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If you want to be popular you need to stay on trend. Personally I find this very difficult to do. I do not enjoy fashion magazines or shopping. I am also quite short, so I often end up in the children's section of clothing stores. And trust me, nothing says "this chick is not hip" like a pair of velcro sneakers with Dora the Explorer emblazoned on the side. Not only am I not a particularly stylish dresser, but my taste in general is "pretty lame" (according to my hipster friends at least). I still get really excited by board games, and haven't updated my gym playlist in years. Why would I? What could be better than Will Smith's Getting Jiggy With It for getting your pump on?! Thankfully, when it comes to social media, I actually enjoy trend watching. Every morning I sit down with a cup of black coffee and skim through Feedly to see what's trending in the blogosphere. There's always some awesome new app to check out, or Facebook update to complain about, and sometimes if I'm lucky, there's a gorgeous new Infographic for me to download and save as the background for my iPad (Looking at you Leader's West!) Catch-up time means I'm usually pretty behind when it comes to world news, but I make up for that by compiling links for the Jobcast blog's Link Love Wednesday. I figure, if I share enough cool stuff in our Link Loves, you'll forgive me for not knowing the results of Pakistan's latest election. So here is my humble plea for forgiveness, in the form of Links that will help you stay on trend: Trends are in a constant state of flux, as it's the nature of the beast! Just when you think you've got your social media strategy down, some new social network comes along to shake things up. The only way to deal with this constant flow of new technology is to stay open-minded and curious. Easier said than done! Which is why this piece on accepting change in a fast paced world by HR Bartender is so awesome. Staying open to new things is a great idea in general, especially when they can save you time and money! This is why I highly recommend embracing the new move towards sharing platforms. Both because they are a great way to save your hard-earned dollars (three cheers for Airbnb), and also (at least according to Cameron Scott) sharing platforms are the next revolution in social technology. I have to say, I think he's on to something. Speaking of revolutions, apparently the next wave of innovations in recruiting will all have to do with improving candidate experience. Fistful of Talent shares some companies and apps looking to spearhead this movement by making job applications less complicated and the candidate experience less stressful and more fun. Occasionally (okay, often!), being hip has a bit of a dark side. That dark side is blatantly apparent when it comes to the new and controversial web site, Beautifulpeople.com. Basically, the site is a place where employers can go to hire good looking candidates. And really, if the classic American film 'Zoolander' has taught us anything, it's that being incredibly good looking makes you trendy and popular. Hiring only attractive people seems to work well for companies like Abercrombie & Fitch, but this site still leaves a nasty taste in my mouth! A more tasteful, and far less shallow, way to boost your popularity is by improving your SEO.

Here's how to get your site on the front page of Google's search results by updating your SEO. These tips are pretty straightforward, and accurate according to my very own SEO guru (i.e. my husband). Alright hipsters, happy link loving! Oh, and one last tip for being cool, remember these words the next time you're doing some networking: "Be there, be awesome, be gone"

I don't know about you, but I still get squeamish every time I see someone in their early twenties sporting a neck tattoo. Don't even get me started about face tattoos. This isn't because I don't like body art. I've been sporting some (IMHO) pretty lovely tattoos on my right arm for the last 8 years. I think tattoos are gorgeous... well, maybe not all tattoos, but I certainly enjoy the art-form in general. The thing is: my tattoos are easily covered. I think that my grandparents aren't even aware of their existence (thankfully they do not own a computer, so my secret is safe!) A face tattoo is not. And I am simply not hip enough to accept that having a giant ice-cream cone tattooed on your cheek isn't going to get in the way of the more conventional career aspirations that you might develop in the future. This is probably because I am getting old. The twenty-one year-olds who hang out at my local cafe think I am ridiculous. According to them, by the time they'll be looking for a "grown-up" job, everyone and their grandma will be sporting tattoos, piercings, and Google Glass. Some how I doubt it. Google Glass totally confuses old people. But, they have a point. Staying relevant matters. Especially when it comes to social media. We've dedicated entire posts about how to stay up to date with Facebook updates, there's a new social network emerging every five minutes (I'm looking at you Snapchat!), and there are HR gurus who specialize entirely in recruiting generation #, or whatever letter of the alphabet we're onto now... So how do you stay relevant as an employer? How do you make your Facebook content appeal to younger generations with tastes that you (and I) don't even begin understand? And should you even bother? Well that last question is pretty easy to answer. Of course you should bother. Especially if you are interesting in recruiting younger workers, but not exclusively. Trends that appeal mainly to the young and hip today, will be the same trends that appeal to the general public in the future. I remember when "skinny jeans" were worn exclusively by skinny hipsters with horn-rimmed glasses, but now they're pretty much the only option available for purchase at H&M (much to the chagrin of those of us with athletic quads). Staying on top of emerging social media and recruiting trends helps keep you relevant, prepared, and engaging. It's also not particularly difficult, so I'll walk you through a few ideas. Know what's out there

