In Response

I think it is difficult to categorize individuals based on age regarding social media. I think personality (introvert/extrovert), interests (shopping, business, humor, social, debate, exercise, outdoors), physicality and how individuals perceive the world (visually, kinesthetic, auditory) would be a better way to look at who looks at what and uses whatever. I think age is really at the bottom of the list.

The above paragraph is in response to a question on LinkedIn. Let me delve a bit further regarding my original response.

First, I mention personality. Let me give an example. A strong introvert will most likely not want to have a million contacts or be out there on many networking sites chatting away all day, whereas the opposite might be true for a strong extrovert. Even though an introvert may not crave socialization, s/he might use social media to focus on specific interests or needs (drivers).

These “drivers” push individuals to focus their energies in certain areas and for different reasons. Some may want to find the best price. Others may be looking for a good laugh or entertainment. Some may be doing research or need information on a certain topic.

Third on my list, I mention physicality, which is really all about the “physical self” and “physical environment” of an individual. Physicality along with the mental/spiritual inner self dictates how the individual chooses to socialize. For example, someone who prides himself on muscle strength, and enjoys the outdoors and socializing in person has a strong physicality. This individual most likely will not want to do much socializing online as it would take away from the physical self.

How individuals perceive the world will dictate what type of social media an individual prefers. For someone visual, how a site looks will be a big deciding factor. Visual individuals typically enjoy artistically well-designed sites, photo sharing sites and webcamming. Kinesthetic or tactile types usually want something more hands on, like gaming or animation. Auditory types may gravitate toward music or entertainment sites with sound.

These four factors run through many generations and do not favor a specific age group or generation. Preference and tastes for social media are individual choices not generational choices.

Seamless Recruiting

Introduction

Seamless Recruiting—what is it? Should it be done? Can it be done? Oftentimes, clients will ask, “Where in the corporate scenario or process should recruiting begin and where should it end?” Before this question can be answered, we need to ask, where does recruiting begin and end for most corporations currently?

Recruiting - Beginning & End

In actuality, corporate recruiting typically begins when the recruiter consults with the hiring manager to develop a job specification and writes a job description because a position has been vacated or created. After the initial consultation, the recruiter reaches out to possible candidates. The recruiter then works on candidate development and presentation of the best candidates to the hiring managers. Then comes the selection process and finally, an offer is made. If the candidate accepts the offer, onboarding usually follows; this might be performed by the recruiter or by an HR administrator depending on the organization. This is usually where recruiting ends—either previous to onboarding or immediately afterward.

Recruiting Seams

Yes, corporate recruiting today has seams—weak seams, fuzzy seams, strong seams and some that are just plain unsightly. Negative results of these “recruiting seams” include gaps, replication of processes, confusion of responsibilities and overlooked resources or underutilization of talent. Recruiting should be fluid and graceful; there should be no seams.

The Solution

So what is the solution? The solution to achieving seamless recruiting involves understanding the flip side of recruiting, retention. In coming years, baby boomers will be retiring and taking a wealth of information with them. To avoid extreme costs and retain cultural harmony, it is very important for corporations to hold on to these individuals at least until they can pass along their knowledge. Retention means recruiting the same candidate (employee) over and over through careful workforce planning, career pathing, organizational development, performance management, compensation planning, employee relations and succession planning. In essence, recruiting and retention need to be integrated to achieve seamless recruiting.

Conclusion

Can seamless recruiting be achieved? Yes, recruiting is evolving and will continue to progress through better planning, technology, sound implementation, and a shared vision.