Recruitment has always been about networking and social networking is an extension of this; it’s a bit like the invention of the tyre after the wheel.

But like conventional networking before it, the investment is time rather than money. Time spent should be your measure when assessing your return on investment (ROI) on using social media in your recruitment process. There are job posting engines like Googlyfish that will post your jobs to all your social networks, blogs and aggregators in a flash, but the real effort should come from recruiters themselves.

Recruiters need to start blogging; it’s free and easy to set up -; any company can get blogging in minutes. This is a chance for recruiters and resourcers to become a real authority in their field and show that they are experts in their markets. By sharing interesting industry news, observations and top tips, it’s possible to create a following of potential ’customers and candidates’ who are interested in what you have to say.

So get blogging, Twittering and social networking and see those placements, referrals and passive candidate numbers increase.

Steve Langton