You don't have to watch Bob's Burgers nor find PSY's dancing particularly entertaining, but it's important to be in the know about current pop culture. Memes, TV, music, and design shapes people's worldview, and dictates the kind of content they want to engage with.

• Use a content aggregator to compile popular content from the web for you, so that you don't have to spend hours surfing the net and randomly googling "what are the kids into these days?".

• Alltop is awesome!

• Organize, and keep tabs on your favorite sites with online "Reader" apps like Feedly. Apps like this help prevent you from missing important content and updates.

• Diversify the sites you follow. If you only check out content related to HR, company branding, and business, you're not being exposed to anything all that new. Yes, you'll get important tips on running your business / hiring (like these ones!), but you're not going to find out about the next big social network, or hilarious new memes. A few sites I highly recommend are: Know Your Meme, Co.Design, LifeHacker, and TheNextWeb. But there are so many more... your can discover them with your new-found content aggregator!

Embrace quirky

No, I'm not telling you to track down Zooey Deschanel and smother her with hugs. You would be promptly arrested if you did. Trust me. Not fun. What I am suggesting is heading off the beaten path a little bit. It has worked wonders for companies like Arena Flowers, whose completely ridiculous, non-flower-related Tweets have garnered them a huge cult-following and majorly increased their sales. It's also the reason that so many Facebook marketers are turning to Someecards to engage their customers. Companies like Ford, Bravo, and ABC are using branded e-cards to make their advertising pitches more engaging with humor. Someecards work, because they push the boundaries of acceptable professional interaction, they are hilarious, and they are totally different from the type of ads people have grown used (and immune) to. These same points are all totally relevant to recruiters. Using witty, boundary-pushing Facebook content to reach out to potential candidates is more engaging than business-related content. It also shows that your company culture is experimental, interesting, and fun (important traits to younger and older candidates alike).

Try things

So, as previously alluded to, skinny jeans don't really work for me, but I gave them a shot. Converse high-tops, on the other hand — totally perfect. They are comfortable and cheap, and even more importantly they make me look edgy and help to offset my less-than-cool mom-jeans. Basically, they are everything I've ever wanted in a shoe. In order to find your social media version of high-tops, you'll need to try things out. Maybe Pinterest doesn't fit your strategy quite right, but Twitter is perfect. Tumblr leaves you feeling less than confident, but Facebook makes your employer brand shine! You'll never know unless you try. Trying out new strategies is pretty easy and you can even try using some of these tips to help you navigate most social networks successfully. Just make sure to track your social recruiting metrics, so you can make informed decisions about what works for you and what doesn't. Happy Facebook recruiting!

Measure twice post once. Except that you actually have to post more than once in order to effectively grow your employer brand... At least, that's what most of the Infographics floating around on Pinterest say. Moving on, and far away from that terrible analogy, today's Link Love is all about metrics. Every employer (and their cat) knows that metrics are super important when it comes to recruiting. Mostly thanks to Monday's article explaining the importance of metrics for Facebook recruiting. You're welcome. That article also gave some pretty solid advice about what metrics employers need to track, and how to best make use of the collected data. Double you're welcome. But, and I do not say this lightly, there are other worthwhile resources out there to help you better understand, track, and use your hiring metrics. Shocking! I know. As much as I would like to ignore those other resources, so as to remain your sole source of information on all things Facebook recruiting, I couldn't live with myself if I did that. I link because I love!

