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The past few weeks we've been focusing a lot on taking the plunge into social recruiting. We've shared tips on how to get started, done a link love devoted to the subject, and now we're bringing you an interview with a client of ours who has done an amazing job of using social recruiting: Gordon Food Service.

Dave Wiltjer was kind enough to answer some of our questions about how and why Gordon Food Service uses social to recruit.

Jobcast: Gordon Food Service is obviously quite savvy when it comes to social media. What does the term social recruiting mean to you?

Dave: When we discuss social recruiting, we are talking about using social tools that will help with us in attracting and sourcing passive candidates. We also view social recruiting as a way to stay current with the various generations we are hiring from in today’s job market.

Jobcast: Why did Gordon Food Service decide to use social media for recruiting?

Dave: We decided to utilize social media for various reasons:

1. To reach a demographic that relies on and uses social media in everyday activities.

2. To reach a broader segment of the population, meaning those elusive passive candidates.

3. To extend our employment branding efforts and have a medium for connecting with potential candidates more quickly and directly.

Jobcast: How has Facebook in particular helped grow the Gordon Food Service employer brand?

Dave: Our strategy for social media recruiting was very defined before we launched the sites. We created the Facebook GFS Careers Site as a means for people to see what our culture and our people are like. We update the site with posts about events that take place in various locations, community service projects, and other fun activities that the company has sponsored throughout the year. Our goal is to give potential candidates an idea of what it’s like to work at Gordon Food Service.

Jobcast: Gordon Food Service has done a really great job with Facebook branding. How important is branding to your social media strategy?

Dave: The use of social media to support our branding efforts at Gordon Food Service is very important to us. Social media is a growing marketing channel and we want to make sure we are communicating our messages where our customers, potential customers, employees, and potential employees are. We are continuously learning about what works and what doesn’t work and refining as we go. Jobcast: Which social recruiting sites does Gordon Food Service use for recruiting? Dave: Gordon Food Service utilizes Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube. Jobcast: Are job boards still a part of your recruiting strategy? Dave: Not as much as they were in the past. We still use them in some locations, but less each year. Jobcast: What advice would you have for other companies looking to grow their employer brand? Dave: Have a well defined strategy before launching the sites. Know how you are going to interact with people on the sites, how you are going to respond to inquiries, negative and positive. Be as transparent as possible. People want to see what it’s really like at your company. Try to respond as people, not as a corporate entity. Candidates want to interact with someone not something. Jobcast: Are there any changes or advancements you would like to see in social recruiting? Dave: I am a huge LinkedIn user, however, being that it is only for professionals, I would like to see some other sites that are geared more towards entry level operations positions. We hire a lot of warehouse and transportation individuals and it would be nice to have a site that captures their information and gives us recruiters a way to connect with them about opportunities. Jobcast: What should potential employees know about Gordon Food Service company culture? Dave: Gordon Food Service has a family culture as we are a family-owned company. We have been around for over 115 years and have grown by being the best in our industry. Gordon Food Service treats their employees like family, by providing exceptional benefits, facilities and work / life balance. Jobcast: Why did Gordon Food Service choose Jobcast for Facebook recruiting? Dave: When deciding on various options for integrating our jobs on Facebook, we ultimately decided to go with Jobcast. Some of the keys factors in making the decision were, price, size and location of Jobcast. Since we are a North American company, having the option to partner with a Canadian based company was a key component. Also, the size of Jobcast was appealing, since they are not the biggest out there, I figured they might be more willing to work with us if any changes needed to be made, which I can tell you, they have and it’s been great. Every time I needed an update or something changed, they responded right away and have come up with solutions for us. The last key component was price, as we are always looking at our bottom line, the price point from Jobcast coupled with the service they provide made it an easy decision when it came to signing the contract. Jobcast: Thank you so much, we really appreciate having you as clients! P.S.

Jobcast: Is there any topic you would like to see covered on the Jobcast blog? We aim to please :) Dave: I visit the blog regularly to get helpful hints from others. Keep doing what you are doing. Jobcast: And now we're blushing! We'd like to give a big thanks to Dave and Gordon Food Service for taking the time to answer these questions and being such a great example of effective social recruiting! For more inspiration you can find Dave on Twitter and GFS on Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, and LinkedIn. Next week we'll be bringing you a post all about recruiters who transformed their careers by getting social, stay tuned!

