I've long been a proponent of social media sites such as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, blogs, and others as they've proven themselves to be wonderful sources of information and referrals. But it appears that the gravy train may be coming to an end, and perhaps it is because users of the social media sites are increasingly realizing that the so-called objective referrals they're receiving from their friends are often made at the request of the marketer and not adequately screened by the friend.
For years, advocates of social media marketing have been telling anyone who would listen that peer-to-peer networks are an incredibly most effective, efficient way of marketing a product, service, employment opportunity, anything because consumers simply trust their peers more than they trust marketers, news outlets, government officials, or industry analysts. However, Edelman just released its annual Trust Barometer and the percentage of people who view their peers as credible sources of information plummeted. In 2008, the percentage who trusted the opinions of their peers was 45 percent. Today, it is only 25 percent.
Continue reading "Twitter Followers, Facebook Friends No Longer Trusted"
Posted by Steven Rothberg, CollegeRecruiter.com on February 8, 2010 at 2:23 PM | Leave a Comment (0)
I'm a pretty active member of the only trade association for job boards, the International Association of Employment Web Sites. One of the many pieces of information that I've digested at the meetings is that about 90 percent of the job boards generate about 90 percent of their revenues from two failing products: job postings and resume searching. Very few boards have successfully transitioned to products which deliver added value to their employer clients and so will continue to face a cash crunch even as the economy recovers. What are some of the more innovative, value add products that they should deliver? Our two biggest products by revenue are targeted email campaigns and targeted cell phone text messaging campaigns, and both are poised for a surge in spending this year according to a new study.
Increasing investment in social media, mobile marketing, email marketing and search will fuel a 17 percent surge in digital marketing spending this year, as marketers migrate budgets from television, print and radio. Featured in Marketing Budgets 2010: Effectiveness, Measurement and Allocation, new joint research conducted by Econsultancy and global digital marketing provider ExactTarget, the survey of more than 1,000 marketers found two out of three increasing their digital marketing budget in 2010, earning digital channels nearly a quarter of marketers' total budgets.
Continue reading "Marketers Plan 17% Increase in On-line, Mobile Spending"
Posted by Steven Rothberg, CollegeRecruiter.com on February 5, 2010 at 8:04 AM | Leave a Comment (0)
Oscar Hernandes of HireLabs asked me to participate in a video blogging effort in which HireLabs asked a number of people in the recruiting industries to discuss whether they felt that skills or behavior hold more importance in employment assessments.
I believe that some employers for some positions such as information technology jobs feel that skills are more important while other employers for other positions such as sales jobs believe that behavioral traits are more important. For more details, watch the video below:
Continue reading "Skills vs Behavioral Assessments"
Posted by Steven Rothberg, CollegeRecruiter.com on February 3, 2010 at 5:41 PM | Leave a Comment (0)
Employers look for their job candidates to exhibit strong communication skills. Employers taking part in the Job Outlook 2010 survey by the National Association of Colleges and Employers' (NACE) ranked communication skills at the top of the skills they seek in potential employees:
Continue reading "Most Important Skill to Employers is Communication"
Posted by Steven Rothberg, CollegeRecruiter.com on February 3, 2010 at 3:32 PM | Leave a Comment (0)
The recovery from any recession is always a two steps forward, one step back kind of a process. And sometimes it is one step forward, two steps back. But some great economic news was just released. The number of jobs advertised on-line increased by a whopping 382,000 in January.
According to The Conference Board Help Wanted OnLine™ (HWOL) Data Series, the number of on-line job postings increased 382,000 to 4,024,000 in January 2010. This is the third straight month of increases with December 2009 being up 255,000 and November 2009 being up 107,000 for a total increase of some 750,000 over the three-month period. Furthermore, the increases have been widespread across the nation so not confined to certain geographic areas and they're consistent with the recent strength in the gross domestic product (GDP) numbers for the 4th quarter.
Continue reading "Great Economic News: Employers Adding 382,000 Jobs"
Posted by Steven Rothberg, CollegeRecruiter.com on February 2, 2010 at 10:02 AM | Leave a Comment (0)
There's been a lot of media coverage recently to job boards which are merely schemes to take advantage of job seekers even though they are some of the most vulnerable people in our society. So I was very happy to see Alison Doyle of About.com tackle this very subject. Alison lists and describes a number of characteristics which are indicative of a job board which you should stay away from:
Continue reading "How to Tell Your Job Board is a Ripoff"
Posted by Steven Rothberg, CollegeRecruiter.com on February 1, 2010 at 9:30 AM | Leave a Comment (3)
Earlier this week, I posted a couple of blog articles about how people can start their own e-businesses even if they don't know much about technology or running a businesses. Our partner, SBI! Learning, has taught tens of thousands of graduates at prestigious universities across the country why e-businesses make good fiscal sense, how to start them, and, most importantly, how to run them.
As a lifelong entrepreneur born into a family full of entrepreneurs, the idea of starting CollegeRecruiter.com wasn't scary and I knew where to turn to for help with just about any issue. But the reality is that very few families are blessed with successful entrepreneurs and if your family is like that, then understanding how to start a business and how to run that business must seem overwhelming. Fortunately, SBI! Learning has the tools you need. They'll walk you through why e-businesses (businesses which are located on-line like a blog or other web site) are good ideas for many people, how to get the training and other help you'll need to get started, how to launch the business, and how to run it.
Continue reading "How to Become an Entrepreneur by Starting and Running an On-line Business"
Posted by Steven Rothberg, CollegeRecruiter.com on January 29, 2010 at 11:08 AM | Leave a Comment (0)
A couple of days ago I wrote a short note about the immense respect that I have for how well the folks at SBI! eLearning have taught thousands of students through some of the nation's largest, most prestigious schools to create and run their own on-line businesses. But I recognize that my short note and related video may not have provided enough information for some people. Some, of course, want just a little information before they ask questions. Others want more information so they've got a more complete picture before they start asking away.
For those who want more information, watch the video below. It is slightly less than 10 minutes and does a great job of walking you through why an e-business is a great idea for those who are struggling to find work or just fed up with relying on employers or the government for their livelihood. Once you've watched the video, head over to the SBI! Learning site for more information or contact information so you can request information on-line, by email, or even through a toll free call with one of their career advisors.
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Posted by Steven Rothberg, CollegeRecruiter.com on January 27, 2010 at 11:58 AM | Leave a Comment (1)
There's no doubt that the recession of 2008 and 2009 had a significant, negative impact on the recruiting industry but that was to be expected as money spent by employers on their recruiting efforts is always inversely correlated to the unemployment rate. Historically, as the economy weakens and unemployment increases, employers spend less on recruiting. Indeed, the money spent on recruiting tends to slightly lag the unemployment rate. The depth of this most recent recession was the worst since the depression of the 1930's so it shouldn't come as a surprise that the recruiting industry is now just starting to emerge from its worst two years in decades. But if there's one truth when it comes to the unemployment rate it is that even when unemployment goes up, it always goes back down again:
Continue reading "Financial Analysis of the Job Board Industry - Dead or Thriving?"
Posted by Steven Rothberg, CollegeRecruiter.com on January 26, 2010 at 12:44 PM | Leave a Comment (0)