So let's get to it

Firstly, here's a great (i.e. short) list of which hiring metrics to track, and why you need to track them. These metrics apply not just to finding more candidates, but also how to improve the future of your company culture through improved staffing. Secondly, more metrics you should track! The first list is super short, so a few more won't hurt — you'll be fine. TLNT shares what data you should measure to make sure you're hiring great people. Thirdly, for those of you who want a more in-depth understanding of Facebook data tracking, AllFacebook explains the essentials of Facebook metrics. Fourthly, there's an app for that! Not for creating fourth links, but for tracking metrics. Kissmetrics can help you track all kinds of data, and they even have a specific service that works with Facebook analytics. They also put out an abundance of awesome Infographics. You simply can't go wrong with more Infographics. Fifthly (is that actually a word?), I think we can all agree, the content put out by LifeHacker is pretty darn great. Their guide to working harder, better, and faster is no exception. Especially this section on how to organize your data, because if you don't organize the hiring and social media metrics you gather, you'll never be able to put them to good use! And put them to great use you shall, with link number six (because sixthly just sounds wrong): Heidi Cohen's advice on how to assess and reassess your social media strategy to make it better. We hope you enjoy these fantastic articles as much as we did. If you have any great tips about hiring metrics, let us know in the comments. We shall track that data and use it to provide you with even more great blog posts. Teamwork!

No metric exists that can be applied directly to happiness. Don't even try! Unless your happiness is causatively related to your success at Facebook recruiting. That's just basic science. Recruiting is tough, anything that makes it simpler is bound to make you happier. Not just because it means finding more and better candidates, but also because when your recruiting is more efficient, it frees up time for you to focus on other things. Such as employer branding, achieving inbox zero, and napping. So, if you want to spend more time catching up on beauty sleep, I highly recommend you make metrics your best friend.

Metrics are important when it comes to recruiting strategy, because without detailed insights about how previous campaigns were conducted, and what their outcomes were, you simply can't understand why they did, or did not work. And understanding why previous social recruiting campaigns were successful (or not) is fundamental for improving your future endeavors. Employers need to track hiring metrics in order to gauge a return on investment for their talent. Understanding recruiting metrics will help you cut time and costs spent on recruiting by showing you what's working (and, of course, what's not). For Facebook recruiting, this means using Facebook Insights. Facebook Insights provide you with data about your Page's performance. You can use Insights to gather demographic data about your audience, see how people are finding your content, and get an overview of how users are reacting to what you post. You do need to have at least 30 Likes in order to use Facebook Insights. If you don't have at least that many likes, I highly recommend reading this post to get more Facebook Likes and improve engagement. We know that people are flocking to Facebook in search of work like never before, but in order to attract these job seekers, you must put out engaging content. The more that a fan interacts with your content, the more likely it is that Facebook will send them your future posts and updates — unless you want to pay for promoted content, but that's a whole 'nother story. So, upping user engagement is a must if you want to improve your recruiting. That's why tracking how users react to your content is so important. Facebook Insights provides the info to make this possible. Facebook provides two types of Insights:

User Insights

• Total Page Likes, recent Likes/Unlikes and their sources, daily active users, demographics, and Page views/unique Page views.

The information provided by this type of "Insight" helps you garner a greater overall picture of your Page's progress. Who you are reaching (demographics), if your Facebook employer brand is growing steadily (Page Likes and views), and whether your Fan engagement is climbing or not (daily active users). This info is important to track so that you know whether or not your Page is progressing in the right direction. Interactions Insights

• Post Likes, post comments, impressions per post, Page mentions, and wall and video posts.

