We’ve enlisted the help of the Master Sourcers themselves, The Sourcing Dude and the Sourcing Dudette, to answer some questions that are at the forefront of many of our minds. In each issue of The Source, they will respond to some of these questions.
If you have a pressing issue you’d like the Sourcing Dude and Dudette to answer, please email us and we will bring it to the SourceCon shrine for consideration.
“I keep hearing about Twitter, but what’s the best way for me to use it as a sourcing professional?”
Twitter is one of these new social media communication tools. It is important to remember that it is merely a communication medium and not a strategy in and of itself. It should be incorporated into your already established recruitment strategy, whatever that may be. The biggest keys to being successful in using Twitter, no matter how you choose to use it, are listening and engagement. There are several different approaches you can take to using Twitter:
Some sourcers choose to use Twitter as a learning medium. By choosing to use Twitter to learn from others, it is best to do research to find the movers and shakers in the sourcing community on Twitter, and start following them. Once you start following your sourcing colleagues, engage them in conversation. Listen FIRST, then add to the conversation. The more you listen, the more you will learn.
If you choose to use Twitter as a tool with which to find potential candidates, you’ll need to do specific keyword searches in order to find your target audience. I don’t recommend immediately bombarding your target audience with all the positions for which you are sourcing that you think they’d be perfect for. This will turn them off to making a true connection with you. Like with your recruiting connections, engage them in conversation. Listen to what their interests are, help them out by answering some questions, and develop relationships. The better your relationships with your potential candidates, the more likely they will be to either discuss your open positions or recommend some colleagues.
Finally, if you are considering using Twitter from a business development standpoint, make sure you maintain a balance between promoting your company and being real. If all you do is promote, promote, promote, you will most likely turn people off. Provide added value to your audience, and once again, engage in real conversation. Your audience wants to know that there is a real human being behind that Twitter account. Know you are real will make them more likely to do business with you.
Make sure you follow the Sourcing Dude (and Dudette!) on Twitter as well: @SourceConDude