HOW TO: A quick guide to Recruitment 2.0 in 6 easy steps

So, you have heard about Social Recruiting 2.0 and perhaps even people talking about Recruitment 3.0? But you are still advertising your jobs in the local newspapers because your CxO likes to see his company adverts in there and that’s how they have always done recruiting (aka Recruitment 1.0)? And you are wondering how to make the leap to Recruitment 2.0?

Let’s start this HOW TO guide with a shopping list. Your ingredients are:

1. Registered domain name, preferable aimed at your main target group
2. WordPress CMS
3. A great story to tell your target audience. Yes, that means re-writing your Job Specification.
4. Social plugins for WordPress e.g. SexyBookmarks, Twittercounter and Facebook Like
5. QR code generator or Augmented Reality marker
6. One print ad or brochure (I’m not joking, keep reading!)

Nice to haves:

1. Digital photo and/or video camera
2. Company YouTube account
3. Google Analytics account and code or alternatively choose a WordPress plugin to track your visitors

All set and ready? Let’s get started.

STEP 1: Register a domain to host your new website

You can try to make your existing website more social by adding a few widgets, provided by social platforms, but sometimes it’s easier to start from scratch with the added advantage to tailor your job marketing or employer branding campaign to your target audience.

First register a domain that is short or easy to remember like www.CareersAtCompany.com. Personally I prefer to choose a domain that makes people curious and makes use of your employer branding tagline e.g. www.LetsTalkAboutYourFuture.com. Be creative here!

STEP 2: Download and install WordPress CMS

To build a new website you’ll need a Content Management System (CMS). There are many options for this but WordPress, the blogging platform, offers one of the best free solutions and is ‘web 2.0 ready’. Choosing WordPress as your CMS has many benefits:

• Open Source software with many available plugins
• Blog with response option (and moderation)
• Events calendar
• Personal profile pages for employees and / or bloggers
• Utilize social networks to communicate jobs via social media
• Recognition that visitors come and greet them with a personalized message

STEP 3: Tell a great story

You are now ready to fill your website with text and pictures. As you want to spark interest in your company and/or vacancies you need a great story to tell your target audience. The bad news; it means re-writing your Job Specification. The good news; it will boost your employer brand and you’ll notice an above average conversion rate into qualified candidates.

Bytheway, try to avoid involvement of your communications department. It will delay your project with weeks, maybe even months if they are still living in Web 1.0, and will cost (tens of) thousands of dollars extra to make the website according to the corporate guidelines. Moreover you’ll end up with mediocre content and a very, uhm, corporate look and feel. You don’t want that to happen.

Tip: Here are some clean and minimal WordPress themes to kick-start your new website design.

EXTRA STEPS: Add multimedia and visitor tracking to your website

Some low hanging fruit is adding video to your WordPress website. All you need is a YouTube account and a digital video camera, or use your Smartphone with camera, to record a video from your workplace and add it to the thirs most visited website in the world. Integrating a YouTube video into WordPress becomes as easy as adding the video-URL in a Post or Page.

STEP 4: Make it social

I’m pretty sure that your corporate website does not include an easy way to share a webpage or leave comments. No worries, that’s why we have chosen for WordPress where you, as the owner of the website, can include these options with a few mouse clicks.

You can, or should, install a few WordPress plugins that makes it easy for visitors to socially bookmark, rate, share or ‘like’ the webpage they are viewing at that moment. Look for SexyBookmarks, Twittercounter,Facebook Like plugins amongst others. Also include the plugin WPtouch iPhone to make the website compatible for Apple iPhone and and other touch-based smartphones.

STEP 5: Create an QR Code or Augmented Reality marker

Congratulations, after completing step 4 you’ve entered the social recruiting 2.0 era. People now have the possibility to interact more easily with your recruiters and can also become an ambassador to your company by sharing or rating your web pages. But let’s go an extra mile by adding some Augmented Reality or QR Code to your print advertising materials to set you apart from the competition.

With Augmented Reality you can go completely wild and be very creative. But I promised you 6 EASY steps so for that purpose we are going to create an QR-code, a two-dimensional bar code, that will provide visitors a Quick Response to your newly created website. Users with a camera Smartphone and a QR-reader application can scan the image of the QR Code to open your web page in the phone’s browser. Simply visit a website like http://zxing.appspot.com/generator, add your website URL and you’ve created an QR marker.

STEP 6: Upgrade your print materials

From now on, always add your QR Code to print materials i.e. job adverts in newspaper, event brochures and your business card.

That’s it. You’re done. Welcome to Recruitment 2.0! All it takes is a day of work… plus a few more days before your print ad or brochure is ready 😉

© 2010 Jacco Valkenburg