This is where you glean information about specific posts. Interaction Insights are incredibly important when it comes to content. You need to know which posts are getting the most Likes, Unlikes, comments, and impressions (how much your post has been seen) in order to determine how to shape future content. You can experiment with posting at different times of day, using different types of images, and even trying out different word choices. Then check Insights to see what works best to engage your fans. For example, try using a specific "Call to Action" in your job posts, and see how that affects engagement. For more about what Insights you need to be tracking, check out this great article. Using Facebook Insights to track and measure how people are responding to your posts is the best way to figure out how to adjust future content to make your Facebook job posts more effective. But, but when it comes to recruiting, you also need to understand where your applications and hires are coming from, and that's where the Jobcast app can help. The Jobcast Facebook recruiting app supplies users with 3 types of reports to let employers know which social networks work best for their recruiting: Job Views by Source, Applicants by Source, and Hires By Source. All three matter. While it is great to get the most eyes possible on your job posts, knowing which sites facilitate the most applications, and which sites reach the right candidates, is also important. If Twitter gets you the most views, but LinkedIn gets you the most applications, then you should probably focus your efforts on LinkedIn. Unless you notice that while you do get a lot of applications from LinkedIn, you still end up mostly hiring candidates who've applied in response to your Facebook job posts, then it's Facebook recruiting for the win! One quick note before I end this post and take my well-deserved siesta: In order to use the Hires by Source Report, you must remember to mark your candidate as "Hired" within the app when you close your job post. Otherwise you won't be able to track where your hires are coming from and will never be able to take a nap. And nobody wants that. Happy recruiting!

Good advice is great. It informs, motivates, and generally helps us do things better. Monday's blog explored advice from the most fundamental source imaginable... Parents! Typically advice from parents is about hygiene, savings, and not riding motorcycles. You know — annoying advice! My parents are no exception, hence my sad lack of motorcycle skills. But they have both been working in HR for over 30 years, so they know a thing or two about recruiting. Which means they are an awesome, but unconventional, source of wisdom when it comes to all things HR. This almost makes up for the motorcycle. Almost! Todays links are all about advice and lessons from places we wouldn't usually think to look. Like surfers. Yup. Surfers. What, you ask, do surfers have to do with business? Well, other than motivating us to finish up early so we can hit the beach. Not much. Oh, except maybe how to put an end to procrastination, learn to except failure, and generally get more stuff done in a day. Okay, I take it back, that's a lot! Next up: cartoons. I'll admit it, I've learned quite a bit from cartoons over the years. How to fight crime, look good in tights, and the importance of masks... But for most normal humans they are not a staple source of advice. These HR-themed cartoons presented by the Harvard Business blog may change your mind. They are a great little reminder of stuff we already know, but tend to forget. I'm especially fond of the first one, which reminds us not to get carried away by fancy titles and qualifications when recruiting. What matters is finding the right candidate for the position. It is also hilarious! One of the biggest hurdles we face when it comes to getting our jobs done is energy. No employer wants to be so tired that they forget to post new job openings on their Facebook Career Page, forget a candidate's name, or worse, fall asleep mid-interview! Embarrassing. If this sounds too familiar, then maybe it's time to seek the advice of a nutritionist. According to Inc. Magazine, the food we eat can make us more productive and energetic. Here's a list of foods you should snack on to boost productivity. All of them look super tasty too, except maybe flax seeds... but hey, chocolate made number seven! This last link is my favorite. Yes, it even beat out the article advising higher consumption of dark chocolate (though I am currently munching on cacao nibs!) This blog post is about how you can learn to be successful on the internet by watching Family Guy. You heard me, Family Guy! Even better, it recommends taking a cue from an episode of Family Guy referencing Star Wars. Nerd-heaven. So there you have it. Go surfing, read the funny pages, eat more chocolate, and watch Family Guy. Not only will your life be more awesome, but you'll up your productivity and garner internet success!

This past week, I found myself smack-dab in the middle of the most intense HR/social recruiting conference in the history of the world.

I’m calling it Parental HR SmackDown 2013 (#psmack2013)

Yup, my parents flew all the way out to Holland, stayed with us in our tiny loft apartment, and (very kindly) answered all of my questions about recruiting. They also ate a lot of cheese, walked the canals, and enjoyed Belgian beers.

.. but back to the recruiting.

