Linking up with Talent at Osram Sylvania - Case Study Example

Recruitment through Social Networking Sites Introduction Technological advancement has created numerous avenues for the modern man to communicate with his peers and stay in touch with people that might reside in the other part of the globe. Social networking sites have given the opportunity for the whole human race to come on the same platform and collaborate in different ways. Social networking sites (SNS) are not only being used for communication but also several professional purposes like recruitment and partnerships. 2. Social Networking Sites for Recruitment Recruitment by means of social networking sites is the latest trend in the professional employment procedure.

There are many advantages related to this approach, especially in the instances when the employment has to be done from abroad. Rather than contacting the recruitment companies in those far-off regions, the online communities of interest that have a majority of members from the respective region can be joined and observed silently, for example, supply chain management communities can be joined that have been founded by Indians and have most members belonging to the South Asian land. Sial (2009) stated that the employers can act as silent observers in the prevailing discussions on the platform and identify the individuals that seem to have good experience in the field.

Blogging also gives the employer an opportunity to evaluate the individual’s caliber. However, it is advisable to stick to the professional social networking sites like LinkedIn that are focused on the professional aspects of the individuals. It proves to be a good medium for hiring competent professionals since some are not proactive in the job market and hence do not post their CVs at the job hunting sites. It has also been noticed that senior professionals do not enter their credentials in job portals but do have online social networking accounts to stay in touch with their peers.

Therefore, hiring professionals through social networking sites in a foreign land seems to be a viable alternative. However, there are some drawbacks related to the whole concept. The scrutiny of the individuals on the web ends up being a long and tedious process; short listing of the individuals as well as verifying their credentials. People often lie about their credentials and experiences that might prove to be misleading for the employers. This raises the most important issue- credibility of the information.

The lack of personal interaction makes it easy for the individual to mislead the employer about his personality and interests. Some employers adapt the approach of screening the candidates by means of their social networking profiles to analyze their true personalities and interests; even this type of usage is not advised since it has earned some legal suits for organizations in the past. According to Leveson (2009); if an employer snoops into the books that the individual has been interested in lately and disregards the respective candidate on the basis of her purchase of ‘What to Expect When You are Expecting” then she can sue the organization for discrimination. 3. Alternate Sources Another option for the employers in the modern world is to join online recruitment websites that provide a platform for the employers to post their jobs and requirements.

It provides the opportunity to the job-seekers to interact with their employers directly and apply for the jobs. Gupta (2001) pointed out that this method proves to be a low cost and less time consuming solution. 4. Conclusion Social networking sites prove to be advantageous since they might constitute of competent individuals who may not be active in the job market or enlisted in the job portals. The employer can silently observe their activities and role in the online professional discussions or blogs.

Hiring employees from a foreign region can be difficult but SNS makes it easier to identify competent individuals in the respective regions. References Gupta, V., (2001), Using social networking sites for hiring, Express Computer, Retrieved from: http://www.expresscomputeronline.com/20080317/technologylife01.shtml Leveson, M., (2009), Social Networking Sites Too Risky for Recruiting, Says Bank CEO”, CIO, Retrieved from: http://advice.cio.com/meridith_levinson/social_networking_sites_too_risky_for_recruitin g_says_bank_ceo Sial, S., (2009), Hiring through Social Networking Sites, Retrieved from: http://knol.google.com/k/shailendra-sial/hiring-through-social-networking- sites/2b3gxmc4x4miy/7#