On the eve of Crexia’s Social Recruiting Conference, we asked “what are the key features of a social careers website?” for our 5th weekly Twitter chat.
What is a Social Careers Website?
There was some conflict over exactly what we mean by a social careers website
Ok seems we have diff ideas of social careers website – perhaps enhanced career sites or integrated with social feeds #srchat
— Vic Okezie (@vicokezie) June 27, 2012
What was clear though was that a strong presence on social media sites was required first as one cannot exist without the other.
You can’t have a social careers site without a strong social media presence in the first place #srchat
— Lee Harding (@LeeHarding83) June 27, 2012
It was also clear that a social careers site should offer a transparent view of the company, providing access not only to recruiters but to current employees as well, giving a “warts and all” view of what it is like to work a particular employer.
What are the features of a Social Careers Website?
I’ll let the tweets do the talking here…
What should be features of a corporate careers site using social tools? #srchat <ease of use, links, site works on mobile, use SM profiles>
— alanwhitford (@alanwhitford) June 27, 2012
@vicokezie Key features – apply via Linkedin, share jobs, ability to see Linkedin connections who already work there would be cool #srchat
— Lee Harding (@LeeHarding83) June 27, 2012
Any good examples of Social Careers Websites?
@vicokezie Check out Xilinx’s FB page and Work for Us tab – great example of an interactive, smooth careers hub facebook.com/XilinxInc/app_… #srchat
— Work4 Labs (@work4labs) June 27, 2012
We have mentions here of Rackspace and Disney Jobs as good examples of good career sites with social integration. Any more? #srchat
— Vic Okezie (@vicokezie) June 27, 2012
Take a closer look at the sites from Rackspace and Disney.
How does gamification add value to Careers sites?
Claire Falconbridge offers up the example of GCHQ’s code breaking game
@vicokezie Gamification adds engagement & encourage quality to commit to process = more invested candidates bit.ly/NO0R1b #srchat
— Claire Faulconbridge (@DB_Rec_Claire) June 27, 2012
I think the general consensus was that the gamification elements must have a real purpose and add value to the recruitment process. Including them for the sake of it will seem very hollow to job seekers.
Social Careers sites – Mobile apps or mobile-friendly?
It was very much accepted on the chat that employers don’t have a choice as to whether they optimise they sites for mobile devices or not – it needs to be done. SO many professional people now access their email via mobile, including email job alerts. Any content that you link to via Social Media is likely to be viewed on a mobile – Twitter reports that more than half of its traffic now comes via mobile.
@vicokezie It’s important to have your careers site optimised for mobile, especially if you are linking from sites like Twitter #srchat
— Katharine Robinson (@TheSourceress) June 27, 2012
in conclusion:
@vicokezie mobile chat could’ve gone on for another hour! #srchat
— Tim Barry (@TimJBarry) June 27, 2012
If you need convincing to take part in #SRCHAT next time, I can provide no higher recommendation than this:
Been completely distracted from the incredibly boring #euro2012 SF by the extremely engrossing #srchat
— Tim Barry (@TimJBarry) June 27, 2012
Join us for #SRCHAT on Wednesdays at 8pm BST, 3pm ET or 12 noon PT.