Why would I choose to devote any of this precious family-time to talking shop? Well, you can only say so much about canals and cheese before you need to shake things up. And, even more importantly, my parents have over 60 years of HR experience combined. They are certified HR nerds.

When it comes to finding great candidates, coming up with effective interview questions, drafting contracts, and pretty much anything to do with HR, my parents know their stuff. Since covering all of these themes in a single blog post would be crazy, let’s focus on a topic that gets my parents pretty fired up.

Wait for it…..

Job posts!

Told you they were nerds.

So without further adieu: How to write a job post that will make your my parents proud!

Rule #1 Make a list

We’re going to start with the most important thing you can do, according to both of my parents: Write down what you picture your ideal candidate to be. Make a list of what qualities you are looking for, what your deal breakers are, and what level of education you want them to have.

“You would not believe how many times I’ve been brought in to consult, asked what skills and qualities I need to screen for, and been told by clients that they’ll know it when they see it”

Said my pops, obviously rather frustrated.

“You will not know it when you see it!”

Starting a hiring campaign before you know exactly what you are looking for wastes time. In order to write job posts that will attract the type of candidates you want to hire, you need to know who those candidates are.

Smack… Down!

Rule #2 Tailor your posts to your desired audience

Seeing as you already know what you are looking for in a candidate, now all you have to do is figure out what they want from you.

According to my mother, the best way cut down on resumes from the non-ideal candidates and to attract the ideal ones, is to highlight the right aspects of your company culture and of the position on offer.

For example, studies show that young professionals now rate flexible hours over salary in order of importance when it comes to accepting a position. So, if you offer flexible hours, make a point of saying that in your job post. If you are trying to hire more women, point to your awesome daycare program. If you’re looking to hire young hourly workers, talking retirement plans isn’t going to peak a lot of interest; Job perks (like staff meals) will.

Another thing to keep in mind is that if you have a specific management philosophy, strong company values, or cultivate a specific kind of company culture, make sure you address it in your job posts. Doing so will attract candidates that are the right fit for your company, which is hugely important when it comes to retention.

Rule #3 Include salient details, but don’t forget the basics

Daycare, flexible work hours, vacation plan, lifestyle perks, and other positive things you offer candidates should be included in your job posts, but so should the less exciting stuff.

Salary, location, hours, education requirements, a specific description of basic duties, if uniforms are required, and any other pertinent information should be disclosed.

Even if you aren’t offering the best wages out there, you should still include salary in your post. People are actually much more likely to respond to job posts that disclose salary, even if that salary isn’t the highest on offer.

Even more importantly, being upfront and clear about the basic requirements you need candidates to meet cuts down on time spent interviewing people who are not a good fit. Which means cutting down on how much you spend on hiring consultants… like my dad. He’s retired now, so it’s safe to print that!

Rule #4 Call them to action!

When posting jobs on Facebook, end with a strong call to action. This last rule is entirely my own. It’s a little more recruiting 2.0, but my parents vetted it, so I feel safe including it.

The best way to get Facebook users to do what you what them to do? Tell them to do it. If you want people (other than your parents) to engage with the content you post on Facebook, you need to include call to actions in your posts.

For example:

We’re looking for a talented graphic designer, who has hands-on experience in the field of app development, and enjoys a fast-paced and challenging work environment.

Does this sound like you? If so, apply now!

And there we have it. If you want to attract candidates, keep hiring costs down, and earn the respect of my parents, just follow those 4 simple rules.

Have any tips on writing more effective job posts? Tell us in the comments!

(See what I just did there?!)

It's spring. Finally!

Time for barbecuing in the park, colorful tulips and fresh-starts.

A fresh-start can mean a lot of things, from finally throwing away the moldy pesto that's been hanging out in the back of your fridge, to starting a new job, to the beginning of True Blood season 4!

But for those of us interested in social recruiting, a fresh-start means rethinking social media strategy, freshening up our Facebook employer branding, and True Blood season 4! I mean it, there's a lot to be learned about branding and HR from those vampires. You try branding a group best know for their pasty skin, scary fangs, and thirst for blood. Not easy!

