Welcome to the first installment in our Social Recruiting Pro Tips Series.
In this edition, sourcing ninja Johnny Campbell explains how to collect the right combination of data and package it perfectly for your hiring manager. Stay tuned twice a month as we deliver expert advice and actionable tips from industry experts on social sourcing, assessments and engagements.
Imagine that you’ve identified the perfect candidate to join your company’s agile software development environment. Trouble is, the hiring manager can’t see beyond the countless number of resumes cluttering his desk. In Johnny Campbell’s experience, the crux of the problem is that the best candidates don’t always stand out on paper. You have to dig deeper to provide your hiring manager with a complete picture of the top tech talent. What does Johnny do? He hedges his bets, and seeks assurance that the hiring manager will get the full story via his One Pager. The One Pager is just that: one page. In that one page lies a synopsis that actually provides verifiable social data that the prospect is every bit the desirable candidate that her resume says she is — both technically and culturally.
Technically, all the requirements on the job spec must be checked off. Experience as a Scrum Master? Check. Understanding of metrics-driven processes including task definition, backlog tracking, burn-down and velocity? Check. Experience with JIRA and Greenhopper? Check. Communication expertise? Check. The One Pager then goes beyond the skill requirements to demonstrate actual evidence of her technical aptitude. It showcases her reputation on Stack Overflow and the number of times her code has been forked on GitHub. It validates her skills by incorporating her top three endorsements on Linkedin. And it mentions Quora to highlight the level of technical details included in her responses.
But after satisfying the technical requirements, the One Pager must substantiate the candidate’s cultural fit, too. For that, the One Pager provides a clear social snapshot. Of course her resume claims she’s a leader and works well with a team. And in her role in the agile environment, she will need to be comfortable speaking up in front of a crowd — particularly to non-tech people. Well, the One Pager testifies that she has these skills as evidenced by her activity on Facebook, Meetup and Foursquare. The proof is in the social pudding. By tracking her social data, we understand her passions and interests. We see that she’s going to professional events and playing a key leadership role. She is an excellent candidate and a great fit for the company. Now, thanks to the One Pager, the hiring manager is more apt to trust that the candidate is completely qualified for the job and every inch the team player she claims to be in her resume. ——————————————————————————————————————————–
Want more tips on how to combine resume and social data into comprehensive profiles?
Check out the first on-demand webinar in Dice’s Social Recruiting Pro Tips Series:
