This guest post comes from our Search Marketing Manager Gary Elliott, and he looks at how Google’s social network can give you a competitive advantage in the recruitment market…

“As a recruiter in today’s connected world, you’ll already appreciate the need to be active on social media. But are you giving Google+ the time and attention it deserves?

Speaking from a personal perspective, I’m a fan of Google+. It is easy to use, integrated with all my online activity and it allows me to enjoy content about the things I’m interested in. But this isn’t about me.

This is about why I believe Google+ is a valuable part of any recruiter’s or HR Manager’s toolkit.

Reason #1 – A Large, More Engaged, Audience Of Real People

There are two main factors that I think make the Google+ audience appealing for a recruiter or HR Manager.

1. There are 170million people. And 60% use their account every day.
2. Google+ won’t allow fake or nonsense accounts, so the people you connect with are real.

For me, there’s a lot of value knowing that any one I connect with on Google+ isn’t a spam-bot or someone pretending to be Homer Simpson. As a recruiter, with limited time and resources, knowing you’re able to focus your effort on real people is almost worth the switch to Google+ alone.

Reason #2 – Real People, Who Also Happen To Be Educated And Tech-Savvy

In addition to the staggering numbers, Google+ users are seen to be generally a specific type of person. And you can tell this from the topics that trend.

Here’s a selection of the current trending topics:

#smartphones
#mountainlion
#nexus7
#google
#apple

These topics give a strong indication that the people using Google+ are interested in tech and mobility. And so it’s not a huge stretch of the imagination to assume Google+ users are relatively well educated and affluent.

As a recruiter or HR manager, who may be finding it tough to find quality IT or engineering candidates, Google+ presents a way to seek out and connect with them.

One of the criticisms pointed at Google+ is that it hasn’t been picked up by the mainstream. It is typically being used by early-adopters, the technically-savvy and business professionals.

Again, as an HR Manager, surely this is a blessing?

Reason #3 – Being On Google+ Can Benefit Your Search Marketing Efforts Continue reading “Google+: Why every recruitment business needs to be active on Google’s Social Network” »