Well, here are a few links to help you keep your employer brand fresh and your social recruiting springy:

Do you read Copy Blogger? If not, you really ought to check it out. Even if you don't consider yourself a writer, I'm willing to bet you still spend a fair amount of time writing. Even if it's only job descriptions, contracts and emails, you're still writing. Copy Blogger is one of the best resources to make your writing more effective. And, if your emails, contracts and job descriptions are more effective, then by default, YOU are more effective at your job.

Lorelle VanFossen writes the series "Blog Exercises", featured on Copy Blogger. In the series she provides simple exercises to improve your writing. Technically, the articles are aimed at bloggers, but I've been applying them to content marketing, Twitter, and email with great success. Oh, and her writing is a delight to read, in part, due to her fantastic use of George Carlin quotes!

For those out there who prefer to learn by example, Tim Ferris recently interviewed 5 online businesses that gross over $250, 000+ per month. Tim may not be everyone's cup of coffee, but if there's one thing he knows, it's how to model success. Much of the information gleaned from his case studies is pertinent to Facebook branding and can also be applied to social recruiting.

Speaking of case studies... If you haven't checked out how Gordon Food Service is using Facebook to recruit for their family-run business, or how The Phoenix Group is creating a strong Facebook Employer Brand for the entire province of Saskatchewan, get on it! Both case studies provide great advice and examples of successful social recruiting and employer branding.

LinkedIn is a crucial part of social recruiting success. One of our very favorite bloggers, and social media guru extraordinaire, Stacy Donovan Zapar shares 6 tips to help you spring clean your LinkedIn profile.

If you really want to stay fresh, not just at work, but in life, apparently all you really need is sleep. Encouraging employees and employers to get proper sleep raises productivity, slashes healthcare costs, and boosts moral. What's not to love?!

We saved the best for last! A hot tip from yours truly, exciting huh?

Update your profile pic

With the magic of smart phones, there's no excuse not to have a stunning picture with which to represent yourself. Stand in front of a white wall, where there's natural light and have a friend snap your picture. If you want to get fancy, use a filter app (I like Instagram's "Rise" filter, as it hides how pale I am). Your profile pic is your online introduction. Make it work for you, not against you.

If that didn't convince you to show your lovely face then maybe this article will!

Happy Link Love Wednesday everyone :)

Happy belated Mother's Day! Moms are pretty great. They teach you things, give great hugs, and keep the human species from going extinct. And moms spend way too much time tidying up toys, diapers and sneakers randomly dumped around the house by their oblivious offspring. That's probably why spring is not just about Mother's Day brunch, but also about serious cleaning. And sadly, now that we are all grown up, we have to stay tidy all on our own. But, if you're looking for a way to do some serious spring-cleaning without touching a mop, pail, or toilet, then look no further. Your social networks can always use a little sprucing up, so follow our handy guide to spring-cleaning your employer branding on Facebook. No rubber gloves required! Start using Facebook Lists

Now. Seriously. If you use Facebook for recruiting, branding, or marketing, eventually your potential hires, colleagues, and customers will start to reach out to you via your personal Facebook account. This can be tricky, especially if you are like me and enjoy posting a lot of rap videos and MMA knockouts on your timeline. I don't want to offend anyone, but I also need to show my pals how amazing Uriah Hall's roundhouse kick is! That's where Facebook Lists come into play. FB Lists let you select exactly who sees what content you post, so you can appear squeaky-clean to colleagues, while still sharing cool, but potentially offensive, stuff with your close friends. For a detailed description of how to use Facebook Lists, I highly recommend this article by Jennifer Baker. Freshen up your posts

It's easy to fall into a bit of a social media rut. Sharing nothing but Seth Godin quotes and cat pictures, no matter how amazing, does eventually get old. Make sure you post a variety of valuable content on your Facebook Employer Page. Intersperse job posts with brand updates, images, and informative links. Using an RSS aggregator like Feedly makes finding great content much easier and a bookmarking app like Pocket helps you save links to content for future posting. Keep your content relevant, short, sweet and varied by posting valuable advice, links you have actually read and vetted, attractive images, and relevant updates. This Infographic gives 18 specific tips for making your Facebook posts sweeter. It's also super cute. Win win! Yes, use that big data, but don't forget to ... Experiment

