Dear .jobs,

This is a hard letter to write – but I know it must be done.  It seems like just yesterday when we first met – but its been almost 5 years.  In that time, I always wanted to believe in you and think what you were saying was true.  I was young and hopeful and really did think that you were going to change the world.

I’m in my 30′s now, .jobs, and while I still wish for that youthful love and world conquering idealism I once had with you – the dream has faded – partially because of the reasons I pointed out in 2007 on the mis-steps and marketing errors and pricing structure and lack of buy in  and ….  but I still hoped for your sake I was wrong.

I know we had some moments of glimmer and you told me about all the wonderful things you were going to do for me.  But now, its just sad.  The time to strike was hot a few years ago and the relationships are lost.

I’ve moved on .jobs.  I’ve seen that love .com and I shared was real and the “Ohh Shiney” stuff that you offered was not real.   He does what he says.  He shows up in google searches.  His domains are only $6.99 with a discount code at GoDaddy.  He gets hits because its where my job seekers want to go.   We are happy, our career sites are thriving.    Please stop and leave us alone.  Leave SHRM alone – they are getting this social media thing finally figured out – please let them focus on that.

Sincerely,

Me

PS.  Thanks to @jobboarddoctor for his post today on ERE which made me get all worked up over this issue again.  Read it.  He’s right.  Only 1 winner.

I’ve mentioned it before, but I love movies and the way that regardless of what is going on in our economy, lives, politics, world, etc a good movie can totally take you out of it and introduce you into a world unknown for a period of time.  I also love the lessons that we can learn from watching them – on life, risk taking, love, friendship, forgiveness and of course recruiting & branding.

20 Years ago – An Oscar was THE goal.  It was credibility, notoriety, fame, fortune and the physical manifestation of success.  Today its is the same thing with a interesting way to select movies that half the US population never will see.

20 Years Ago – The MTV Movie Awards didn’t exist.  But in the last 19 years it has evolved into being the one place where movies that people actually watch over and over and over – regardless of their technical and acting quality can be recognized for simply being awesome.

The Oscar is like the HR’s answer to the “Best Places to Work List”

The MTV Movie award is where your friends love to work.

(Now, select the alternate ending of the blog that best meets your needs)

I’m A Company:

Having a “best places to work” icon on your career site is great and a huge feat and something every company should be extremely proud of.  But don’t expect it to sell its self any more.  People aren’t looking at that as the end all be all of great places to actually work.  Its an icon, like an Oscar, but we all know that where people fill the seats and spend the money isn’t always on the oscar contenders.   Make sure that you are selling your company for what makes it unique an some of the features that aren’t always considered on those lists.

MTV Movie awards does the basics (best female lead, best movie…blah blah) but what makes them stand out and unique is they do other categories like best kiss or best WTF moment.  And the other categories aren’t wasted on things like costume and make up design because, well, people EXPECT that to be there in movies now.  You only playing up your branding around your excellent benefits or other things that everyone else on that list can offer is actually putting you at the disadvantage.  Job Seekers are EXPECTING that – especially from a Oscar Worthy organization.

I’m A JobSeeker:

So, you are out there searching for a job.  You are like an actor that is reading over 2 scripts determining if your next best career move is the oscar worthy epic where you will have a bit part or if it is the potential summer break out hit where you will have a bit part.

Don’t feel pressure to “want” to work at the companies on the “best places to work” or where your friends love to work.  Its ok to work for the quirky off the wall place that everyone just loves to work at but doesn’t win any awards.  As you look for your next role – take a look at those lists, but also take a look at other places that you hear about, read about on social media or online or just randomly see a opening at.   Decide for yourself based on conversations with current employees, the feel you get when you walk in for your interview, the way you are treated throughout the process to make your decision and where the “best place to work for you”.

In the real world people are cautious about what and how they say things.  There is something about looking someone in the eye or hearing their voice on the phone that changes the mental decision making process between what you want to say to someone and what you actually do say.  It is in that situation that your brains decision making process kicks into overdrive and helps you make good decisions not to upset, hurt, offend, etc.

In my real world life, I get faced with a tough decision (or lets face it, an easy one) and I carefully analyze it, weigh the risks, potential outcomes of each possible option, the impact it will have on all of the parties involved and make a educated decision based on those factors.  What wins is the path that seems the most logical.  I rarely make a decision based on emotional drivers.

In social media however, most people just put it out there (me included!!!).  I don’t always think through what I do or say or the larger, longer term impact that it can have.  From a decision making factor it is like taking a few shots of tequila then exposing me to 2000+ people to say exactly what I think.  We forget that much like when we say things in our real life, we can’t really take it back.  In fact its worse in social media because the electronic record is there forever.

The complete opposite tends to hold true for most organizations that are tightly controlling their “branding” – There is so much time spend doing the analyzing of what you should/shouldn’t put out there that they often come across so vanilla that a potential employee doesn’t really know them at all.  Your corporate facebook fan page, twitter accounts, corporate blog, etc  are all an extension of your organization and what you put out there about your organization – both good and bad – needs to be analyzed just like you were saying or presenting it to someone face to face.

When you are sitting in an interview with someone or talking to people at a BBQ – what do you say then (positive) about your company?  When they are frustrated or get a call from a headhunter – what makes employees stay with you?  Its typically not what is on your traditional branding material and on the information you feed out online.

I’m not suggesting you dive overboard and go to the extreme that a lot of us do as individuals – putting things out there that you probably shouldn’t have.  But, I am encouraging brands to move in that direction and be more human.  Be more real.  Be more vulnerable. Show the quirks and the not so positive part while highlighting the rest.

In doing so, you’ll gain the people that appreciate your company for who it is and want to work their regardless.

Just like the people who stay friends with me even when I do (and say) really stupid things.

For me, social networking is part of my job.  Its a portion of how I brand our business.  Its a way to cultivate relationships with partners, clients and influencers.  Its how I keep up to date on what other vendors are doing.

It’s also been instrumental in my conversion of my blog from ERE to ImSoCorporate.com this fall. It has been through RT’s on twitter and networkedblogs.com on facebook – that I have met some really smart, interesting people.

On the flip side, if you follow my tweets – you know that it is about more than that to me as well.  On a personal level – it has blurred that line between totally professional relationships, pseudo-friendships and in some cases, true friendships and relationships that will last a very long time.

I’ve gotten some advice from someone that I respect to change how I am online.  That my ‘image’ isn’t what I want it to be and supplied some advice on perceptions of me.  I thought a lot about it.  A lot.  It was the inspiration behind my 2010: Twitter post.  It has caused me a internal debate and discussion.  It has honestly caused a little bit of writer’s block.

It caused doubt.

I don’t live my life with doubt.  I can’t.  I don’t have the time, energy or emotional attachment to do so.  Doubt to me is no different than failure.

So, Here is why I like social networking and why I’m not changing too much.

1.  In person, I am kinda shy. For those of you that only know “online me” this is typically a bit of a shocker.  In fact, I do a pretty good job hiding it (usually via a cosmo or xanax) but  know that I am actually really uncomfortable talking to you when we meet.  You make me nervous and i’m a bit intimidated.  As someone who is super uncomfortable in a 1-1 setting or in a small group of people, it has been a really interesting way to build relationships without the anxiety and fear that would normally stop us from meeting.

2.  It allows me to be less judgmental.  I’m not sure if she remembers, but the first time I met Laurie (PunkRockHR.com) she really, really didn’t like me.  And to be fair, I felt the same way.  We had next to nothing in common and that was the end of it.  It was because of conversations we started having via social networking, tweets about life, books, etc that we discovered we had way more in common than I ever imagined.  Social networking lets you watch, observe and learn about someone over time – not just that chance encounter – if you give it a chance.

3. It keeps me from talking to myself.  I work at home.  Alone in my basement.  Its kinda boring down here – so while I work, I listen to music or get random Facebook Messages, IM’s & DM’s throughout the day from other people that are in the same situation. Its like our version of running into someone my the water cooler, or popping our head over the cube.  Its like a little insulated support network that reads over each others blogs before they go public, helps get us unstuck when we can’t figure out how to do something on our new mac or just someone saying Hi.

4.  I learn stuff.  A lot of stuff from a lot of people who are way smarter than I am.  Sometimes it isn’t so much of learning as it is a new perspective that I hadn’t considered before.  I love to constantly be expanding my mind and learning new things – even when they are totally random.

5.  I can do it on my own time.  Unlike webinars and meetings and whatever – I can do social networking while i am working, when I am at the gym, or sitting on my couch.  It doesn’t matter to anyone else if I am there at a particular time as long as I get back to them.  (This may go back to my commitment issues…hmm….)

6.  I can just be me.  (well, the me you would get if you knew me) I am who I am and people will judge me regardless.  If you think I am a ‘party girl’ because I post pictures of us having fun at conferences – then you obviously choose not to see that I am also there at 8am tweeting on the sessions or know anything about me. Like many things, I am a bit of an aquired taste – you love me or you don’t and that is fine.  My goal is to be me, not try and be who you think I should be.

