I went to #SRCONF today – a social recruiting conference in London.  I am writing this blog on the train home in a vein attempt to offload some of the pressure building up in my brain – so much juicy information needs downloading!

So, here’s my fly-by-night account of what happened / what I learned today / what I am thinking now:

• 62% of UK residents are concerned about mixing personal and business online – too late! You already are – whether you like it or not, even if you have not social media profile, people are talking about you!
• Agency Recruiters were noticeable by their absence (a couple were there…  where were the rest?)
• By 2013, mobile internet usage will overtake desktop internet usage
• Mobile apps must be part of any future recruitment strategy (even if you have no intention of building your own, check out the job boards you use and whether they are going down the app route)
• Pepsico recruitment app is cute but needs the ability to apply for jobs
• @LisaScales excelled at debating the issue that social recruiting may not be for everyone (including joiners)
• @HoorayHenry from BeKnown (Monster) “Social recruiting is a bit like high school sex.  Lots of people talking about it, few doing it right!”
• Trying to focus on the Twitter boards, eat the sweets in front of me, make notes, listen to the presentation and read the slides was a challenge of multi-tasking (how on earth did the men cope?
• 250m users on Facebook (1/3) are active via mobile, and these mobile users are twice as active than desktop users
• Accenture’s presentation stood out with @QSoares “if you have nothing to say, shut up” – the Annie Oakley of social recruitment
• There are over 2100 job boards in the UK
• @dougshaw1 is great at writing songs about social recruitment events
• @QSoares from Accenture stating “Social media is a relationship management strategy” – I get this, but this assumes that recruiters and corporates have relationships with their candidates…
• @MaayanZusman from Intel stating “Social media is NOT free or easy” – so true – and proven by so many bad uses of it
• Lots of people talking about social recruitment but I am left wondering how corporates are really coping with the influx that will inevitably happen if they don’t have decent internal systems (ATS) to manage their candidate pool (after all, it’s all about the pipeline isn’t it?)
• There was scepticism in the room about BeKnown which I wonder could have been put to good use by crowdsourcing instead of presenting?  I’m sitting on the fence – the product is not aimed at me, and I don’t doubt that it will take hold – but I’m going to watch and not judge for now (yes, fence sitting).
• Agency recruiters may well be under threat (according to @MatthewJeffery) if they don’t adapt to the new online streams, or they simply continue to use them to bark job, job, job”.  Woof woof… feel the need to blog about this…

It was well worth attending – brain feels better now!

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We work with recruiters to help them with their social recruitment, web and technology strategies.  If you are looking to develop your strategy (speed up placements, generate more talent and reduce your cost of hire), please get in touch.

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Lisa Jones is a Virtual IT Director at Barclay Jones, an IT Strategy Consultancy. She works with growing companies advising them on the most effective use of technology, web and social media to improve their business processes, recruitment and bottom line.  She is also on the West Yorkshire Committee of the IoD and a member of the Yorkshire IoD Social Media Team.

Follow Lisa on Twitter, read her blog and connect via LinkedIn.

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Filed under: All, Recruitment, Social Media, Social Recruitment