Labor & Employment Law

HR professionals and companies turning to Twitter for hiring needs

The Wall St. Journal recently noted how mainstream Twitter is becoming in the workplace. The article notes that many employers are proactively using the service to recruit better qualified employees faster and cheaper. Companies such as Microsoft, Raytheon and MTV now list job openings on Twitter. As the article points out:

People who respond to job tweets typically have social-media skills, and some employers say they use the service to target them. In March, MediaSource Inc., a video-production and publicity firm in Columbus, Ohio, advertised a media-relations specialist job only on Twitter, LinkedIn and two niche job boards, says Lisa Arledge Powell, MediaSource's president.
"We needed someone that understood social media, so we thought, 'Why not go to where these people go?' " she says.

As a lawyer, it is sometimes hard to embrace new technologies given the uncertain 'risks' that the technologies may create. However, just like running a business entails risk, use of new technology, like Twitter, is fine as long as the employer uses some common sense. Employers and employees alike, need to always remember not to be drawn into Twitter's informal atmosphere – everything written on Twitter is public. As the article notes, employees should not begin a job request with the term 'Dude' and employers should always approach Twitter in a professional tone.

As side note, you can follow me on twitter here @anthonyzaller.

Full post as published by California Labor & Employment Defense Blog on September 09, 2009 (boomark / email).