7.  I like the personal/social part of it.  My goal in life isn’t to be friends with you.  I’m not impressed by the fact that you have 40,000 readers on your blog or you speak at SHRM.  I don’t really ready all your PR you send out.  Honestly, who cares.  That isn’t YOU.

8.  I rarely travel where I am alone.  Because of this network – anytime I travel – I have someone to grab lunch, dinner, drinks, etc with.  It makes work trips much less boring and I usually end up making really great connections because of it.

9.  Why not?  That is all.

Ok, Breaking News…More details to follow – but I am SUPER STOKED to have just found out that I will be doing a session along with David Peck at South by Southwest (SXSW) Interactive this spring targeted to job seekers and hr pro’s that will be there titled “Using Social Media to Score” – we’ll be talking about linkedin, twitter, facebook, mobile and whatever else we feel like!!  With more than 2500 submissions for slots – I was honestly not expecting to actually be going!!!

While waiting for my pizza last night I was chatting with the owner and her son about nothing when a lady came in to drop of a resume.

“It’s sad, you know. We get so many people looking but we just won’t hire someone like that.” Said pizza place owner  “Like what?” I responded – likely a bit too quickly.  “Off the street.” She said quickly – realizing how what she said could have been taken considering the woman was a minority.  “How do you hire then?” I asked.  “Facebook” she said.

We then started to talk about social media and why they chose to do it via facebook exclusively.

Here are her reasons:

1. How they hear about the opening matters to me – She has each of her employees post a status update of the new opening and sends out a message via the Fan page.
   1. If they hear about it via facebook they know someone who works here directly or indirectly and I can typically get a read on them from other people.
   2. If they hear about it through our “fan” page on facebook – I know they are already a fan of our pizza and understand what type of service we give.  They aren’t walking in blind
2. Its Free – “Why would I pay to advertise for entry level help?”
3. Its Fast – She said that if she ever has an opening or a need – it can be filled in a matter of hours and the person will usually start within a day or so.
4. It Works – She has hired 100% of her candidates off of facebook in the last 12 months.  (My note: Lets be transparent here – they only hire about 10 people a year – not a huge number)
5. It attracts the right type of people – She said the people coming from facebook have less of a learning curve when it comes to things like the computerized point of sale system they use for everything from inventory to time cards to order entry.

Does it all seem pretty basic?  Yes.

Why?  Because it is.

Do people tell me a lot of random stuff freely?  Obviously.

Does this mean if you do this you will get 100% of your hires this way?  No.

Social Network recruiting isn’t rocket science – ESPECIALLY if you have something that is a B2C type of establishment or organization.  This small business is doing it right.

There were a lot of people at ERE Expo that are huge on twitter @TheRecruiterGuy is the only one to wear the shirt that said it!

I am not someone that is huge on Twitter.  A lot of the twitter superstar’s are also bloggers.  Not like I’m a blogger – but like real bloggers that people read and care about.  They have really cool things to say and make you want to learn more.   In fact, I was a bit of a late adopter and didn’t even start using Twitter until May when I got home from Kennedy this year.  So…what is that like 4 month?  Lame, I know.

My first national conference in 2007 was terrifying.  Not only was I attending – but I was called in as a last minute speaker for a general session.  To top it off, I knew NO ONE.  Honestly, not a soul.  Over the years, I have met a lot of amazing people in this industry – people that I have maintained relationships via a variety of channels.  Each one of them has helped me learn and grow both personally and professionally and they likely don’t even know it.   Twitter helped me develop, expand and strengthen a number of these relationships and build new ones with people that I had never known before.

My favorite Punk Rocker, Laurie Ruettimann, had a great blog today about the women of twitter that were there.   Jason Buss had a great blog yesterday on the best tweets of the event.  I taught Mike Greenier from Walmart how to tweet and use Tweetdeck this week (and created a monster).   Overall, Twitter at ERE was HUGE – used to help share some of the highlights of the various sessions, tweet complaints about sessions, locate people for lunch or pool time and share some after hours pictures (ummm…@marenhogan).

If Networking is King, then Twitter is Queen – playing an amazing role in my experience ths time around – giving me the chance to meet and connect with in person people that I have been learning from all summer. I didn’t feel like the awkward geeky girl trying to meet the cool kids (like normal) rather like the awkward geeky girl the cool kids already know is geeky and they accept her anyway.