In this case study you’ll learn how Phoenix group:

• Re-Branded the Province of Saskatchewan with Facebook

• Used Facebook to attract people from all over the world to grow Saskatchewan’s workforce

• Created a targeted content strategy campaign to effectively reach very specific demographics

On Monday we talked about taking the leap into social recruiting. We shared a few links to back up the argument for using social to find talent, and also some apps to help implement social recruiting strategies. But there is so much more to add to that list!

Social recruiting is getting bigger and bigger. The definition itself is expanding along with the social networks that make it possible.

From employee referrals to job boards to Vine Videos, the evolution of social is fast and furious. And much like the fantastic film Fast and Furious 5 3D IMAX, it can be pretty overwhelming. But, thankfully, like the plot of every movie in the Fast and Furious series, the basic premise remains exactly the same! Create a strategy, implement that strategy, measure your success, and adjust your strategy accordingly.

You could do all of this with pen and paper, but Vin Diesel would sooo not approve, and neither would social media gurus. Personally, I think pen and paper is a great way to go, but it’s even better when supplemented with technology! I thought I would share some of my favorite tips and tools to help you make your recruiting social. Feel free to copy them down into your notepad, or save paper and Pocket them 🙂

Here’s a PDF put out by Oracle (weird, I know!) that breaks down how to develop a social recruiting strategy. It’s simple and very informative.

The best practices to keep in mind when developing a social media strategy.

Now for something more fun : an infographic-style compass to guide your social recruiting!

How to craft a perfect social media post.

It’s important to time your posts to maximize their visibility, and with buffer you can do just that from your PC, tablet or smart phone.

Until next week!

It's no secret that I love athletics. Most of the quotes I use in my writing can be attributed to coaches I admire, athletes or super heroes (Yes, I said super heroes. Forget radioactive spider bites and Kryptonian genetics, Batman fights crime with conditioning and wits alone!) It's also no secret that I am a sucker for awesome branding and design (obviously... I mean have you seen how well designed the Jobcast app is?!?!). So it should come as no surprise that I am a wee bit obsessed with Nike. They're athletic, uber-functional, slick and wonderfully bossy -- just like yours truly! Nike is best know for their famous "Just Do It!" campaign. And I buy into it hook-line-and-sinker. The philosophy behind their campaign: If you think something is worthwhile, stop waiting for permission and just do it! That's what was running through my head when I walked into my first Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu class and realized I was the only girl there, when I signed-up to do the Vancouver Tough Mudder despite having to sign a death waiver, and most recently, when I shot a wonderfully embarrassing Vine recruiting video for. I am happy I did all three! This philosophy can also be applied to recruiting. Lots of HR peeps and recruiters want to use social media in their efforts, but find themselves facing roadblocks along the way. Whether it's a nervous employer, negative colleague, or fear of making a mistake, sometimes the only way to get things done is to stop waiting for permission and take the plunge. Innovation is always risky, but it's the only way to progress and move forward. Now, don't get me wrong. I am in no way endorsing jumping into social recruiting head-first without some solid research and a good plan. I watched instructional video after instructional video before my first BJJ class, trained four months for Tough Mudder, and before shooting that Vine Video, I re-read Ryan's awesome article about recruiting videos. I also researched Vine, watched a ton of other people's Vine videos, and worked out how much (actually how little) it would cost. But I never asked permission. Alright, that's only half true. After I'd shot the video and put it up on the newly created Jobcast Vine account, I double-checked with Ryan before I posted to Facebook. He loved it, thank goodness... as it was already up on Twitter! It's one of our most Tweeted blog posts to date, shooting the video was a blast, and my bosses think I'm cool (hey guys, I think you're cool too!) I'm hoping this post inspires you to take the leap into social recruiting. Like any good coach, along with the pep talk, I'll leave you with some solid advice and strategic tips. Like any smart coach, most of it is borrowed from others, most who are much smarter than myself! Here are some awesome resources for those looking to make their recruiting social:

• Here are two very informative Infographics about the benefits of social recruiting

  and why employers love social media recruiting.

