CollegeRecruiter.com Blog

How to Measure Results from Social Media Ads, Efforts

2009-11-20T14:26:06Z

When evaluating various metrics and tools for tracking social media, what should marketing and communications professionals look for? First, know what you want to measure. The most complex tools in the world won't do you any good if they don't measure what your business needs to measure. So start with that. Second, look for tools that simplify your job rather than complicate it. If you can find one tool that measures everything you want to measure, invest in it. The alternative may seem cheaper on the front end, but the amount of work required to manage several tools and a dozen separate data sets may end up costing you more in labor and headaches. ]]> Should putting the proper tracking mechanisms in place come before trying out new social-media strategies/activities? From a business-management standpoint, sure. You want to establish baselines for your activities to track resource use, progress and changes (to eventually determine the specific successes and failures of your social-media activities). From a program-management and execution standpoint, however, the launch of a social-media program should typically begin with a discovery plan whose goal is to simply learn how to listen. Social-media programs should never start with the creation of content or active engagement or anything "outbound." That comes later. What are the three most common mistakes you see companies make when trying to measure the effect or value of their social-media efforts?

Focusing too much on digital measurement. Sure, social media seems to live in the digital space, but digital is just the medium. The relationships, the engagement, the consumer behaviors, these things exist in the real world, as well.
Not understanding the difference between nonfinancial impact and financial impact. Nonfinancial impact is a precursor to ROI. For example, 1,000 net new daily visitors to a Web site attributed to Facebook fans is of immense value to the digital team, but unless these new visitors transact as a result of their visit (or their recommendations result in a transaction), the value of that traffic is limited (and irrelevant to the sales manager). So the difference between the value of a program and the financial value of a program are often not clearly delineated within an organization.
Not establishing clear goals and objectives when launching a social-media program. "Engagement," "increasing brand awareness" and "having more conversations" are not real objectives. Soft goals create soft strategies. Soft strategies turn into weak tactics. Weak tactics turn into bogus metrics. The more specific the goals, the more likely it is that organizations will see real (and quantifiable) results every month, quarter and beyond.

-- Article courtesy of SmartBrief on Social Media Senior and written by editor Mary Ellen Slayter as an abridged version of her recently conversation with Olivier Blanchard, a brand strategist with 15 years of marketing-management experience across a variety of B2B and B2C industries. The full text of the interview is available at SmartBlog on Social Media.

How to Find Recruiting Experts on Twitter

2009-11-19T20:04:58Z

Many newcomers and even some veterans to Twitter find the process of deciding who to follow to be very confusing. The Twitter home page, for example, has a prominent search engine but strongly implies that you search for content rather than people. I believe that both are important. In fact, I prefer to follow people who discuss content which is relevant to me. So how do you decide who to follow if you know the content but then get thousands and perhaps tens of thousands of matches back? Perhaps the easiest way of adding up to 100 highly relevant people in a flash is a free service from TweepML. You can create lists of people ("tweeple") of your own or, as most probably do, run a keyword search or two to find lists which someone else has already created. You then review the lists of the people, uncheck those who don't seem relevant to your interests, and log into your Twitter account near the bottom of the screen. At that point, the coolest thing happens. The screen will show you that those people are being added to your Twitter account so you'll now be following them. In just a few minutes, for example, you can follow 100 of the top recruiting experts on Twitter. Very slick.

My Worst Interview Experience Ever

2009-11-19T14:02:48Z

I'm a fully recovered lawyer but before I made the tough decision to leave law, I interviewed for a summer associate position with a law firm back in 1990. Two interviewers and me in one of those awful on-campus interview room with air that smelled like it was imported every decade from the Soviet Union. One of the interviewers greets me like a cold fish and tells me that she's the human resources manager. She definitely knew how to take the human out of human resources. But it gets better. The other takes over and explains that she's the staff psychologist (really) and wants to ask me a series of questions for 25 minutes and then I'll have five minutes to ask questions of them. Gee. How generous.]]> She started by saying they have a very stressful environment and they need to make sure the people they hire can deal with the stress. First question is what do I do if I'm driving along a two lane country road with deep ditches on either side, a semi truck coming toward me in the oncoming lane and a turtle in my lane? I thought for a moment, stood, shook their hands, thanked them for their time, and told them that I wasn't a good fit for their firm. They just about lost it. They couldn't believe that anyone wouldn't want to work for their firm.... Read More I walked out feeling pretty darned good and saw my best friend walk out of the interview room next to mine. He asked if I had just experienced a weird interview as he was interviewing with the same firm. I told him my experience. He burst out laughing. He also walked out the same way that I did. Two years later, my friend and I were both in the business world so we could enjoy our lives and the law firm was bankrupt.

