In essence, they provide a means for people to communicate with each other without the need to meet face-to-face or to speak over the telephone. The higher context is therefore remote communication; some might say impersonal communication.

The lower context, or sub-text, is a means for people to” advertise” themselves. In its most basic form, this can be people simply telling the World what they are doing at any particular time. At the higher end of this spectrum it can be used to share valuable and unique information. This could include job opportunities. It may also include information about your job and career aspirations.

The danger in all of this is that, while this information can be shared quickly and inexpensively with a large number of people, it is also difficult, if not impossible, to control how this information might be used by other people – or organisations. It is not uncommon for example for organisations to monitor social networking sites to “spy” on their employees.

...and how this phenomenon might shape the recruitment landscape, one need only look at what part of the traditional recruitment process could be impacted by it.

It is quite normal to view change as a threat, whereas it can often be a major benefit.

As a recruiter, rather than viewing social networking sites as a threat, they do in fact present great opportunities. The opportunity lies in the fact that you can, like the “spies”, find out a lot of valuable and unique information about potential candidates and also organisations that might be recruiting. Contacting them is relatively straightforward.

So, the likes of Twitter and LinkedIn are just a different source of potential candidates and clients; and that is all. Recruiters just need to adapt to make best use of this opportunity.

It is of course possible for candidates and clients to interface directly through social networking sites but this could be high risk for both parties, as there is no filter in between them. The filter is the professional recruiter.

Looking further ahead, it is entirely possible that once this new craze has passed, all crazes do, people will realise the consequences and dangers of sharing their personal information with the rest of the World. It is difficult to understand why on the one hand large numbers of people complain of Big Brother (CCTV cameras, ID cards and the like come immediately to mind) and yet on the other hand willingly tell a global audience where they live, what their eating habits are, how they feel about their boss and what their next job move is going to be.

Recruiters have little to fear and much to gain from social networking sites. The craze may not last long and so we all need to be quick to “catch the wave”. We also need to act responsibly with the information that we gather. Honesty and integrity together with thoughtful action and sensitivity around other people’s lives is essential to all professional recruiters.

The REC sets high standards in terms of conduct and adherence to their requirements and core values, and if they are followed then a recruiter who is a member of this fine organisation should not cause any harm in the cyber world of free flowing information.

And if you have any views on these thoughts and ideas, you can find me on Twitter and LinkedIn.

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