• This article lays out some convincing evidence for the benefit of using social media for recruiters.

• Why Facebook recruiting is the future! Hint, it's because of graph search.

• Once you've decided to take the plunge you'll need a plan of attack! Here are some

  great resources to help you plan your social recruiting strategy.

• And here's a great review of social recruiting apps by The Undercover Recruiter. Next week we'll have some great examples of recruiters who've taken the plunge into social with impressive results!

Valentine’s Day is almost upon us. I know this because of all the infographics and slideshows on Mashable, Forbes and Pinterest instructing me on “how to woo a nerd”, “how NOT to celebrate Valentine’s Day in the office”, and “How to make healthy raw-vegan substitutions for V-Day treats!”.

Personally I want none of this. I wooed my nerd a long time ago, and I work from home, cafes, occasionally bars (it’s a European thing [don’t tell my boss!]), and personally I think the term V-Day should be reserved for remembering veterans and that raw-vegan treats should be reserved only for mortal enemies.

Not that I’m not into Valentines Day — any excuse for chocolate is a good one! It’s just that I don’t think it has much to do with social recruiting, work, or finding cool talent. The only exception I could think of is how weirdly similar dating is to recruitment. Recruiters play Millionaire Matchmaker to their employer clients, while trying to convince eager young candidates to brush their hair and put on a collared shirt. So, what better time to drop some links with helpful tips about finding the right candidate?!

We often have a list of qualities we are looking for in a date, but so often those lists just get in the way of finding love. Refusing to give someone a shot, just because they don’t like cake, have a cool bike, or look like Bruce Willis circa The Fifth Element, is a great way to stay single. Lou Adler argues that over-reliance on job descriptions can do exactly the same thing. As unconventional as this may seem, he advocates banning traditional skill and experience-based job descriptions in order to find the right candidate.

Now, just because you should avoid ruling out potential hires based on their lack of Bruce Willisesque biceps doesn’t mean you shouldn’t keep some desired characteristics in mind. Here are 5 key traits to look for in potential candidates.

Of course, we have to include this : It’s both an Infographic and a reference to speed-dating — two birds, one stone. This Infographic gives the lowdown on finding awesome candidates quickly.

Bosses are from Mars, employees are from Venus… at least when communication is concerned. Now that you’ve found an awesome employee, you’ll need to actual talk to them. Scary, I know! Thankfully Blogging4Jobs has some great advice on how to better communicate with employees.

That’s all for this, aptly-titled, Link Love!

I need to figure out which running shoes to wear on tomorrow’s hot Valentine’s Day date (ie. drinking tea and watching The Ultimate Fighter)  — marriage for the win!

Timing matters. This is true in all aspects of life. From planning a surprise snowball attack, to knowing when to apologize for said snowball attack, it's all in the timing. If you want to be effective with your social recruiting campaign, or social media in general, you'll need to master a few scheduling basics. Luckily, with social media, unlike snowball attacks, it's very easy to orchestrate proper timing — there are even apps for that! And don't worry, I'm working on one for more effective snowball attack campaigns as well. Winter SnowBlitz 2014 is going to be awesome! But back to recruiting... Here's a pretty easy 4-step plan to timing for your social recruiting attack campaign. (This plan would work just as well for social media marketing, branding and straight-up world-domination). Step number 1:

Know your target

Like a kid hidden behind a tree, snowball in hand, you must know what kind of talent you are looking to target with your job posts. I know, I know, this is really basic, but it matters so much that it stands repeating. The audience you are trying to reach will dictate not only the content of what you post, but also the timing of those posts.

Different generations are online at different times. Also, different careers can dictate at what time potential employees will be checking the net. Nurses do a lot of shift work, so their schedules will differ from a 9-5 accountant's. Your audience will also determine which social network you choose to post with. I always recommend using Facebook to post jobs on your Branded Career Page, but you need to consider Twitter, LinkedIn, Job Boards, Google+, Tumblr and Pinterest as well. Effective timing will be different depending on the network. Number 2:

Pick a time (NOT) any time!

