Job Market Could Fuel Twitter App Growth
It may not be the biggest trend, but more and more companies are turning to Twitter in order to find new employees for hire. Asking them to tweet instead of submit a resume, the companies most likely to use Twitter for this purpose are those that are already tech savvy and are in need of a socially aware employee for online marketing positions.
It’s common knowledge that businesses can quickly do a Google search and find all sorts of information on a potential new hire based on the information they share across the social web. For a few years now, those seeking new jobs have been warned against the woes of having less-than-flattering information posted about themselves online. Twitter has ushered in a new era of self-checking, as companies can dig a little deeper into the personality of a potential new hire just by subscribing to their tweets. Those unaware of the consequences have found themselves fired from existing jobs, and some have even been let go before having a chance to come in for their first day at their new gig.
But hiring someone based on their tweets? It seems reasonable. If a company can weed out the bad potential employees based on their Twitter stream, then they can seek out a good potential employee in the same manner. Such was the case with marketing company BFG Communications. The firm has requested that people prove themselves with a single tweet instead of a resume, requiring people to demonstrate their fit for the job along with the initial application process.
Interesting to say the least, but indicative of a growing arena of socially aware companies similar to BFG. As companies find more beneficial ways in which to leverage the social web, there will be a growing necessity for employees that know how to manage their tweets, Facebook accounts and social bookmarking services. having potential new hires include their prowess as part of the application process can speed things along for the company, as it can appeal to its key demographic and skip the online job boards all together.
There’s also the ability for a company to increase its own visibility by being among those that are using social media to seek out a new employee. The need to get the word out about this particular type of campaign requires a certain amount of social media marketing on its own.
The result will be a call for Twitter tools that enable companies such as BFG to manage such campaigns, helping them to spread the word about their new job opening and collecting all the data that pours in as a result. Resumes in tweet format? They’ll all need to be tagged and archived, and made searchable for later use by the poor soul at the hiring company that has to go through all those tweets in order to find a new colleague. Stats and charts will also be needed to sift through all the metrics being measured for these kinds of campaigns.
While a number of companies have already emerged with similar tools for broader online job posting management (some even come with Twitter integration), those created specifically for this kind of enterprise use will effectively create their own market niche.
This is also indicative of a growing marketplace for niche Twitter apps, as if there weren’t enough already. As more people and companies find better ways in which to use Twitter, the ability to crunch all that data for their own purposes will be central to their initiatives moving forward. Several companies have already begun to create tools that handle some of these necessary functions, though they are currently targeting the advertising and marketing industries.
