BCjobs Blog

Barely 2 weeks old and the buzz of Google+ has already taken over technology blogs, business sites, and my personal Facebook feed (invites anyone?). According to a recent article in PC World, estimates for the social network’s user base run as high as 5 million (not quite the 200 million of Twitter or 750 million of Facebook, but it’s only been 14 days). I recently received my own invitation and can’t stop reading anything and everything about the new social site. Like its social networking cousins, Google+ has the potential to further revolutionize business – from new marketing and advertising techniques to personalized and quick customer service responses. But what effect will Google+ have on the recruiting world?

My kids have always summed up my career in this fashion: “People pay mommy lots of money to find other people”. They have never questioned the logic of this. Mommy plays a mean hide n seek. Now that my baby has graduated from Kindergarten, I have come to realize that really, some of the most important elements of recruiting he has now mastered. Since school let out I’ve been watching him interact with his friends – and here’s what I’ve found…

Many managers view hiring as one of the easier decisions they have to make. Problem is, it’s also one of the hardest decisions to unmake!
Here’s a common scenario for busy managers. A vacancy is posted on the web. Some promising, skilled candidates apply–you interview, conduct a reference or two, make an offer and you’re done.

It’s a fundamental law in recruiting that you “are limited to hiring individuals who have applied for a position” (even direct sourced candidates will at some time will be requested to acknowledge application). Assuming you want an applicant pool that is bulging with superior talent, a logical question would be, ‘What factors restrict qualified individuals from applying?’. Prior to the most recent global economic meltdown, most recruiting professionals guessed that the top factors were pay, benefits, and employer reputation, which are important, but one factor has always trumped them: geography.