Never throw a snowball at your sister when your mom is watching! Also, don't post jobs for office work between 10 pm and 6 am. Never! There are a ton of statistics about timing effectiveness for different social networks. These stats are super useful when you're beginning your social recruiting endeavor, but as you start to gain momentum with your posting, you'll need to start customizing things a little bit. These stats are mostly based on averages, not necessarily on your ideal candidates. Nor are they based on your followers. Take some time to assess when your posts are reaching people. Jobcast offers easy-to-track metrics for monitoring how effective your job posts are. Play around with different timing and see what works for you... Who knows, maybe your ideal time to post a job on Facebook is Sunday afternoon. If so, then who cares what the stats say. ATTACK! Number 3:

Find your frequency

Blitz attacks do not work for social media recruiting! Especially when it comes to Twitter and Instagram. If you post ten Tweets in half an hour, you are spamming. Even worse, if you post ten Tweets in half an hour, and then disappear for a couple days, you are an inconsistent spammer. Even if the first five posts are mind-blowingly awesome, by the sixth you will have lost followers (unless you're posting between 10pm and 6am, when no one is paying attention!) Please, please, please don't spam. It's the worst. Please do post consistently. For most employers, it's ideal to post once every 1 - 2 hours for recruiting, marketing, and branding. You can post more, or less frequently, depending on what works for you. Remember, it's vital to track the metrics of your job posts. This is the best way to determine how often you can post to the social networks you use. Bonus Tip:

Vary your content

You can get away with posting more often if you keep your content varied. Post cool links, tips, and pics. Also respond to other Tweeters (do NOT refer to them as twits, as much as you may want to) and re-Tweet. Grand Finale Step 4:

There's an app for that

I love apps. Mobile, desktop, Android, Apple... I love them. Apps make life better. Anyone who disagrees with me is wrong and should fear a snowball attack when they least expect it (I told you that my app is in the works!). Jobcast is, in my not so humble opinion, the best Facebook recruiting app — hands down. But unfortunately, you can't do everything with our app. Our developers are wizards, not gods! Thankfully there are awesome apps like Buffer to help you time your content. There are other apps out there, like Hootsuite and Tweetdeck, but Buffer is by far my favorite. It's easy to use, well-designed and syncs up with other great apps like Feedly, Google Currents and Pocket (please, please, please check out Pocket. You will thank me, promise!) and they have killer customer service. What more could you ask for? These apps are amazing for scheduling things like job posts, blog articles and links. Just make sure you also maintain a live presence to answer questions and stay engaged with your audience. Oh, and warning: Turn off your scheduled posts in the event of a horrible world-changing tragedy. You could end up with major egg on your face, or simply appear callous by posting about your favorite new Starbucks treat in the wake of a tsunami! There you go, four steps, plus one hot tip, to get you well on your way to perfectly-timed social sharing! I'm going to go check my Twitter and try very hard to resist my urge to spam pictures of dogs catching snowballs.

What’s the buzz, tell me what’s happening, what’s the buzz, tell me what’s happening…

Just in case you’re not a theatre nerd, those are lyrics from Jesus Christ Superstar. And yes, I was a lady-apostle in a live performance of JCSS, and no, it was not back in highschool… It was just last year!

So I’m basically a rockstar, which is awesome, just don’t ever call an employee that. According to Forbes, the term “Rockstar employee” is one of the most annoying bits of office place jargon to come out of 2012.

Although I’m of the opinion that all jargon is terribly annoying, I find I still use it  in my blog posts or “Articles”. Mostly because it’s recognizable. Using terms like “personal branding”, though rather silly, is still more succinct than explaining the idea it represents over and over again. It’s also great for SEO, and I’d be a very naughty blogger if I neglected SEO!

Forbes is running a poll to determine the most annoying corporate buzzwords of 2013. It’s pretty hilarious, and I highly recommend you give it a look-see! Try not to snort coffee out of your nose and all over your tablet (not that that happened to me or anything).

So, in honor of Jargon Madness 2013, here’s some buzzword-related links to inform your vote:

Buzzword numba one : Engagement!

It used to mean when two humans decide to make their relationship legally binding. Now it means, well, about a hundred million different things depending on context, who you ask, and whether you ask on Facebook or Twitter. On this blog though, context is everything, so we’re going with engagement as it relates to HR, here’s 5 tips for engaging employees.