Why is Facebook always testing out new, occasionally weird icons, page layouts and call-to-actions? Because experimentation is the only way to find out if something works. Sure, we can theorize as much as we like about Facebook best practices, but the only way to know for sure is to try things out. If your cat pictures haven't been getting any Likes, try a Ryan Gosling meme. If you post mostly case-studies, try throwing in the occasional inspirational quote. The internet loves inspirational quotes! Your employer brand will benefit from a little experimentation. This article shares some solid advice about getting into customers' heads. Just replace the word 'customer' with 'candidate' and it transforms into a killer social recruiting piece! Magic.

Think back If you haven't used it in the last three months, throw it away. I apply that rule when cleaning out my cupboards, closet, and fridge (maybe three weeks is better rule-of-thumb for the fridge... eeew.) It works for your Facebook content as well. If you've been posting three times a day for the past three months and only your morning and evening posts are getting any attention, maybe it's time to ditch the afternoon post. To improve your social strategy, it's important to understand what works for your employer brand, and what doesn't, by studying your previous successes and failures. Any good Facebook Recruiting app will supply you detailed metrics. Keep things under control

If you want to keep your future social network spring-cleaning to a minimum, staying up to date on the never-ending stream of changes that Facebook makes is mandatory. It's a daunting task, yes, but it is doable! My personal favorite way to keep tabs on Facebook news is to use Feedly to follow InsideFacebook, AllFacebook and TechCrunch's #Facebook. I also follow Failbook, but this is sheerly to boost moral. Check out this blog post for even more ways to stay on top of the latest innovations from Facebook. Let technology do it for you

Using a smart Facebook recruiting app can give your employer brand a clean sweep. Branding your Career Page with custom colors, embeding recruitment videos, and provided easy to use metrics should be part of any premium app, so it's an easy, affordable way to improve your Facebook Recruiting and employer branding. We Hope these tips help freshen up your Facebook efforts and that your Mother's Day included waffles!

Everyone can use a little more awesome in their lives.

Last week we wrote about great ways to improve your Facebook Talent Community by being more like Ryan Gosling, who is basically the epitome of awesome.

This week, we’ll share some links to our favorite Ryan Gosling memes!

Just kidding — that would be silly for a recruiting-themed blog to do. Instead, we’re going to share the link to this incredible new app that allows you to “Snoopify” pictures of yourself! I mean, really the only thing that could make your LinkedIn profile better is if you were wearing a rasta hat, giant gold chain, and dope shades. Obviously!

Oh, and here are some other links that will make your social recruiting more awesome. They are just icing — Snoopify is recruiting gold.

Being famous on Twitter, if you’re not a hot young starlet or stand-up comedian, is hard! The Cynical Girls gives us regular folks 6 tips to get us there.

What could be better than 6 tips. 7 tips of course! Improve your social media engagement. Tip number one: “Highlight current employees on your company Facebook Page” sounds awfully wonderfully familiar.

Maybe perfect isn’t so awesome. Check out Seth Godin’s musings on how your best is kind of boring, and definitely not your most creative.

Quote of the week:

“Move mountains for them. All of them. You move all the mountains for all of them.”

It’s from a stellar article on how to be awesome at HR. Despite what the hyperbolic quote implies, this article has some of the most practical/fantastically blunt advice for HR I’ve ever come across. Awesome.

Corporate culture. It’s so important when it comes to recruiting great talent. Here are six ways to ensure your corporate culture is awesome. Other than the fact that the author doesn’t make buying a foosball table tip number one, this article is pretty darn great.

Happy Snoopifying! And trust me, foosball = key to better corporate culture.

Unless you are Ryan Gosling, being charming is hard work. You have to brush your hair, make the right amount of eye contact, and refrain from telling terrible jokes, even if someone sets you up for a killer pun. Tricky stuff!

