DSM Blog

The big talk these days is mobile and how it will pave the way for the New Internet.  Granted, we are all addicted to our mobile devices.  Whether texting, watching videos, posting on social media sites or simply browsing, it is vital we have our mobile devices with us 24/7.  With the recruitment industry in transition, there have been multiple articles published exploring the concept of mobile recruiting.  But will this be the next big thing for recruiters and/or HR departments?

From a job seeker perspective, I believe mobile is a great way to browse jobs if seeking a career change.  Having your daily cup of coffee at Starbucks, taking the subway home from work or being anywhere and having spare time to search.  From this perspective, it makes sense.  However, how can every aspect of job seeking and applying for jobs be done via a mobile device?  It can’t!  A job seeker needs access to send and update his/her resume, upload a cover letter, answer online questionnaires and walk through an entire application process via an employer’s site from start to finish.  If you have a few hours, you may be able to complete most of it (assuming your device allows you to complete these tasks), but you can’t replace a standard PC for ease of use.  Thus, although searching for jobs and emailing them to yourself is a good way to begin, when it comes to completing the full application process, you still need a standard PC.

Now, from a recruiter or HR Department perspective…How do you integrate your mobile device with your full blown ATS system?  How do you sort through hundreds of candidates on your iPhone or Blackberry?  Even if you find a few quality candidates, how do you qualify them via mobile to ensure they are a viable candidate to set a phone interview or face to face?  It is nearly impossible to do this.  If you are a small company with only one or two positions, this would be more of a fit.  You could probably qualify a lot of candidates by simply browsing social networks via your mobile applications.  But how would an organization do this with 50+ openings at any given time?  Many companies have taken a crack at breaking open the recruiting industry with new methods and technologies only to fall flat or go out of business.  It is too hard to fill all voids with a mobile device.

Perhaps “mobile recruiting” should be renamed “mobile browsing” as there are too many parts involved in the overall process.  Although many have stated that the next big shift in recruiting is mobile and that we are at the transition point, I don’t see it happening anytime soon.

JESS3 / The State of The Internet from JESS3 on Vimeo.

It was inevitable that the internet would eventually intertwine with our cable viewing pleasure.  Forget those distasteful memories when Web TV was the next big thing.  No longer will laptops overheat our lower extremities while we watch our favorite episode of “Charles in Charge”.  Imagine watching a program and browsing the web at the same time on your 52” Sony flat screen.  Our television experience will never be the same thanks to the innovators at Google.  And the best thing about it…it will be from the comfort of your own living room.

Google has recently integrated its search functionality with our televisions.  They call the product Google TV and you can view the video here:  www.google.com/tv.  Never again will we aimlessly flip through channel after channel with a remote in hand.  We now type the program name we are looking for in a search bar and find it as quick as a standard search on any computer.  The product also has numerous downloadable apps, similar to the Android or iPhone, but directly downloadable to your TV set.  Browse the internet, watch YouTube videos or chat with your friends on Facebook or Twitter, the internet has found its way into Americas favorite pastime.   Gives home entertainment a whole new meaning to say the least.

Soon enough, everyone and everything will be connected.  Computers, mobile phones, televisions, health records, and other personal information will be easily and instantaneously accessible.  The information revolution is on its way at a rapid pace.  Better brace yourself.

Take a look at the Key note at Google I/O 2010 below:

So you think Social Media is simply a fad that will lose relevance over the next 5 years?  Think again.  The way we live, work and communicate has forever changed and continues to do so each year.  One of the most viewed social media videos was released last August 2009 by Erik Qualman of Socialnomics.

