Recruiting In 3D

The Emperor’s New Clothes: Lookup and the LinkedIn Talent Disconnect

Love it or hate it, LinkedIn is one of those companies that’s constantly tweaking their platform; that they put a ton more time and money back into their actual product than most HR Technology vendors, and make much more substantial updates to core features and functionalities than most online and SaaS companies, period.tumblr_mahxbaNXm91qc7mh1

The average active LinkedIn member (note: the “average” LinkedIn member, in fact, isn’t active on the website) a recent study suggested only around 37% log on at least once a month) spends a scant 17 minutes on the site every month, compared to over the over 20 minutes a day Facebook’s 1.3 billion users spend on site.

The average recruiter, by contrast, more or less lives on LinkedIn, which is why we’re so quick to catch even the most minor tweaks to functionality or the most subtle changes to the site’s UI/UX. Recruiters know LinkedIn better than anyone, which is why no one in this industry would deny the sheer level of work that goes into iterating current functionalities, introducing new features and experimenting with potential enhancements or revenue streams (remember CardMunch or Connected, anyone?).

This is why so many of us are so frustrated at the fact that what was once such an effective, disruptive and innovative recruiting technology has devolved into whatever the hell LinkedIn has become these days – although frankly, I’m not even sure the company itself knows what LinkedIn is supposed to be, anymore. While the amount of work that goes into the product is self-evident, exactly what the hell the point, or value, of this work actually is to its end users and customers, however, is another story entirely. Read More

Stop It. You’re Not Jumping Off The LinkedIn Train

I think it’s relatively safe for me to say that I’m less the raging fanboy of LinkedIn that I was in my earlier career. No, really, I’ve been pretty vocal about it. So when I’m coming out in quasi-defense of LinkedIn, that’s a little surprising, even to me. Anecdotally speaking, there is a large population of recruiters who are shouting from the rooftops ‘Down with LinkedIn!’ and ‘Who uses LinkedIn anymore!?’. Maybe they have had enough of the ever-original memes and dynamic inspirational quotes on the Pulse publishing platform. While they are certainly entitled to their opinion, to them I emphatically say, “B*itch please”.AAEAAQAAAAAAAALXAAAAJDlkOGRiZjc0LTZkOTktNDkzMy04OWQ2LTMzOTZkNmZjMzJiMw

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TMA’s Social Recruiting Summit Recap

Last week I attended the TMA Social Recruiting Summit in New York City. For a kid from New York, any trip there is nice, because in addition to being able to see some family while I am up there, I pretty much eat pizza every day and twice if I can find an excuse. Being able to cover the event gave me the ability to view the conference from a different perspective, where I could actually listen to all thecontent, while also taking in how the crowd is reacting to it.

The event itself was well attended by about 125 people, and it was nice to see that the attendees’ experience levels and industries varied greatly. This was particularly refreshing, because it brought out some of the challenges that are definitely unique to certain industries, while other times attendees were secure in knowing everyone else faces the same struggles. TMA did a really nice job on including speakers and content that spanned recruiting, sourcing, marketing and employee branding. It’s a tough feat to successfully cater to an array of audiences in a smaller conference, and it worked. Read More

How to Use Image Search to Identify Fake LinkedIn Profiles

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With the rise of phony LinkedIn pictures and profiles, the ability to determine what’s real from what’s stock photo is more important than ever. It’s essential to take just a minute or two to scan the profile of someone who has requested to be in your network. Doing some investigative work so you can help preserve the integrity of your network can help to eliminate unnecessary headaches down the road. Read More

Friend or Faux: Why It’s Time for LinkedIn To Get Real

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For weeks (actually, no, make that months), I’ve sat back and watched a pretty interesting phenomenon unfold. It’s nothing new, of course, but it’s a hell of a lot more prevalent – it seems like the conflagration of fake LinkedIn accounts has turned from a rivulet into a river.

And the floodgates are beginning to burst – just like my patience with this deluge of phony profiles. I mean, at first, I was going to give them a pass – I figured, well, that’s going to happen to any platform, particularly on social media.

But after a few months, it’s become pretty obvious that this phenomenon is particularly prominent on the LinkedIn platform, and disproportionately so.

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