Obama Pressured to Create Jobs

2009-11-18T22:42:51Z

Unemployment is shaping up as a key battleground in the midterm elections. The Wall Street Journal's Economics Editor David Wessel says the Obama administration is keenly aware, and looking at smaller stimulus follow-ups to generate jobs growth:

My Nightmare Interviews With Google

2009-11-18T13:42:23Z

College Hiring Down (Again)

2009-11-17T22:29:56Z

College recruiting activity will likely continue to decline over the next three months, according to results of a new survey. The National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) recently instituted a monthly poll of its employer members to gauge the college job market on an on-going basis. The first poll was conducted October 3 - November 2and represents expectations over a three-month period (October through December).]]> Results are reported as an index for recruiting activity and an index for college hiring, with scores ranging from 0 to 200 (100 represents no change; scores below 100 represent an expected decrease; scores above 100 represent an expected increase). The overall recruiting activity index for October is 92.6, indicating that college recruiting activity will continue to decline over the next three months. The college hiring index for October is 86.8, indicating that hiring levels will also continue to decrease in the short term. (See Figure 1.) The index appears negative on the surface, but a deeper look suggests some positive movement. "In our current poll, 25.8 percent of the respondents reported some increase in the level of college hiring. This compares with only 17 percent that expected to increase hiring in August," says Marilyn Mackes, NACE executive director. In addition, October unemployment figures for bachelor's degree graduates are promising: According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the unemployment rate for college graduates holding bachelor's degrees stands now at 4.7 percent--down from 4.9 percent in September. (The overall unemployment rate--10.2 percent--is up, reflecting steep unemployment rates for those with less than a bachelor's degree.)

When to Follow-up After Applying to a Job

2009-11-17T16:19:19Z

One of the biggest mistakes that we see job seekers making when using our job board or others is failing to follow-up with the employers after applying to work for them. The old adage about the squeaky wheel getting the grease is absolutely true. Some employers will disregard applications from candidates unless they follow-up because the employers perceive -- often incorrectly -- that a lack of follow-up is indicative of only passing interest and candidates who follow-up are more interested and therefore more likely to accept an offer. We counsel job seekers to follow-up to every application four to five business days after the employer should have received the application. Unless the candidate has mailed or overnighted an application, that means that they should be on the phone one week after submitting their application. Most candidates would do so but don't know how to reach the appropriate person. Virtually every employer web site has a Contact Us or About Us section and there's almost always a phone number listed there. Call and ask for human resources and then ask them to confirm that they've received your application. A week is typically not enough time for them to decide whether to interview you and it is best for the initial call to be non-confrontational. You should even explain that you know that some applications never arrive due to technical problems so you just want to make sure that yours didn't fall into some black hole. Make a joke out of it. When they confirm they've received your resume, ask them for the timeline. When will it be reviewed? When should you hear back? Then follow-up one to two business days after that deadline and repeat the process. LinkedIn to find an appropriate point of contact within the department to which you applied to work for or, better yet, human resources. Send that person an email telling them when you applied and ask if your application was received. In other words, use the same wording and process through LinkedIn messaging as you would have by phone.]]>

Gen X'ers More Likely to Job Hop Than Gen Y'ers

2009-11-16T13:29:01Z

One of the many great things about having teenagers in the house is that they tend to have a pretty good understanding of the issues which are of interest to you. My oldest just brought to my attention an article about how the recession has impacted Gen X, which could be called the Sandwich Generation given its much smaller numbers than the generations on either side of it. Most of the attention on the Baby Boomer (born 1945 to 1963), Gen X (1964 to 1976), and Gen Y (1977 to current) groups in the workforce has centered on the impending retirement of the Baby Boomers and the rise of Gen Y, which recently became the largest group in the workforce. Left out of the discussion, therefore, is my generation: Gen X.]]> Deloitte Consulting LLP found that nearly two-thirds of executives at Fortune 500 and other large organizations were concerned about not being able to retain their Gen Y employees yet fewer than half of them had similar concerns about losing the Gen X employees. According to Robin Erickson, a manager with Deloitte's human capital division, the assumption amongst managers is that Gen Y'ers are the least loyal and most mobile and that those managers must therefore make an extra effort to retain Gen Y'ers. Gen X'ers, as compared to the younger Gen Y'ers, seem to be getting lost in the shuffle and employers should pay more attention to the needs and wants of the smaller number of Gen X'ers. A companion survey found that only about 37 percent of Gen X'ers plan to stay in their current jobs after the recession ends. By comparison, the percentage who plan to remain in their current positions include 44 percent Gen Y'ers, and 50 percent of Baby Boomers. So what's an employer to do? Ignore their Gen Y employees? Absolutely not. Instead, understand that an employee should be valued based upon their current and likely future contributions rather than their date of birth. One of your most valued employees may be 20, 40, or 60 years old. It isn't their age that matters. It is the work that they deliver and will deliver. Younger employees tend to have more upside as their skills have not yet caught up with their potential, but they also lack the wisdom of older employees. Both groups are important, as are the employees who are sandwiched in between and therefore bring some upside and some wisdom to the workforce. An organization staffed primarily by any of the groups is an organization with a lot of problems so retention of your best employees -- regardless of age -- is critical to the success of every organization.

