Tweet sound of success for former Army tank driver who applied for 790 jobs
25 March 2014
A former Army tank driver's successful Twitter campaign to find a job shows how employers could be making better use of social media, sourcing experts say.
Tue, 25 Mar 2014
A former Army tank driver's successful Twitter campaign to find a job shows how employers could be making better use of social media, sourcing experts say.
Carl 'Bear' Randall-Eyre started a Twitter account earlier this month to advertise himself to potential employers after being rejected for 790 positions.
After his campaign gained him thousands of followers and media coverage, Randall-Eyre was hired by Asda to work as its logistics fleet manager in Bristol at the end of the month.
While the announcement showed how candidates can use Twitter to their advantage, sourcing experts say recruiters could also take lessons from Randall-Eyre’s unorthodox approach to the job hunt.
Sourcing specialist Katharine Robinson, best known by her Twitter alias @TheSourceress, who runs her own consultancy Sourcing Hat, tells Recruiter that most companies tend to use Twitter as a means of enhancing their brand and advertising job vacancies, rather than directly sourcing candidates.
However, the network could be a powerful sourcing tool if companies were prepared to “play the long game” rather than looking for a “quick win”, she says.
“If you build lists of Twitter accounts for people who have a certain skill, you can keep an eye on them, join in their conversations and let them know that you do exist.
“Then, when you do share a job or look to source someone, they are more likely to respond because that connection is there.”
Martin Lee, director of sourcing and recruitment for Social Media Research, says the campaign showed how candidates with admirable qualities could often get overlooked by employers who were used to recruiting in a more traditional way.
“He might not have been on LinkedIn, he might not have been in any databases or matched with the right keywords, but because he's put himself out there, he's got the job.”
Lee says companies need to be more open in the way they use Twitter, as the normal “boring” approach meant they were often closed off to potential candidates.
“Companies often think, ‘well we must do this social media thing’, so they set up one Twitter account, which is all of the information they want to send out along with their jobs, and it's just endless noise.”
People's Twitter accounts often contained valuable information about their personalities that companies could use to determine whether they would be a good fit for a role, he says.
Asda executive people director Hayley Tatum says the company believes in “recruiting for attitude and training for skill”, and had been impressed by Randall-Eyre's drive and enthusiasm.
The unusual hire was a “one-off”, and Randall-Eyre had gone through the normal interview process before he was offered the position.
Carl 'Bear' Randall-Eyre started a Twitter account earlier this month to advertise himself to potential employers after being rejected for 790 positions.
After his campaign gained him thousands of followers and media coverage, Randall-Eyre was hired by Asda to work as its logistics fleet manager in Bristol at the end of the month.
While the announcement showed how candidates can use Twitter to their advantage, sourcing experts say recruiters could also take lessons from Randall-Eyre’s unorthodox approach to the job hunt.
Sourcing specialist Katharine Robinson, best known by her Twitter alias @TheSourceress, who runs her own consultancy Sourcing Hat, tells Recruiter that most companies tend to use Twitter as a means of enhancing their brand and advertising job vacancies, rather than directly sourcing candidates.
However, the network could be a powerful sourcing tool if companies were prepared to “play the long game” rather than looking for a “quick win”, she says.
“If you build lists of Twitter accounts for people who have a certain skill, you can keep an eye on them, join in their conversations and let them know that you do exist.
“Then, when you do share a job or look to source someone, they are more likely to respond because that connection is there.”
Martin Lee, director of sourcing and recruitment for Social Media Research, says the campaign showed how candidates with admirable qualities could often get overlooked by employers who were used to recruiting in a more traditional way.
“He might not have been on LinkedIn, he might not have been in any databases or matched with the right keywords, but because he's put himself out there, he's got the job.”
Lee says companies need to be more open in the way they use Twitter, as the normal “boring” approach meant they were often closed off to potential candidates.
“Companies often think, ‘well we must do this social media thing’, so they set up one Twitter account, which is all of the information they want to send out along with their jobs, and it's just endless noise.”
People's Twitter accounts often contained valuable information about their personalities that companies could use to determine whether they would be a good fit for a role, he says.
Asda executive people director Hayley Tatum says the company believes in “recruiting for attitude and training for skill”, and had been impressed by Randall-Eyre's drive and enthusiasm.
The unusual hire was a “one-off”, and Randall-Eyre had gone through the normal interview process before he was offered the position.
