92% of Employers Use Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn to Hire New Employees

A new survey confirms what most in the recruiting industry already know: the use of social media sites such as Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn have become an essential practice amongst human resource professionals with 92 percent of U.S. companies using social networks and media to find talent in 2012, up from 78 percent five years ago. LinkedIn continues to be a dominant recruiting network, while Facebook and Twitter have seen major adoption growth in the past year.

Two-thirds of companies now recruit through Facebook and 54 percent use Twitter to find new talent. Jobvite‘s June 2012 Social Recruiting Survey of 1,000 human resource and recruiting professionals also found that employers scrutinize social media activity, noting more than half of respondents would have a negative reaction to seeing a spelling or grammar mistake in a social profile. Overall, social recruiting has become an essential tool for recruiters and can be expected to become even more important as 89 percent of the companies surveyed report plans to increase hiring this year. Continue Reading

A New Religion

Often, people wonder how billionaires like Sam Walton, Carl Icahn and Warren Buffett not only amassed their wealth, but were also able to maintain it. Mark Stevens, founder of MSCO, in his book, “Rich is a Religion,” says it’s all about the way they view(ed) money. One definition of religion, according to Merriam-Webster, is a cause, principle, or system of beliefs held to with ardor and faith. It’s that definition that Walton, Icahn, Buffett, and Stevens himself apply to money. They don’t worship it as a false idol or horde it like misers. They enjoy their wealth without squandering it.
“Rich is a Religion” is filled with anecdotes, illustrating Stevens’ point. Sam Walton, for example, bought a house in the suburbs on a street like any other. The only luxury was a tennis court because Walton loved to play tennis. Since he was getting older and the hard cement surface was hard on his knees, Walton didn’t play tennis as often as he once had. When asked why he didn’t get the court redone with clay or some other softer surface, it was Mrs. Walton who answered. She said that resurfacing the court would require hiring someone to maintain it and that, apparently, was not considered a practical way to spend their money.
Stevens’ book isn’t a how-to for getting rich. Instead, it’s an explanation of what kind of behavior modification is necessary to amass the kind of wealth that will make a person totally financially independent. What’s complete financial independence? It’s being able to write a check for anything you want or need, he says. Stevens decided to practice the religion of the rich after watching his father literally stress himself to death, leaving his family almost penniless, because he didn’t understand or practice the religion of the rich.
It’s not impossible for everyone, recent college graduates starting their first entry-level jobs, college students working on paid internships, or anyone with the discipline to practice the religion that helped Stevens, Buffett and others to become financially independent. He points out that one reason most people today will never become rich is because they believe that the appearance of wealth is more important than actual wealth. Stevens begs to differ. The most important wealth you have, he says, is the wealth that no one else ever sees. Keeping up with the Joneses will keep you in the poor house, he warns.
It takes more than simply saving part of the wages from an entry-level job or internship. It takes the discipline to consistently put away a certain percentage of each paycheck, invest that money wisely (Stevens advises finding a reputable, trustworthy financial planner), never touch the money in a savings account for indulgences, and always live slightly below your means.