how to find great talent through online networking, recruiters in agencies are using these social media tools for recruitment all the time. If you are looking for a new job then make sure your profile can be found on LinkedIn, and make sure that your Facebook page is professional and represents you well, you never know who might be looking at it. In 2010 over 60% of our permanent placements were candidates who we found through LinkedIn.
More than ever, networking and social media play a massive part in the world of recruitment and job-seeking. I would love to hear how networking and social media has helped you as a job-seeker, hiring manager or business owner. So why not take action today, and make social media or networking part of your 2011 recruitment or job-seeking strategy.
Social media recruiting has added power to every organization’s recruiting process. These social media websites are getting more refined with the recruitment needs and requirements & constantly responding to them with new capabilities and more interesting part is that, companies are getting really creative in using these tools effectively.
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