This Week, In Recruiting - Issue 121

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Open Kitchen:?How Do YOU Use Social Media?

Last week Mark Zuckerberg launched Threads, his Twitter-killing text based app which purports to provide a safe space for community driven conversations to happen. It's basically Twitter without Elon. Distributed by Instagram, it immediately got to 100 million users and will likely go further should Meta use the Facebook social graph as it's next distribution channel. That said, it is super hard to cold start a social network, as regardless of the feature set or moderation policy, it is first about the network effect of users on site; for social media, user experience is the other users, including (maybe especially?) the ones which contradict comfortable worldviews; hence the dead end for Mastodon, BlueSky and the rest.

As a person whose is on every social network as a matter of policy (grab your username first etc), I signed up to Threads and made a post but found myself immediately losing energy on it, likely because I'm not sure what to do there or whether I should commit too much time on it. I have another policy of never doing the same thing on different social channels - mainly for my own amusement - so am reluctant to just mirror the content from another channel.

Anyways, the Threads launch got me thinking about how I use social media. I'm going to talk about it here on Open Kitchen, as a means of sorting out why I do the things I do in those places, as I haven't really put much thought into before. Here goes:

1. LinkedIn

I'm a recruiter at heart, so LinkedIn is obviously going to be one of my main channels. Like all recruiters, I am a reluctant obsessive on LinkedIn - have it on my phone, log on every day and, likely have logged on every day for the past 15 years or more. I have to be on LinkedIn because the recruiter community is here, I enjoy contributing to the conversations, you can use it as a mega database of industry relevant contacts and occasionally you get a reasonable DM too.

Main things I do on LinkedIn:

Posting this newsletter, do Brainfood Lives on Fridays, other webinars during the week, try and share a weekly report breakdown, make promo offers I've negotiated for the community, run the odd poll and post a few thought pieces on recruiting & HR

Post frequency:

I'm pretty heavy user, even as recruiters go, posting 3-4 times per week.

2. Twitter

Twitter is still a great source for information; even though the post-Musk mangling of it's algorithm has unquestionably degraded its experience, with careful curation of who you follow and making use of lists, you can still end up with a usable 'Following' feed which can provide you with interesting information you might not have otherwise discovered. A great deal of the content that goes into Recruiting Brainfood Sunday email newsletter comes from the people I follow on Twitter, I estimate 20%.

I do regularly tweet. In fact, I was surprised to see that I have tweeted 61K times since I joined a decade a go - that is by far the highest frequency of posting on this platform than any other! It's fair to say what I tweet is eclectic - a mix of work stuff which is interesting, but I also seem to share those thoughts which wander across the mind when you should be thinking about something else. Scrolling through recent tweets, I would say that I'm probably least filtered on Twitter than anywhere else, and I tend to share my concerns on politics, economy, society, class conflict, colonialism, geopolitics, dinosaurs and whatever else.

Confession: I have thought about actively building my following on Twitter, Twitter Spaces was interesting and so is the potential of Long form video, but I have to say I have no confidence that a Musk managed social network is going to be survive long enough to be worthwhile.

Main thing I do on Twitter:

Eclectic thought sharing, occasional interaction via replies and DM, intelligence gathering from specialist accounts, content sourcing from those accounts

Post Frequency:

Daily, using 5-10 tweets

3. Facebook

I manage the Recruiting Brainfood Online Community on Facebook and that is main place where I spend time. Since the Cambridge Analytica scandal, Zuckerberg has progressively and effectively killed the timeline, so posting things here no longer makes sense as it usually gets zero traction, no matter how many friends you have on the platform. It's really a shame as I once used FB as a way to share non-recruiting brainfood, those random bits of internet obscura which more people should be aware of but aren't. It would be a simple matter to fix this timeline but it seems that Zuckerberg has pretty much given up on it, even as one of his companies - Instagram - is basically trying to restore a friends based timeline.

The group is going OK - 5.6K users on there and a reasonably active group, with some great content shares and engagement. However, I can see the neglect of the platform overall is ultimately eroding the interest former users have on the platform as a whole, and hence slowly reducing the value of the group also. Still, it's has a massive user base of 2 Billion users and if you're going to do anything that approximates to global, then Facebook has got to still be it.

As it happens, FB remains a very decent messenger service, and seeing as I long ago co-mingled professional and personal networks, I'm connected to a lot of the people I want to be connected to and message.

Main thing I do on Facebook:

Manage the Recruiting Brainfood Online Community

Post frequency:

3-4 times per week, though I'm on it mainly for monitoring and messaging.

4. Instagram

Used to love this app, before short form video apps like Snapchat and TikTok gave Zuckerberg the frighteners and made him clone core features at the neglect of what made Instagram great - the pictures! I'm still on here mainly to take pictures of interesting things I've physically seen - usually street art, architecture, flora and fauna, historically significant places, cool bits of architecture. I'll try to write something about these things, as a way of learning about what I've just seen but also so as to support the idea that there are interesting things everywhere if we just knew a little bit more about them. I think 'visual image + commentary' generally works well as a format - we seem to prefer the combination of the two rather than each alone.

I don't use it much for work, even though I've seen lots of recruiters do well here, mainly on the provision of job search advice, which I generally don't do. Now that Instagram is trying hard to be a TikTok clone, I'm not sure what else I should be doing on there - I really just want a pictures app.

Main thing I do on Instagram

Take and post photos of interesting things I've physically seen and commentate on them

Post frequency

Contingent on what I've seen.

5. TikTok

Love TikTok, I'm totally bought in because the content is by far the most entertaining and (occasionally informative) that I've found on any social media app. It's revolutionary because it never tried to build a social graph, and instead tries to learn from your video consumption habits, just what kind of content you like most. I've found some great genres on here, most of which I never knew existed. This is the main value of the platform - it enables the sort of discovery which has been there since the early days of Web 1.0, where apps like StumbleUpon could take you away from intentional search into digital rabbit holes at once wondrous and terrifying.

Some favourites include the Japanese semi-pro footballer whose TikToks are all in-game recordings from his POV (he's wearing a go-pro), which really brings a new way to enjoy the sport, movie summary channels which narrate key scenes of a movie in multi-part video series, Cantonese language cookery channels (helps with both my language learning + culinary skills), a snake capture and relocation channel and a few charming types who are just great on the to-the-camera monologues.

I've tried to post on TikTok myself and really enjoyed it, but the workload was high and I was spread already too thin to make much of it. The posts I have got up there were consciously not about recruiting as I felt that recruiting related content had to be candidate centred to make any sense on the platform, so I ended up doing TikTok explainers on topics I had myself only recently educated upon, almost as a way of embedding the learning by explaining it to others. I might go back to it again as I feel that it does indeed improve your thinking but I need to balance the work required vs other things I need to be doing (i.e getting fit)

Main thing I do on TikTok

Consume content

Post frequency

Rarely, if ever

6. Threads

Which brings us all the way back to Threads. What is this really? Despite the claim that it is not a Twitter killer, there is really no reason to be on it unless you have decided to migrate off Twitter. It's likely to do what other anti-Musk social platforms did, start off with enthusiasm but then die off as reasons for being there decline. It needs a social graph, and who is bring theirs over here?

Anyways, I'm here and currently lurking. Feel free to join me there, or in any of the other places above. I don't have SnapChat, or at least I do, but I have forgotten my password.

Out of the kitchen, onto the lounge ??

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What's in the News?

Zinc raise $5 Million Series A to Reinvent Background Checks

Great to see a UK based HR tech business raise serious funds, especially in these market conditions. No question that ID verification is going to be an even more important sector going forward, with the rise of remote and AI both increasing the risk exposure for enterprises hiring at scale. Check out the PR from Zinc here

RecruitLab rebrand as TeamDash

Great to see many more cool companies come out of the Baltics; RecruitLab have been a great contributor the industry conversation over the past few years, they rebrand to reflect a growing maturation of product and business. Read all about it here

If you are a recruitment technology vendor with some news to share, comment below and let me know your news

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What's On Offer?

Even the vendors are on holidays as it is clear we are not getting any offers to the community today. Maybe we should re-run the thing Zinc was offering mid week this week?

If you are a vendor and have something you want to offer the recruiting community, comment below and let me know what the offer is. It will go in next week's issue. PS: I don't accept affiliate deals, so everything you offer gets passed on entirely and directly to the community!

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What's Going On?

Founders Focus - Ep38 - Up close and personal with Ryan Steelberg & Alex Fourlis, Veritone / Broadbean, Thursday 13th July, 2pm BST

Founder's Focus is back with Ep38, this time we've got two of the big beasts in the business, talking about the deal which brought Broadbean into the Veritone family. How did the deal happen and what can users expect for the rest of 2023 and beyond? Great conversations with the business leaders changing the way in which we work today. Register?here

Brainfood Live On Air - Ep214 - WTF is Fractional Working? 14th July, 2pm BST

It is a term which is starting to move into mainstream HR discourse - the idea of the a senior exec working a fraction of the time with the business. How is this different from interim or freelancing, why has this category emerged, what kind of roles is it most suitable for? We're with a bunch of Fractional execs who are going to help talk us through it. With Barry Flack, Fractional HR Exec (BF Consultancy), Leah Sharma, Head of TA (various), Clair Bush, Fraction CMO (Thrive) & Alan Walker, Founder (Udder) - register here

Optimal Recruitment Tech Stack (for A Solo Recruiter), Wed 19th July, 2pm BST

Second of our 4 part series with Tribepad on what the world looks like from the SMB perspective, especially for a recruiter who is 'first hire in' a new TA department. What is the optimal tech stack for a company of scale, one which might have managed with spreadsheets until now? With Tracy Chau, Talent Partner (Simmons Bars), Alan Walker (again!), Founder of Udder and Katie Cooper, Group Recruitment Services (Lucion Services). One for any recruiter moving in-house for the first time, or in this situation now where you are building from ground zero. Register?here

The Talent Horizon 2023: TA, Branding & Communities, 19th July, 6-9pm, HelloFresh HQ, Prinzenstra?e 89, 10969, Berlin, Germany

We're on the move folks, with a mega collab with the biggest and best in the awesome city of Berlin. HelloFresh are hosting, TA Crunch and TTC are bringing the fun and I'll be there alongside people like?Soren Winter,?Andreea Lungulescu,?Yasar Ahmad?and the rest. Is there is better TA event happening in Berlin this summer? Not a chance! Free to attend so register?here

How Should Recruitment Teams Measure Efficiency??25th July, 10am EST

Doing more with less folks, it's the second webinar of a four part series launched with Cronofy. We're going to be looking specifically at how to set up the right measurements to make sure you know what to track and how to understand progress. Must attend for TA leaders - register?here

Future Proof Tech Assessments With AI, 26th July, OLX Offices, Berlin, Germany

What is AI’s impact on developer hiring? I think a great deal of it will need to be thrown out, and we recruiters need to be re-working our assessment practices for a AI-assisted world. I'm going to be with?Matthias Schmei?er?(Global Director of Talent Acquisition at EMnify) and?Ilya Sakharov?(CTO at Codility) in conversation. Join us here

If you have an event, webinar or podcast going on next week and want it featured on next week's newsletter,?comment below?with the link and event details. Don't forget to at mention me so that I see it

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Who's Hiring?

Talent Sourcing Partner, Adaptavist, Wiesbaden, Germany

Regional Recruiter, Apex (Grupo Mariposa), Bogota, Colombia

Junior HR Generalist, Blinkist, Berlin, Germany

Senior Recruiter, Western Union, Vienna, Austria

If you are hiring for recruiters or HR people, you are welcome to post jobs FOR FREE on the Brainfood Jobs Job Board. Use coupon code: BTCFREE for 100% discount.

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Whose Story?

Sam Newell, Founder, Alvarium Talent

Sam has been a forthright and valuable contributor to the recruiting community - always enjoy his observations, even the ones I disagree with! He was an obvious contender for the Brainfood Tribune, and when he asked to take part, I was approving it before he completed the request. I asked Sam 20 questions - here are his answers.

If you want to answer 20 Questions comment below to volunteer. This is an exercise in fostering community and open to all

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Whose Available?

363 actively looking recruiters & HR folks from some of the top employers around. The retrenchment in tech has meant a lot of great recruiter talent who know how to scale up at speed have come onto the market - employers need to get on this and get in touch. Zero cost to this, simply apply for account approval here. Recruiters looking for work sign up here, also free.

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Who's Moving?

Ben Kiziltug joins TheyDo as VP of Sales. Always bittersweet to lose a great guy from the TA / HR sector, but I think important for commercial leaders to have multi-sector experience. Fascinating project at TheyDo - journey management is going to be a space where there is so much more efficiencies to be gained. Good luck with this Ben, lets get together for a chicken and chips soon mate

Sergej Zimpel joins Futurepath as Head of Recruiting. What a fascinating move for one of the great personalities in the Germany recruiting scene - it seems that Futurepath is a tech hiring organisation, that was incubated at Volkswagen Group, and not exclusively hires engineers for Volkswagen. Really interesting set up, Sergej of course perfect candidate to lead it. Let me know how you get on with this hombre!

Aydan Al-Saad - the man behind the viral TikTok sensation Pay Transparency - joins PiperHQ as Chief Business Officer. This will be an interesting journey in continuing the parallel path of being an influential creator and a business operator - I think the two can definitely dovetail in this case. Lets connect again when you're settled in Aydan - chat soon ??

Promotions to celebrate: Anthony McCabe goes up to the top job at Tractable being promoted to Director of Talent Acquisition and People, Sergio Russo is promoted to Senior HR BP at OneStream, Kacper Kaczmarek goes up to Senior Business Development Manager at Harvey Nash, Jake Miller goes up to Regional Talent Acquisition Lead at Jacobs and Ilaria Gregotti is promoted to VP of People and Culture East Asia at Philip Morris International

If you have made a senior exec appointment to your business,?and feel the wider community needs to know about it,?comment below?with the details and see it featured in next weeks issue.?Don't forget to @ mention me in it so that I see it

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What Are You Doing?

Toby Culshaw is looking for Talent Intelligence professionals to complete this benchmarking survey. Will only take 10 minutes, so have at it here

Clair Bush launches her new business CareerSix, building career sites for employers who care about candidate experience. Clair is one of the best in this business, make sure you check out business!

Finally, congratulations to James Osborne who completed his first 100KM Ultra marathon this weekend - crazily impressive feat, I hope that you get a decent rest for the rest of the week / month James!

If you are doing something new,?comment below?with what it is and share a link to where you want people to go. Don't forget to mention me in it so that I see it

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End Notes

Are we all on holiday yet?

I think our European friends more or less are, and the parents amongst us will be looking at the first two weeks of August as the time to take off. It's usually a good time to be in the UK to be honest - the weather is a good as its going to be, and the big city parks can be emptier than you might think.

Anyways, I'm here for the a week before two weeks in Germany, then back in town for all of August. Hope to see you around

Hung

Hung Lee is the curator of?Recruiting Brainfood, and now This Week In Recruiting. Subscribe to both if you are into recruiting or HR or just interested in world of work.