It’s a sneaky method, but it’s gaining more traction: Spotting star quality hires online. Unlike resume boards that are overcrowded with this recession right now, the social networks don’t allow people to spam the system, making contributions to these site more genuine. If you’re in the job market to get hired or as an employer looking for great employees, take a cue from some from some of the human resource folks starting to infiltrate these networks and hop online too. Since hiring can be one of the costliest things a small business does, it helps to reduce the potential for hiring mistakes by vetting people online first. The money you save can be the source of a small business loan to reinvest into your company, instead of into hiring practices.
Check Out Their Profile
Where do you go to find people who can be assets to your company? You can look for some of the keywords you want by placing them in the search box and seeing what profiles come up. You can further whittle this list down by studying the geographic locations of the profile and only visiting those profiles within distance to your business. Now, you have a handful of profiles you can look up, friend and start to see how they behave online.
One thing you want to pay close attention to is the ability to communicate effectively online through the written word. This speaks volumes about the professional ability of a potential candidate. You want to visit their other links and see if they have a blog or website promoting their skills. Often, you can even find high quality freelancers this way, that can save you money in the long run.
Send Them A Private Message
Once you get a good idea of who they are and what they offer, you can make your own offer to them. It may be they’re looking to be hired somewhere or prefer to contract work. Either way, it doesn’t hurt to ask them if they would consider applying for a position that you think they’re qualified for. Even if they don’t want to do it now, they may reconsider later and some of that homework you did will eventually pay off in the form of an excellent and well-researched hire.