Things get even trickier when networking online. Sure, you can skip the hair brushing and eye contact, but you still have to engage people. And without the assistance of intonation, facial expressions, and firm handshakes, this can be difficult to say the least. Without these physical signs of congeniality, it’s easy to become a bit robotic with our online interactions.

Since Facebook recruiting is all about engaging potential candidates via the internet, what is an employer to do when trying to build a Facebook Talent Community?

Let’s bring it back to Ryan, or the Gos as we like to call him. He is pretty much the most beloved actor in Hollywood today, by both men and women. Sure he’s good looking, but come on, there are many more modelesque male actors out there (looking at you Channing Tatum!). He’s talented, but he’s no Johnny Depp. And yes, he’s funny in interviews, but a comedy genius he is not.

So what makes him so appealing? (Other than the fact that he is Canadian). It’s his humanness. The Gos is basically the male version of the girl next door. He’s nice, kind of goofy, handsome, but not too perfect, and is willing to make fun of himself. He is the opposite of a robot.

How exactly does that apply to building a Facebook Talent Community?

Simple.

Be a Ryan Gosling. Don’t be a robot.

With that in mind, here are some tips to make your talent community more awesome:

1 – Know your audience

You can’t please everyone. Ryan will never appeal to my dad, so why would he even try? He wouldn’t. Nor should you. My dad is retired.

Posting super-generic content in an attempt to appeal to everyone comes off as robotic. If your main hiring focus is for construction positions, then focus on appealing to construction workers. Find out what kind of content your target audience likes, how best to interact with them, and what kind of language they respond to. A great way to accomplish this is by asking current employees their opinion and even getting them to spend a little time on your company Page.

2 – Build on what you’ve got

No, I’m not going to reference Ryan’s biceps (okay, mentally maybe). Instead I’m going to take us all the way back to 1997 when the Gos was just a scrawny teen with a mushroom-cut. He played a girl-chasing nerd on Breaker High. Not exactly a role to brag about, but he built his career up from that terrible, terrible show to star in respectable movies like Lars and the Real Girl (my favorite Gosling endeavor).

For Facebook recruiting, having a base to build upon is really helpful. If you have a Company Page, even if you haven’t been using it to grow your employer brand, it’s a fantastic starting point.

Some companies start new Pages just for hiring. This means losing the Likes and community you’ve already established. With a quality Facebook recruiting app, you can capitalize on what you’ve already built by adding a Career Page to your pre-existing Company Page. This means you don’t have to start from scratch, and lets you grow your company brand alongside your employer brand, with all of the content you post.

3 – Flaunt what you’ve got

Unlike most Canadians (see Kids in the Hall), Ryan does not have perfect comedic timing. So what did he do when he was cast as a lead in a blockbuster comedy? He did the best he could with the dialogue, and then took his shirt off. A lot. His abs made up for anything he was lacking in comedic chops. Even straight men were impressed. Be like the Gos: Don’t hide your shortcomings — distract from them with your strengths.

Maybe you don’t have the best comedic timing either, and that’s cool. Instead of trying to be funny, just be super friendly and helpful. If you don’t have slick products to showcase, post images of company BBQs. Share the things your company does well, the knowledge that you’re proud of, and remember, everyone likes a good BBQ!

4 – Diversify

From trashy teen TV, to dramatic lead, to real life super-hero (seriously — he saved a lady from being hit by a car, for real). The Gos has tried it all, and so should you!

Take risks with your social strategy. Try posting a range of content, interacting more, maybe less, or just differently. Perhaps your candidate pool doesn’t respond to a lot of business-related links, but they freaking love Dilbert cartoons. Maybe they really like it when you reach out and chat them up, but then again maybe they don’t. You won’t know until you try.

To keep track of what works and what doesn’t, make only one big change to your recruiting strategy at a time, and pay attention to how your talent community responds. Even better, use an awesome Facebook recruiting app to track your metrics — just sayin’.

That’s all for now. May all of your recruiting be fruitful. Oh, and if by some slim chance you are Ryan Gosling, my contact info appears at the top-right of this blog post.