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"For all its efforts to adopt new technology and adapt to the communication tools and needs of the candidate pool, recruiting overall is still in the dark ages. Candidate submits resume and cover letter, recruiters select the candidates based on their hiring materials, on paper or their online application they seem like a good fit, so you advance them to the interview. You spend the time and money to interview, but you still have only a 50/50 chance that the candidate you selected is a good fit. The problem here is that candidate selection still is a veritable tossing of the coin by the time you reach the interview stage. This is a waste of time and is fraught with error. I guarantee you are overlooking qualified applicants. To reduce that chance of selecting bad prospective candidates, interaction must take place first. This is where talent communities come into the picture. \nIf you\u2019re not attracting and connecting with the best candidates, talent communities may be the missing ingredient in your recruiting strategy. True talent communities facilitate two-way communication between employers and candidates, something that is unmatched in standard recruiting practices. \nAdmittedly, talent communities can\u2019t be built in a day. They do require consistent management and upkeep to produce results. If you\u2019re still on the fence, here are some reasons why talent communities can work for your social recruiting strategy.\nThe Talent Is Already Present\n\n\n\n\nWhile half of job seekers spend anywhere from 6-25 hours looking, 9 out of 10 job seekers spend all of that time online \u2014 why wouldn\u2019t they? Without millions of resources, vast networking opportunities, and the ability to be seen by thousands of employers, the old way of finding a job just seems inconvenient. The problem is, if job seekers are just posting resumes onto a job board with a sea of other job seekers, then even great candidates become white noise.\nOnline candidate searching is not a utopia for recruiters either. Anxious job seekers blast out hundreds of generic cover letters and resumes flooding employers with hundreds to thousands of subpar candidate applications. Job seekers do this for two reasons. First, they\u2019re desperate and think it\u2019s a quick and easy way to yield results. Second, some job seekers really do not understand what the employers\u2019 job requirements really are. The result is that the average job seeker thinks it\u2019s best to \"spray and pray,\" hoping that some employer will stumble upon one of their hundred resumes and online profiles and be able to tease out the value proposition that will earn them an interview. \nWith a talent community, you\u2019ll be able to identify candidates who are already \u201Cfit\u201D to apply. How? Because you\u2019ll have the opportunity to interact and demonstrate your company\u2019s brand, values and mission. The best and most interested candidates likewise will have the opportunity to engage you as well as interact in the community demonstrating their true values and capability to fulfill the requirements of a posted job. You cannot stop candidates from spamming out their resume, but in your own talent community you will be able to distill your candidate pipeline down to those that follow the company and display the passion and for the field they have chosen. \nCandidates Want To Get Noticed\nSince candidates do prefer searching online, where do they go when they\u2019ve decided your company is their dream company? A 2012 CareerXroads survey reveals that while job seekers are influenced by certain hiring channels (social media, referrals and job boards), the majority will go to the company\u2019s career site first. \nHeading straight to the company page is not a bad thing, but instead of having them hit the apply button, why not give them some room to get noticed first. Candidates want to show off their brand, make connections and make an effort to differentiate themselves from others. Talent communities allow them to be more than just a resume. This leads us directly to the last benefit.\nIt Allows For \u2018Passive Screening\u2019\n\n\n\n\nTalent communities allow you to passively meet and screen active candidates one-on-one. This interaction alone allows you to both watch and interact with candidates while they engage with others. You\u2019ll get to see \u2014 and discuss \u2014 their view on various topics, their professional experience and even career aspirations. All these become more prevalent factors that can help you source candidates that are not only right for the job, but right for the company. \nThe buzz around talent communities isn\u2019t new, but most companies have yet to enable one. These communities exist to encourage two-way communication and engagement between you and potential candidates. You will have more quality hires if you know more about who you\u2019re interviewing before you ever open the door to an interview.\nWhat do you think? Does your recruiting strategy include a talent community? What are some other good reasons for creating one? Share your thoughts in the comments below.\nSocial Media Job Listings\nEvery week we post a list of social media and web job opportunities. While we publish a huge range of job listings, we've selected some of the top social media job opportunities from the past two weeks to get you started. Happy hunting!\n\nSoftware Engineer - Mobile Developer at Yelp in San Francisco\nAssociate Product Manager  at Meetmoi in New York\nSocial Media Manager at Landry's in Houston\n\nImage courtesy of iStockphoto, JulNichols, vicky_81"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://mashable.com/2012/07/22/recruiting-talent-communities/>