Next up : Pivot!

Number two is the best kind of buzzword, and one I had never ever heard before. Except maybe whilst watching golf with my dad. It basically means to switch directions and it is being applied a lot to strategy. It is kind of a positive spin on flip-flop, but less hilarious sounding. This article from Inc. explains how to plan for a successful pivot, and let’s face it, sometimes you’ve just got to switch up your strategy to stay on top.

Content Marketing is number three.

I think it is the least sexy (remember when that was a buzzword?!) of the buzzwords on our list, but perhaps the most useful to those of us involved with social media. Copyblogger explains that content marketing is basically “sales-minded storytelling” and gives us the lowdown on how to use it effectively. Now that’s money!

And as an added bonus, this article about the valuable content market strategies of George Carlin and Sheldon Cooper is a must read!

Topicjacking!

Related to content marketing is “topicjacking”. This one wins hands-down as the most hilarious buzzword. This short little article explains what topicjacking is and how to do it. Warning : topicjacking is a little bit evil!

Now, how could we talk buzzwords without including the king buzzword : Big Data? Very easily. Moving on.

.. to a topic that’s not actually about any particular buzzword at all. It’s about the job titles created by employers and recruiters to make jobs seem more awesome than they actually are. Same concept. This article gives some solid advice on how to choose a job title that actually fits the position you are hiring for. It also wins this week’s award for silliest blog image.

Okay, okay… you’re right, we do have to include Big Data (at very least to justify using that image of Data playing the violin!) Here’s a fantastic article explaining how HR and Big Data are a natural fit!

That’s all for links.

In other news, I have finally chosen my Ultimate Fighting nickname: BIG DATA.

Fear me.

When Google+ first came out, I signed up right away — even got an early invite. I'm that cool. Even cooler? I also shut down my Facebook profile. Total social media bad-assery! I missed a lot of parties that month. I also missed out on friend's engagement announcements, concerts, and I can't even imagine how many hilarious cat videos. All this (okay, so mostly the cat videos) sent me crawling back to Facebook, tail between my legs, begging for forgiveness. It also left me feeling pretty non-plussed by Google+ (luckily, it did not effect my incredible pun-making abilities). Instead of learning my lesson, and maintaining both my Facebook and Google+ accounts, I dropped Google like it was hot. Now, thanks to a recent slew of blog posts about Google+, I'm really wishing I hadn't. Not that I've missed any good parties due to my nonplussed status, but I've definitely been missing out on some great networking and SEO.

Active users on Google+ are up up up, possibly surpassing Twitter, although the data is a wee bit sketchy. But still, that's a whole lot of users, which means a whole lot of talent. And, as with Facebook, in the hunt for that perfect candidate you've gotta go where the talent is. As far as employers are concerned, there are several key reasons to try recruiting via Google+. My favorite of these is Circles. Circles

G+ Circles allow you to divide and conquer your contacts. This is awesome for so many reasons. First, you can tailor your posts to your audience. Candidates are already bombarded by ads, posts and Tweets that do not interest them. A graphic designer doesn't want to be inundated with posts offering "exciting careers in retail". With circles you can streamline job posts, links and updates to match the interests of specific talent pools. It's a great way to have a more personalized interaction with a large group. It also means less spamming, which is a win for everyone involved. Up next, Communities.

G+ Communities is a newer addition. Communities is Google's answer to Facebook Groups. An online venue for users with similar interests to get together and learn with, and from, each other. As with Circles, Communities is another area in which Google tops Facebook. The design is much more intuitive when it comes to sharing images, links and ideas as well as facilitating dialogue. With G+ communities you have the ability to filter which posts you look at by discussion categories or topics, you can also post Hangouts and Events directly onto the page. Anyone in the group can share content like photos, contests, chats, and events. Another nice touch is the ability to post to one of your Communities from your Google home page. Awesome. Oh, wait... How does this relate to recruiting!?! Well, if you're hiring a graphic designer, it only takes a couple minutes to join the Graphic Design Community on Google+, and then you can share your job post. That particular Community has over 1500 members (not a huge number, but Communities are new and growing like crazy) and I have yet to notice a single job post shared to it. Hmmmm... Hot Tip: Ask for referrals when you share a job post with a G+ community. Designers hang out with other designers, so if they're not looking for work, likely someone they know from school, work, or some random conference is! Extras

