You Don’t Have To Be A Commodity On Social Media

Sometimes, social media makes it easy for recruiters to forget the human in “Human Capital.” When I look at the recruitment industry, I never cease to marvel at what a privileged position we occupy. We deal in the hopes and dreams of people who have often studied and worked for decades to get to where they are in their chosen careers.

Some of their achievements are truly mind-blowing and have had a positive effect on thousands of people. Many of our candidates are the sort of people who you would discuss with friends with envy and say “Wow, they are soaring in their career. How do they do it?”

So, how are we collectively (as an industry) starting to turn these highest of achievers of the business world into pieces of meat to be traded to the highest bidder? Social media has played a huge part in this, it has given us the tools for laziness, but we are the ones still choosing not to treat people in the way they deserve. However, instead of giving recruiters another telling off (they get enough of that on here as it is), I would like to offer a few suggestions to executives about lessening the risk of being commoditised by the less than scrupulous members of our profession.

There will always be a recruiter who has a three-minute chat with you to check your availability and theoretical interest in a role. They will check the minimum of requirements and then have the temerity to pronounce you a “good fit” for the role. They will send your CV off to the client, all well and good, but when the client comes back to them with a question about you, you can be sure that they won’t have a suitable answer.

Therefore, apart from working with the better recruitment firms that value building meaningful longterm relationships, there are a few things that you can do to make yourself stand out should a potential employer visit your LinkedIn profile. Believe me, they will assess it in detail, especially if they get minimal information from the recruiter.

Make it about the hiring company. Solve the problems of your future employer in your profile. So many profiles just talk about the executive and their past achievements. Very few focus on the problems they can solve in the future.

Write periodic blogs. Nothing is better to give someone a deeper understanding of who you are than writing a blog. The word limits in the LinkedIn sections are fairly restrictive, but a blog will allow you to expand on your ideas and communicate what makes you tick. Regular followers of your blog won’t see you as a commodity.

Get involved in the industry. If you position yourself as a thought leader within your online industry sector, this will automatically put you higher in their estimations. Post thoughtful and value-added comments on blogs, and make sure that you are connected with as many relevant people as possible. They will be able to view your common connections.

There is a lot of talk about building your personal brand online. In my view, this is nothing more than being active with the relevant crowd. If your knowledge and passion for your industry comes across, you will be far more than a commodity, no matter what the recruiters do.

Take your brand into your own hands and bring to life the human in you!