Everything that can be counted doesn’t necessarily count; everything that counts cannot necessarily be counted. ~Albert Einstein

This is a post for the recruiters among us, or those interested in what we do.  It is relevant to both internal corporate recruiting professionals and third-party search consultants.  It is relevant to managers who need to hire.   It will probably bore the heck out of the rest of you, so move on if you are so inclined.

Today I’d like to discuss this concept of “social recruiting.”  This term has been the rage for a couple of years now, and is meant to describe the act of harnessing the power of web-based social networks to identify and woo talent.

Social media is a powerful force.  It reconnects people from far corners of our lives and can help keep us connected to them.  It makes a very big world seem much smaller and manageable.  Some have even credited social media with toppling dictatorships and fostering democracy because it so successfully unleashes the voice of a people that heretofore has been suppressed.   At its worst, it provides a distraction we don’t really have time for and it feeds our voyeuristic tendencies by transforming us into bystanders of others’ lives —  people we may not have seen in eons.

In recruiting, social networking is leveraged as a platform to reach out to people relevant to a career opportunity.  Twitter, Facebook, BeKnown, Branch Out, LinkedIn are all places where professionals congregate to own a piece of the web.   Employers wisely use these platforms to distribute messages about their hiring needs.  It’s fabulous because a user can target his message to a very relevant subset of people.  These networks are also used to disseminate information relevant to one’s firm, the industry and the professions.  It’s all very useful information.  However, social media is just another distribution channel for your marketing message, and that is all.   When people are listening, it can be useful.  But how long will the audience listen before it tires of the endless stream of self-serving messages?  For how long will your addressees embrace the dopamine drip of perceived “connectedness” before it becomes a pathetic annoyance?

Some of you may not be old enough to remember, but once upon a time Monster.com was anointed THE platform to end all recruiting woes.  In the mid-1990s it was “early adopter” territory.  Early adopters were the people I wanted to connect with back then, and it was a great tool for my needs.  But did you know that by the time Monster.com reached critical success the #1 search term on the web site was “part time?”   Yes, by 2000, Monster.com had jumped the proverbial shark.  It became, due to its Super Bowl ad campaign and mass marketing, about as effective for strategic recruiting as the newspaper employment ads of yore.  Add to this the fact that the market quickly became saturated with online job boards which merely replicate postings from other web sites (a practice which endures today), and you have not only a targeting problem but a credibility issue.

What happens when the world discovers the truth about the social networking platforms?  The truth – besides the fact that they are a major time suck – is that there is little that is truly “social” about social networking.  Because it is FREE, everyone who hasn’t already adopted it soon will. Suddenly, what you already think is an unmanageable influx of information will multiply by tenfold at least. On social network platforms that are segmented for the professional set, this will be especially salient as the economy heats up. How much longer before end users tune out the incredible volume of self-serving messages littering virtual in-boxes?    If you are BUSIER THAN YOU HAVE BEEN IN YEARS do you honestly believe anyone else has the time to listen to your marketing?!?  How long will it take your followers to realize they have opted into nothing more than your advertising?

Let’s talk more about the ‘unsocial’ networks, shall we? How many of us are guilty of being connected to people with whom we have never spoken?  I don’t know about you, but when I reach out to someone in an effort to connect personally it’s with the intent of making that a real connection at some point.  I invite them to call me.  I mean well; but is there enough time to truly nurture ALL of those relationships in the day/week/year/lifetime???   I lament that I probably have too many shallow connections on these sites….  I know I am not the only guilty party. This is precisely the type of promiscuous connecting behavior which will ruin the format for all of us.

My gut instinct tells me that the more we allow shallow contacts and relationships into our lives, the more valuable the actual “real life” connections become.    My ability to successfully get my job done for my clients requires personal contact that cannot be replaced by 1’s and 0’s slipping across the ether.  The internet can be a good way for us to learn about each other.  As Americans, we LOVE its efficiency for communicating, but it is no substitute for breaking bread and building relationships that exist even when we’re unplugged.

Managers, take heed:  I have come to the conclusion my truisms are universal, economic context notwithstanding.

Today’s turnover “tipping point” discussion is about The Empty Nest.  When the kids leave the home – to become independent adults, go to college or graduate from college – adults often take inventory of place.

Many professionals cannot consider a job change – especially one which requires relocation – when the kids are in high school.  Elementary school?  No sweat!  The young ones make friends like they change sweaters.  Middle school?  Okay! What middle schooler doesn’t want a fresh start?  High School?  Not happening! If not deterred by academic considerations, then most will likely be waylaid by the utter hostility the suggestion of relocation evokes in a typical teen (as if there weren’t enough ruffled feathers already!).

As a result, there is often a pent up desire for change that stirs once the shackles of high school stability unlock.  Motivations can be varied, ranging from desires to try something or somewhere new and different to very tangible needs for bigger paychecks to put the kids through college.  I’ve spoken to more than a few people who are ready to leave the suburbs and get back to the city as a lifestyle choice — something they specifically avoided with adolescents in the home.

Bottom line is, as a manager, you should stay reasonably aware of what is going on in your employees’ personal lives to understand how and why it may affect the stability of your team. The behaviors outlined in this series are not necessarily scientific fact, but I see them happen often enough, anecdotally, to postulate a bona-fide pattern.  Wisdom comes through experience.

Today’s headline about the drop in the newly unemployed is good, I guess.  I tend to look at this cynically….after all, we’re boasting about how few jobs were lost, yet the number is not small at all.  I guess it’s all relative.

