Job seekers and companies alike are turning to the web to engage, collaborate and network to find and fill positions. As more and more people engage in online social networks, the opportunity to utilize them as a hiring tool is becoming more prevalent. Unfortunately, as social networks grow, so does the audience that uses them, making it more difficult to find the best candidates and jobs.

That's where BusinessElite comes in...

To us, Social Recruiting is a whole new way of engaging a community to discuss, create, and find career opportunities in a way that has never been done before. We leverage social networks to drive conversations and build an exclusive community; and we use our platform to bring those conversations to bear and science to match the right opportunities to the right candidates.

We believe in the value of the web and what it can bring to recruiting, but without a complete end-to-end process, recruiters and talent are only solving part of the equation.

Online Networking has become mainstream

People from all age groups are spending more time on social networking sites, using them to build both social and professional networks and gather real-time information. According to a Nielsen study, social network usage now exceeds web-based e-mail usage. And, social networks aren't being used by just kids anymore. In fact, people 35 and over are the fastest growing demographic on Facebook and the majority of Twitter users are between 25 and 54 years old. In fact, consumers are turning to these social networks to help them with their careers - Using Twitter and Facebook to Find a Job.

Personal and Professional Networks are valuable tools for job seekers and companies alike

People use their social networks to gather information, ask for help and seek advice. According to a study by DEI Worldwide 70 percent of consumers have visited social media sites to get information and 60 percent of people said they are likely to use social media sites to pass along information to others online. More and more, people are turning to their personal and professional networks for career advice and job referrals. Rather than searching job boards and finding job descriptions that lack detail and context, people would rather find out about a job from or be referred to a job by a friend - OR friend of friend.
From a recruiting perspective, using social networks to source candidates can help recruiters expand their referral network to find relevant candidates in a more viral way. If leveraged correctly, the entire company can help with recruiting efforts by tapping into their professional and social networks. Study after study has found that referrals, through social networks or personal connections, produce the highest quality hires at the lowest cost. By using tools that increase the efficiency of social recruiting and allow for measurement, social recruiting can provide a high ROI.

Networks provide connections to passive candidates

Good recruiters have always been skilled at focusing on key qualifications needed for a job, finding candidates that have them, and then making the connection. Finding the right candidate may mean finding a candidate that is a passive candidate - one who is not currently looking for a position. Using the web -- social networks, blogs, online resumes and profiles -- gives recruiters more ways than ever to research passive candidates and connect with them. Current market conditions have led more people to start looking for new opportunities, and, when they aren't actively looking for positions, they are keeping an eye on companies that interest them. Social networks enable easy connections for the job seeker and the recruiter who is looking for them, even among those who aren't actively looking for a job.

Online Job Sourcing increases candidate flow

The great thing about sourcing your positions on the web is that you get more candidate flow. That bad thing about sourcing your positions on the web is that you get more candidate flow. Without a process to quickly filter through the candidate pool and find the most qualified candidates, using the web becomes more of a time suck than an efficient tool. Using online recruiting services that help recruiters filter through the candidates that are sourced via the web can save companies valuable time and money, and with resources and budgets continuing to be cut, this is an important element in the Social Recruiting process.