Apart from recruiting, employers can use Google Hangouts for interviews (both one-on-one and group), for meetings and "career fairs". Skype works just as well, so Hangouts, although useful, are not a huge draw. Google Company Pages, on the other hand, are a must. Google has integrated them with their search engine, which means that without a Google+ Business Page your SEO is soooo not optimized, nor will your business have a solid presence on Google Maps. This is not good. Like, Spider Man 3 not good. Possibly worse. Now, will I be shutting down my Facebook Page anytime soon? Heck no! Nor will I be allocating any of my Facebook time to Google+. I will have to shave a few minutes off of Twitter, Instagram and my beloved Pinterest (sniff) to make time for it, but I'm convinced it's worth it. I'm also convinced it's worth a second look for employers as well. Even if Google+ recruiting isn't something you have time for, the SEO bump gained from setting up a G+ Business Page is definitely worth the ten-minute time investment! I'm off to add some more people to my circles, watch The Ultimate Fighter, and Tweet about it. Told you I love octagons best!

Hello, dear readers! Today I'm going to stop pretending like I'm a trendy human and instead give you some links about an old-school recruiting medium. By old-school, I mean waaaay old, like 2009 old! 2009 brought us a lot of cool stuff: Lady Gaga music videos, popular nerds, awkward family portraits and most importantly: an amazing article by ERE on video recruiting! Who can pay attention to strangely dressed pop stars when there are blog posts about video recruiting to be read?!? In August 2009, Kevin Wheeler wrote a brilliant piece for ERE called Why Recruiting Has to Go Video!  I reread this article recently and was blown away by how pertinent it still is today. Kevin outlines the basic ways in which video can be used for recruiting and gives a short explanation of why each is effective. All six of the points he makes have held up over time, which is really saying something when it comes to social media. I mean, honestly, it's pretty great if something written about social media is still relevant after a couple of months, let alone four years! This article is also important because video still isn't getting the attention it deserves. Now I'm not saying every employer needs to go out and shoot a recruiting video with Vine, although it's a lot of fun! But, video is the most effective way to showcase company culture and is an important addition to any career page. If you don't believe me (after watching Jobcast's Vine Video it may be difficult to take me seriously about anything!) then these super talented and knowledgeable bloggers will convince you! Link Time

What's the best way to learn about recruiting with video? By watching a video, obviously!

Jim Stroud's webinar about how to use video for recruiting is super informative. It is also hilarious and entertaining, like most of Jim's videos so you can learn from both his words and impactful graphics. Yes, 2009 was grand! But this article has some more up-to-date, yet just as persuasive, stats about the benefits of video for recruiting. Do you love the letter W? Of course you do — it's the silliest letter in the alphabet! Do you want some very simple tips about making recruiting videos? Yes! Then check out The 5 Ws of recruitment videos... They do cheat a little and end with an H, but I hope you won't hold it against them! Jessica Miller-Merrell shares the 12 Best Employer Brand and Recruiting videos. They also happen to be the most hilarious! I was going to share Will Ferrels spoof recruiting video from Funny or Die, but it's just too inappropriate for work. Although, thanks to the previous sentence, you have all the keywords you need to hunt it down with Google (or WebCrawler, if you're kicking it 1999. Now that's old-school!) Last but not least, here's a fantastic example of how embedding a recruiting video can make you Facebook Career Page better! Happy net surfing, I'm going to go play with Vine some more and call it research!

I feel very on trend lately. Especially after last week, when writing about Facebook Graph Search and recruiting led to me waste countless hours using the new tool to stalk people. And now I’m writing about Vine, Twitter’s video sharing app, and I’ve also spent much too much time creating my first Vine video. I say “much too much”, because the end result is a mere six seconds of footage.

