Social Recruiting: History and Future

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Social Recruiting: History and Future

Topics: HRExaminer, John Sumser, Recruiting Is Local, Recruiting Strategy, Social Recruiting, by John Sumser

So far, social recruiting hasn't really delivered on its promises.

Social Recruiting: History and Future

So far, social recruiting hasn’t really delivered on its promises. The constant drumbeat of evangelism (hurry up or you’ll miss the boat) turns out not to be true. There’s no boat and missing it doesn’t mean much.

We’re in the very early days.

When you compare the rate of adoption of social recruiting with that of first generation digital recruiting, it looks like we’re going 50% slower, maybe more. Linkedin is playing the role Monster played in the first wave. There is no CareerBuilder. (And, if you wanted to get a little clearer, the LinkedIn recruiting model is not significantly social.)

For some reason, we’re stuck in the early adopter phase. There’s a ton of arm waving. The facts and figures are either ridiculously self-serving (like the Jobvite surveys) or derived from trends in social recruiting as a whole. We’ve developed no standard for measuring ROI.

We’re stuck in the early adopter phase.

It’s not a permanent thing. But, it does look like the original notions of how to execute social recruiting bear rethinking.

Take a look through this presentation. I gave it last week at the amazing Social Recruiting Strategy Conference.

It’s not that Social Recruiting is dead. It’s that we haven’t figured out a way to deliver it to the uninitiated. That’s pretty normal for this stage of development.

We’re about to head into the second stage of social recruiting history. It will look like content recruiting. It will be able to handle applications from the job ad.

Social Recruiting: History and Future from John Sumser

About the author

John Sumser

John Sumser is a principal analyst for HRExaminer, an independent analyst firm covering HR Technology and the intersection of people, tech, and work. John’s mix of experience over the course of his career gives him a broad and unique perspective on the industry. Like anyone trying to process a lot of information, he is two or three steps ahead in some areas and still learning about others. Sumser’s work includes deep research into the nooks and crannies of HR Technology to identify and explain rapidly evolving trends. Built on a foundation of engineering, design, and philosophy, John’s seeks to understand and advise clients on where their technology works best, for whom, and in what context. Each year, John examines the insides of hundreds of companies, their products, and ecosystems. He delivers vendor analysis by building the framework from which to deliver the critique. He is constantly connecting and making visible the front end of change. He can help you see the path of evolution and the risks on the journey. The HRExaminer is Sumser’s vehicle for understanding and explaining the inner workings of the industry. With three weekly podcasts, and written commentary, he covers emerging ideas, the state of the industry, and the executives who operate it.

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