With changing technologies comes changing demands. As Apple continues to tell us with each new iPhone they bring out “This changes everything. Again.” I think the same can be said about the way we in HR are looking at recruiting all new staff (notice I didn’t say “how we recruit young gen y candidates!” This applies to everyone).

Candidates are expecting more from potential employers and vice versa. So this week I am going to look at Recruitment 2.0 from the Employers perspective.

A standard job ad in the paper was deemed a viable option only a few years ago. But now, in 2010, candidates are asking for more than just an online ad with a  generic organisational summary and role description. Candidates want to see pictures from the office, video testimonials from the organisations leaders & in some cases hearing from the person currently sitting in the role which was recently made famous by the Replace Brie campaign run by AdCorp.

But if an employer is looking for a certain type of candidate such as a creative genius, technological wizz or the like then you have to use mediums and techniques that will appeal to those specific types. An example of this is the search for the next digital dragon. The St. George Illawarra Dragons have used a combination of facebook, twitter, youtube, websites and their constant PR man Wendel Sailor to hunt down a new Digital Communications Coordinator.

By using all these different mediums The Dragons are ensuring that they are appealing to the best in the business. Because who in their right mind would apply for an IT job that was only advertised in the newspaper? Doesn’t exactly scream ‘we are an innovative IT company’ now does it.

With a shifting job market where candidates can become more choosey about where and who they work for Recruitment 2.0 needs to be put on the agenda. When you consider the cost of hiring a new employee, not to mention the costs associated with hiring the wrong employee, I urge you to stop for a second and think about the specific job you are hiring for and what mediums you should be looking at using to ensure a quality candidate pool.

If you have any other examples let me know in the comments or write a blog post about it and let me know!

In an upcoming post I’ll be looking at Recruitment 2.0 from the candidates perspective.

HRockstar strumming out!