The six second limit is what makes Vine the Twitter equivalent of video sharing apps. Of course, when new social platforms come along, the first thing I think about is : how I will use them to creep on high school boyfriends? … I mean, what’s the relevance for social recruiting?! In last week’s article, we postulated that Facebook Graph Search will have a pretty big impact on recruiting as soon as it gains momentum and data. I’m a lot less sold on Vine.

Can you recruit in six seconds? Personally, I can’t do much of anything in six seconds. For evidence of this, check out my first Vine video! But, on the other hand, Twitter has turned out to be a pretty great medium for recruiting and that’s just 140 characters, so why not give a six second recruiting video a shot? In social, shorter is usually sweeter (blame it on my generation’s distinct lack of attention span, sorry). Like Twitter, Vine’s time limit does force users to be creative and direct with their message, which leads to succinct and effective content. Like a good elevator pitch. Or cartoon. Or the opposite of my blogging style.

Over the past few years, video has become one of the most important social recruiting tools. Assessing candidates via video submission, interviewing potential hires with Skype, and even video-based job-fairs have become commonplace. Recruitment advisers like Jim Stroud encourage the use of video tutorials to attract passive candidates, as well as the making of video-based job posts. At Jobcast, we encourage all of our clients to create simple recruitment videos with Youtube, and to embed those recruitment videos directly onto their Facebook Career Page. These recruiting videos are a highly effective way of showcasing company culture and brand. A recruiting video is the best way to show potential hires how awesome it is to work for your company through employee testimonials, footage of fun staff events and passionate descriptions of the cool stuff your company does.

Try doing all that in six seconds! Actually please don’t… It may lead you to throw your camera on the floor, pour the entire contents of your office coffee pot on top of it and yell: I hate you Sam Paaaaaaaaaaarker. Nobody likes spilt coffee.

Obviously, video interviewing is not going to happen on Vine. I also don’t think six seconds is enough time to relate the details of a particular job opening. A big nope to Vine job-fairs as well. But with Vine, there are still a few options left: Video tutorial, employer branding video, and recruitment video.

I’ve already seen Vine used for tutorials – not all that well – but these tutorials do get a lot of traffic. There’s one about making pecan nut brownies that, last time I checked, ranked third in popularity. So a short tutorial is a possibility. In Jim Stroud’s webinar about recruiting with video, he suggests creating a tutorial that would appeal to your desired talent pool. He recommends ending the video by suggesting that the viewer apply for a job with your company.

With Vine you can make a tutorial, but not in the same way you would with YouTube. The point of a tutorial on Vine is less education and more entertainment. You’ll want to focus on making your video cute, funny, and attention grabbing, rather than simply informative. Actually, it doesn’t even have to be informative, as long as it’s witty. You won’t have time to tell potential hires to apply within the video itself, but you can easily do so in your tutorial’s description, and don’t forget to link to your Career Page!

An employer branding video is a great option for Vine. Dove, Ritz and Trident are some early adopters. The Dove video is my fav – it’s super cute and silly. You can hear laughing and chatter in the background, which suggests a fun working environment. All three tightly focus on their product, don’t take themselves very seriously, and create an enjoyable user experience that encourages sharing. None of these videos took a lot of time to make.

The Ritz video, which is simply a stop-motion of a cracker disappearing bite by bite, would take less than a minute to film, requires nothing but a cracker as a prop and a smart phone to capture the action. Now that’s cost-effective brand marketing! To create a video like this, simply choose something cool about your company, film it with the Vine app (it’s really easy to use, just follow their tutorial), maybe say something or play some music in the background, and you’re ready to post it on your Twitter, Facebook Page, or blog.

Last but not least, Vine is a fun medium for a short recruiting video. A video starring the contents of your breakroom fridge (people love images of food, because it is tasty), a six second elevator pitch about your awesomeness, a cute animal wearing a shirt that says “come work with me!”, or get really crazy and capture six seconds worth of footage of a happy employee explaining why they love their job. I recorded Jobcast’s first Vine video today as an example for this blog post. It took all of ten minutes and now everyone can see my Jiu Jitsu skills in action!

Recruiting with video is great, and while Vine is not going to replace a good old-fashioned YouTube video anytime soon, it’s a quick, inexpensive way to incorporate video into your social recruiting strategy.

Give it a try and let us know what you think!