SMBME #11 – Using Social Media in Your Job Search and in your Recruiting Process

This month we were happy to have Barbara Hart from HireWell and Shawn McGowan come and share with us their experiences using social media in the job search and recruiting process. Both speakers were very experienced in this new space and had a lot to say about how new tools have made it easier for candidates to find the right job and for companies to locate the best candidates for the positions.

Barbara has years of experience finding the right candidates for her clients open positions. She uses people’s LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter profiles to find out more information about prospects. Barbara also shared with us a story about a conversation she had with Stuart Foster from The Lost jacket on why your online profile is only half the battle on being a good job candidate. You can read the response Stuart had to Barb and his conversations here on his website.

Shawn works at JobInTheUS and when we were brainstorming on tackling this subject everyone said we needed to get Shawn. Shawn is from a small town in Maine and he accredits that to being so comfortable picking up social media. He makes sure he is helpful with his tweets, blog posts and really wants to help people find the right jobs. He shared with us how JobsInTheUS uses social media. The slidedeck is below.

Barbara Hart is a Maine native and University of Maine graduate. Her career has included television production for the Maine Public Broadcasting Network, media advertising sales and sales management, business-to-business sales, and over 6 years as a traditional placement agent and recruiter in Maine.

Barbara founded Hire Well in 2006 specifically to address the unmet needs of Maine’s small businesses. Hire Well provides an affordable service to help small and start up companies hire key personnel – getting it right the first time. The Hire Well service:

• helps each client to define and establish the parameters of the position
• reviews the resumes of every applicant
• prescreens the best candidates
• gathers references
• guides the client through the entire process including the first 90 days of the successful candidate’s employment

Hire Well has successfully filled a variety of positions including: Administrative Assistants, Office Managers, Controllers, Purchasing Managers, Marketing Analysts, Sales Professionals, Customer Service Professionals, Engineers, and Accountants.

For over 20 years, Barbara is has been a member of the Portland Regional Chamber, and she is an active member of the Association for Consulting Expertise. She and her husband, Stewart, are members of Centerboard Yacht Club, and live in South Portland aboard their 47’ Cheoy Lee Cutter – where she has her home office.

Barbara has been a frequent guest on the radio program, Back to Business, hosted by Deb Neuman. In addition, she has presented to the Maine Center for Enterprise Development, the Yarmouth Chamber of Commerce, Business Evolution 08, The Southern Maine Midcoast Chamber, The Saco/Biddeford Chamber, and other organizations.

Shawn McGowan is the Social Media Marketing Coordinator for JobsInTheUS.com (JiUS), parent company of Maine’s reputed local job board JobsinME.com. Shawn has brought his creative enthusiasm, passion for open communication, and over 10 years of sales and customer service experience from the sales floor to the marketing team in his newly created role at JiUS. He is responsible for building and managing online communities centered on both job seekers and employers for the company’s state specific job boards in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Rhode Island. Shawn also acts as JiUS’s strategic adviser and internal educator on social media/web 2.0, has an active role in content development & editing, and is currently working to make a JobsInTheUS.com company blog a reality. A proud Mainer, Shawn grew up in East Millinocket at the foot of Mt Katahdin and went on to graduate with a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) Degree from the University of Maine Presque Isle in 1999. Shawn loves the outdoors, art, music, tech, humor, and good food!