But herein gives me a chance to point you in the direction of one of my favorite statistics:   Unemployment By Educational Attainment.

You’re smart, so I won’t interpret this data for you, but I will highlight what is most interesting to me:  Unemployment among those with a Bachelor’s Degree or higher is at a mere 4.9% (Nov. ’09).  Show this stuff to any aimless students in your household; Perhaps it will provide some motivation.

This third tipping point, in my experience, is at least 90% accurate. I have been reticent to mention it because it is gender-specific to men, but upon reflection, it is too important not to bring to your attention.

Without a doubt, within the AE consulting space, the pending or new arrival of a child into the family is a major contributor to job search behavior. I say this is gender-specific, because we gals are not dummies…we are inclined to “stay put” for the FMLA benefits. **

I am neither a psychologist nor a scientist, but if I had to boil it down to biology, I’d guess that this is some type of latent “provider gene” in action, the modern-day equivalent to stepping up the hunt for food to feed a growing family. It might be the first child, it might be a successive child, but when I find a candidate with a bun-in-the-family-oven, I know he has anxiety about advancing his career.

It’s not overt; he doesn’t recognize it as a factor at all. What is he thinking? If the family is considering becoming a traditional one-income household, his motivations are fairly obvious. However, I see this behavior occur equally in families with two income earners. Is he thinking about braces, summer camp and college tuition this early?

I tell these blokes it’s a lousy time to be looking for a career move. Since so much of the world as they know it is about to change, why shake things up even more? They don’t listen to me.

Male readers, look back on your own careers. What life events were in play when you made certain job changes? I guarantee that you will be able to correlate a job change, a promotion sought or another career milestone directly with the pending or recent arrival of at least one child.

The feedback is the same whenever I share this tidbit of information with managers: they were not even aware of it when it was happening to THEM! They quickly begin to catalog the life events of those recently hired and recently departed.  I smugly enjoy their epiphanies.

** Reasons why the gents are not equally motivated by this perk is a separate discussion that we can cover over a few glasses of wine, ladies.

Tipping Point 2 of 4: Change in Management/Ownership

Getting a new boss is not an automatic turnoff for most employees.  As any new manager knows, s/he enters a period of evaluation upon assuming that new office — ascertaining the strengths and weaknesses of the inherited team and deciding how best to position the same team for future challenges.

At the same time, your new employees are evaluating you as the manager: What is the new manager’s leadership style?  How does s/he communicate?  What can I learn from this person?  Do we have good personal chemistry?  Do I trust this person? Does s/he care about what I want to achieve in my career?

If there has been a recent acquisition, the process of evaluation by acquired employees is much the same, but the questions are on a grander scale, and not about a specific work relationship:  What does this change mean to me?  How will my day-to-day role/career path be affected? What changes in corporate culture can I expect, and can I (or do I want to) adapt?

All of these questions take time to answer.  Universally, I have seen that employees give themselves a one-year deadline to form opinions/answers to these introspective questions.  There is something magical about 365 days!  Many consultants predetermine this period for evaluating their new situation, and they stick to it.  On that first anniversary of the new boss’ tenure or the acquisition agreement, consultants know the answer to the question, “Should I Stay or Should I Go?”

For some, the milestone marks the beginning of their next job search.

I’ve tried it both ways, and my preference squarely rests on the side of working out the kinks before an offer is on the table. But does it work that way when a third party like myself is not involved? When I advocate this approach, am I asking for a marked departure from the usual offer process? How are negotiations handled in your consulting firm?

A written offer seems so final and official (it is) and perhaps this is why some firms prefer to make their offers on paper without a lot of discussion before hand. If yours is one of them, please explain (and you can do so anonymously) why it works for you. Is there some data “out there” which supports the notion that an individual is less likely to negotiate a written offer?

As a recruiter, I am trained to take care of the details before the offer arrives. Still so, it’s not always possible or preferable to do that. However, I’ve never had a first volley written offer accepted without some type of amendment. I tend to believe it’s naive for a firm to expect that a written offer will be accepted at face value. [Serious caveat: I am speaking of offers to experienced professionals, not entry level or junior level candidates].

What do you think?  If you’re in the candidate’s chair, how do you feel about this process?

When the backlog is looking light, your employees may begin seeking higher ground. This tenet is true in any economy. Why does this happen? Reason number one is that a trickling pipeline threatens a person’s needed sense of security.  Invariably, it causes him to ask himself, “Where is my future work coming from?” In quest of an answer, he will look inside and outside his own organization.

This anxiety is amplified by the conditioning a consultant undergoes as he is indoctrinated into the business. If a billable employee becomes incapable of reaching his target utilization rates, he knows he is not meeting expectations. That lousy feeling eats away at his morale.

Down time means more time for hand wringing. Consultants will look through that big career picture window and worry that a lull in the business cycle means their careers have stalled. Maybe this is true, or maybe it just feels that way.

What does this all mean in the current employment market? I can assure you that there are not a lot of unemployed civil engineers walking the streets today (with the exception, perhaps, of new grads or those entrenched in a few market segments tangled up in the bubble).

However, there are many individuals willing to look at new opportunities. Why? The simple answer is “insurance.“ There are some terrific people in our market finding themselves in situations for which they have no recent benchmarks: light backlogs, delays of contract execution due to funding difficulties, peers losing their jobs, etc. These individuals are more receptive than ever to investigating opportunities. However, this doesn’t mean, once the dialogue culminates, that they truly want to go anywhere.

What is your firm doing to make sure they won’t?

—

Explore the other three events which make it likely a consultant will be willing to change jobs here.