How to Earn Extra Cash for the Holidays

2009-11-13T19:23:33Z

Money is tight for just about everyone right now. Organizations from the federal government to local government to public corporations to private corporations to individuals are all feeling the pinch. This has been a nasty recession for all of us so naturally a lot of people are wondering how they're going to have enough money to do the extra things that come about at this time of the year, whether that's traveling to see family or just buy gifts for the kids. If you're wondering how you can make some additional money quickly, don't fall for one of those ridiculous "make gobs of money while sleeping in" multi-level marketing scams. Instead, look to quality employers which are offering legitimate, temporary positions. A great example is United Parcel Service. They're hiring thousands upon thousands of temporary workers for the holiday season. Whether you want to work in one of their facilities as a package handler or be out and about as a driver's helper, you'll get great exercise and make good money doing good work. Whether UPS is the right fit for you or not, go out and get yourself a good temporary job today so that you and your loved ones can have a wonderful holiday season.

Twitter and LinkedIn Now Integrated. Get Your Tweets on LinkedIn Easy, Fast, and Free.

2009-11-11T21:44:41Z

Two of the best and most popular social media services are LinkedIn, the leading business networking site, and Twitter, the leading micro blogging site. And now, like peanut butter and chocolate, they're integrating their services to provide additional value to users of LinkedIn and Twitter. Watch the video below and you'll see from the words of founders Reid Hoffman and Biz Stone just how compelling this new partnership will be. One great example is the much broader distribution your questions posted to LinkedIn will receive. Rather than just tapping into the collective brain trust of LinkedIn, which is considerable, you'll also be tapping into that of Twitter. Awesome.]]>

Employer Attitudes Toward Millennials / Gen Y'ers

2009-11-11T15:26:27Z

We've been involved in the world of college recruiting since 1995. In those 14 years, I've heard time and time again that the current crop of college students and recent graduates are poorly prepared for the workplace, they're job hoppers, they're an entitled generation, they don't show up on time, they leave early, they spend too much time texting with friends instead of working, and employers don't want to hire them for those and other reasons. Only a third of the Class of 2009 has found employment, which is far lower than past years, but most of that decrease is due to the recession rather than to a reluctance by employers to hire Millennials / Gen Y'ers. There are certainly some misgivings expressed by some hiring managers and human resource professionals, but the reality is that every generation exhibits similar traits as they enter the workplace. Gen X'ers were labeled the Me Generation and so were the Baby Boomers, so the feeling by some that this generation is an entitled generation simply doesn't wash as so were the previous generations. This generation is notorious for texting and using social media while at work, but the previous generations were notorious for making personal phone calls during work hours and they likely would have been using Facebook if it existed. The reality is that these behaviors are just that: behaviors. They are indicative of the age of the employees rather than being specific to their generational. The vast majority of employers understand that they must hire, train, and retain members of this generation if the employer is to survive and thrive. This generation is already the largest generation in the workforce and that percentage will continue to grow as the number of Baby Boomers who exit the workforce continues to increase.

The Greatest Motivational Speech Ever -- By a Little Kid

2009-11-09T19:14:13Z

When and How to Ask for a Raise

2009-11-09T13:21:29Z

Unemployment Rate Tops 10% - 26 Year High

2009-11-06T15:20:04Z

One Speaker and Exhibitor's Impression of OnRec / Kennedy Information 2009 Fall Conference

2009-11-04T21:46:05Z

I had the good fortune of attending the OnRec / Kennedy Information recruiting conference in Chicago this week. I was both a panelist on a session about how employers can use mobile marketing for recruiting and CollegeRecruiter.com had a booth in the exhibit room. The session was well attended and seemed to be well received by the attendees. Most had little to no experience with cell phone text messaging, keyword advertising, mobile web sites, or any other components of mobile marketing. Virtually all, however, seemed to realize that the future of on-line recruiting will be on web-enabled mobile phones. My experience as an exhibitor was mixed. I attended the show with Caddy Rowland, our director of sales for employment marketing. Only a handful of large employers visited our booth and several of them were already clients. We love when current clients visit us as it provides them and us with a wonderful opportunity to share information. New clients are also wanted by exhibitors and that's where the show was quite disappointing. There were only a couple of potentially large clients who visited our booth. We had thought we'd meet with a dozen or two. On the other hand, there were a large number of existing and potential partners at the show so I was kept busy and should be able to leverage the show quite well by enhancing some existing partnerships and creating new ones. So, will we exhibit again next year? Almost certainly. Do we expect and hope to do more business next year? Also almost certainly.