A few highlights from the video:

• 60 millions status updates happen on Facebook daily
• We no longer search for the news, the news finds us.
• While you watch this 100+ hours of video will be uploaded to YouTube
• We will no longer search for products and services, they will find us via social media
• Social Media isn’t a fad, it’s a fundamental shift in the way we communicate
• The ROI of social media is that your business will still exist in 5 years
• The #2 largest search engine in the world is YouTube

Check out the video from NotEasyToForget.com below:

I was recently at a social media conference in downtown Knoxville, Tennessee.  It was a half day affair with various panel discussions pertaining to several different industries.  The one I found fascinating was a panel discussion involving social media and healthcare.  Social media seems to be the big topic these days but there is much reluctance being there are no true ROI tracking tools in place yet.  Numerous organizations use it for many different functions, but the two biggest are pushing out announcements (new products, specials, coupons, contests, etc.) and using it as an addition to internal recruitment processes.  Among the panel of speakers were key influencers working for leading healthcare systems.  The discussion took me by great surprise as it seemed social media is more of a detriment rather than a useful ingredient for healthcare facilities.  The majority of the discussion consisted of the number of legal issues between doctors, patients, employees and potential hires.  Comparing this panel to the other panels that are using social media on a daily basis made me ask one question…is social media a fit for the healthcare industry?

Granted, there could be potential issues between doctor/patient confidentiality and doctors providing information to the general public, but are there key facets that it should be used for?  What about from a recruitment standpoint?  This was a short lived topic with only a few people stating they use it for this reason, but don’t see a great return.  Hospitals have so much turnover and job openings that having to oversee Facebook, LinkedIn, Myspace, Twitter and the 10+ Job Boards they use, seems to simply add more work for HR employees.  For example, try tweeting 100 job openings and let me know how it goes.  Granted many job boards are now implementing social media with their sites to blast out openings to the main social media sites as a one stop shop.  Recruitment, when it comes to multiple openings to fill, is a hard process which requires a great deal of time and effort.  Adding social media to the mix of HR functions seems too time consuming.

From the other standpoint, the problem with social media and healthcare is it is BORING!  No one wants to read about a new wing being built for the local hospital in their area or the latest cardiac advancements at ABC Hospital.  People use social media to talk to friends, win a contest or connect with others to better their businesses.  Healthcare, although one of the most important aspects of our lives, is typically not a stimulant for great conversation.  So how will this marketing instrument shape this industry?  I guess time will tell.  Healthcare is usually the last industry to adopt new technologies, so maybe the niche has yet to be found.

Google is now dipping their hands into social networking with their latest product Buzz.  Buzz integrates well within Gmail and was an easy launch being there are millions of users already using their mail client.  A simple introduction and integration and off to the races.  But do we really need another social networking tool?  Granted, it ties in nicely with other social networks like Twitter, Picasa and Reader, but how many different sites can we possibly use to keep up with our daily interests?  Per my last post regarding our minds already being overstimulated and running on overdrive, Google has made things even more complicated.  It is almost to the point where an employee can’t perform more than one hour of actual work with all of the information that needs to be read and commented on.  When will it stop and how will we ease our minds?  Why do we need so many different solutions for our Social Media fixes?

Once an industry is transformed, or a new product/solution comes out and is successful, everyone wants a piece of the pie.  Google is a bit late on the gravy train from my perspective.  As Warren Buffet states, “First come the innovators, then come the imitators, then come the idiots.”  I am by no means saying Google is third in this list, but imitating a niche that is already saturated just makes it harder on individual users.  If somehow Google could come up with a way of syncing or integrating all of our social media together in one place, that would be a helpful concept.  I am hoping that the next strategy for a social media solution is one that answers the question, “how do we manage all of this information?” and not a statement of, “here is another new social media site, please use it in conjunction with the other 50 you already use.”

We are constantly bombarded with information from different media sources.  Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, RSS feeds, etc.  The information continues to pour in our brains so fast, it is hard to process anything and dedicate the time it takes to actively learn a niche.  It is no wonder that most of the population is ADHD.  Yes, feed readers make it easier so we don’t have to visit 50+ sites each day to get the latest news, but it is still information overload.  My philosophy is to stick with what you do best and are passionate about and hone in your attention to that particular industry, business or trade.  With the internet moving more into the direction of real time, i.e. Google now aggregates Twitter feeds, we now know what is happening when, where and with whom.  With technology ever changing, it is hard to be a jack of all trades these days.  We are living in a mass of niches and if you can pick one and stick with it, you are bound to find success.