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I've been very busy lately working on a large number of projects, and one such project is analyzing and evaluating a number of social networking sites. Now, there have been a number of articles written on social networking and online community involvement, but my viewpoint may be a little different. This article is not written to endorse or condemn any social networking site, but to provide guidance on how to better utilize these sites to your advantage.

After reviewing a number of networking sites, including a number of industry specific networking sites, it became apparent to me that many recruiters are becoming modern day drifters. I use this term to describe the recruiters that wander aimlessly from community to community hoping to connect with that next candidate. I found that many recruiters have hundreds of connections on fifteen or more sites, and I wondered to myself, "How can they possibly keep up with all of these sites?" So I joined a couple networks, and made efforts to reach out. What I found is that, on average, it took almost 21 days for a response. For a recruiter looking to fill jobs quickly, this doesn't appear to be an acceptable turn around time. Also, I noticed the recruiter's profile was different on almost every site, showcasing the fact that the recruiter is, 1) Not keeping up with the site, or 2) Testing out each site for a little while, hoping to catch a candidate.

Focus on strategy
Recruiters need to focus on a strategy, get to know each site in-depth, identify the pros and cons, and build a consistent profile while managing their connections effectively.

Step 1. Identify yourself with social networks that align with your intent.
Conduct an analysis of a variety of sites, and gain familiarity with their tools and functionality, benefits, drawbacks. It is important to understand what information about the candidate you are actually deriving from this site. Ensure that the site aligns with the type of candidate you are looking for. Review a couple of the profiles on the site, as this can give you an indication as to whether or not the profiles on this site or the users of this site are a potential match for the culture at your organization. The key "alignment" questions to ask as you use a social network include:

• Does the culture represented by the members of the site reflect the culture of your organization?
• Does the site focus on the level of candidate you are looking to connect with?
• Are the features functional and easy to use? You want to make sure you do not waste all of your sourcing time navigating a site with little functionality.

Step 2. Building your profile
First things first, you need to make sure your profile is consistent across the networks. If you have done your homework in step one, you should only have a few specific sites that you are working with. Make sure your profile represents the culture at your organization or firm, along with highlighting the types of candidates you generally seek. Do not open yourself up to any and all candidates as this will waste your time and build false hope for candidates you can not use. Remember that building a profile on a social network is not just a representation of you, but the organization you represent as well.

Step 3. Manage your connections
None of the social websites would be successful if people did not manage their connections. If you narrow the number of sites you align yourself with, set up your profile consistently across your select sites, and continue to stay up to date on the site, managing your connections is a breeze. Many people state that you should limit your connections only to people you know personally. I disagree. I work with only two sites, and my connection list is over 3000. Since I have aligned myself with the site that works best for my business and have built a profile reflective of my intent, even though I have a high number of connections, I receive very little traffic. The traffic I do receive is relative to what I need to accomplish, and is a request I can generally provide input on. Checking your sites often is key to making your network work. I recommend checking it as least twice a week. Again, if you have done a good job with steps one and two, your traffic should be minimal and successful.

It is easy to get caught up in the next big swing or the next fascinating site, but if you jump on the band wagon of every new community that pops up, you are truly a modern day drifter with no direction. Do your research, align yourself, manage your interactions, and you will be successful.

Article by, Ryan Loken and courtesy of Kenndy Information Recruiting Trends providing leading edge insights and strategies for the recruiting professional