One of the chief complaints of candidates in any field is the lack of knowledge of the recruiter.  In Information Technology, candidates want you to be a Java programmer, or a Database programmer, or understand use cases and database queries.  If you can't program, at the very least they want you to understand the difference between a programmer and a hack (in many cases, that's shorthand for everyone else is a hack, and the candidate in front of you is a programmer). Some recruiters even go get their CIS degrees to be more competitive.

In finance, candidates warm to former auditors (although I don't think bookkeepers do so well).

In interactive marketing, having the expertise to filter a candidate based on SEO/SEM/Social Media and Agency experience is truly a boon.  As I delve more fully into the experience of recruiting marketing folks, I'm finding that I can help people learn more about the industry, guide them on career paths, prep them for interviews, and most important, assess their salaries accurately based on what they can get paid.

As a practitioner (I consult for companies in this space), my advice is taken as a colleague, and not as a recruiter, and that's something that is rare for both candidates and recruiters (it's certainly new to me).

I used to dismiss the idea that practical knowledge of an industry was essential to being a recruiter. What it takes to recruit is different than what it takes to do the job.  Recruiting is a mix of sales, research, interviewing, and negotiation.  It's not difficult, but it is hard work.

Marketing, certainly online marketing, is a very similar beast. The biggest difference is that sharing information is a two-way street for marketers, but a one-way street for recruiters (referrals or submittals).  In just two months, the recruiting portion of my workday has doubled, and it threatens to grow as large as I let it.

It seems I am truly lucky - as I'm be able to mix my two greatest strengths into a cohesive career.  Isn't that what Pamela Slim and Seth Godin keep telling us what to do?

I'm going to be on the Animal Radio Show in just a few minutes, talking about social media in recruiting.

http://recruitingshow.com/

Call into 646-652-2754 and listen, or be heard.  Open to all, and there will be audio playback.

It's the little details that make a difference in the quality of your placements.  Meeting candidates, asking the tough questions, actually checking references, and looking for respect from the candidate in the interview process are small things that lead to big dollars in placement.

One of those details for third party recruiters is walking candidates in the door for their first in-person interview.  There are two primary reasons for this:

1) I want to control the situation:  If the manager is late, I need to be there to talk to the candidate and find out when and where the manager will show.  Same goes for the candidate.  Some people don't follow travel directions well (I'm one of them), and in unfamiliar territory, it's best to have someone there in case you need to be guided towards the right building. 

2) I like to prep the candidate beforehand.  This involves a series of advice comments, followed by direct questions that are intended to get the candidate talking about something.  Anything to warm them up.

One of the best questions I use is the simplest.

"What is the job you are here for?"

If you take the time out of your day to drive to a new company and meet with a manager, you should at least know what you are interviewing for.  You should be prepared to answer this question, as simple as it sounds, because far too many people list the title of the job (often incorrectly), and then sit there with a not-too-bright look on their face.

If you are an SEO consultant - and you answer, "It's an SEO position," then you probably won't get the job.  This answer signifies that either your recruiting firm failed to tell you specific details when narrowing down the applicant list, or you weren't paying attention and hoped to "wing it" in the interview.  The question in the manager's mind at this point is why this person sitting in front of them is wasting their time when they don't even know what position they are interviewing for?

Take the time prepare yourself for the interview.  Ask questions before you get in the door.  Review them with your recruiter before you agree to meet the hiring manager.  A bad interview doesn't just prevent you from getting one job.  It often follows you around as managers talk to each other about this candidate who came in with a great resume, but messed up the interview in the first minute.

One of my clients is looking for a team of SEO and Web Analytics Consultants to work on their global website.  The job is open through a few agencies, but the advantage of working through me is the interview preparation you're going to get ahead of time.

As a practitioner in this field,  you'll be working with the only recruiter in St Louis who understands what you do in in SEO, SEM, and social media.  If you're curious about the details, or just want to get into the queue for future jobs, drop me a line - the database will be up next week to upload your resume directly into my ATS.

I'm posting some keyword fodder below the fold.

The event is set.  May 21st, I'll be hosting a live webinar on Facebook recruiting through hireability. The session is called,

Facebook Recruiting:  A Live Demonstration of Hiring Inside Facebook by Jim Durbin, the Social Media Headhunter.

The explosion of Facebook as a social networking tool is challenge and a mystery to recruiters.  Unlike LinkedIn Plaxo, Facebook users aren't looking to be contacted in a search for jobs.  They certainly don't want to be headhunted, until they're ready.  Jim Durbin, a social media expert takes a look at Facebook from the eyes of an experienced staffing professional, and provides live, actionable training on how to use Facebook to increase placements.

In a session that combines sourcing, contacting, and referral generation, Mr. Durbin shows recruiters how to navigate the tricky waters of social networking.

The event is a paid webinar - the cost is $89, and it will be 1:30 p.m. EST/10:30 a.m. PST, and will cover sourcing, filtering, connecting, reference checking, and referrals in Facebook.  Most training sessions are full of theory - this webinar will be a walkthrough of screens and search terms on an actual job search.

There'll be Cross-promotion at StlRecruiting and my other recruiting blogs Charlotte, Seattle, and KC Recruiting, as well as the social networks  and social media circles.  If you announce the event on your blog, be sure to send me an e-mail, and I'll link to you from this PR5 blog.

Once you're a part of Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, Plaxo, eCademy, and all the rest, it's time to dig deep into niche social networks that serve your industry.

Here are four that are indispensable for social media recruiters.

Recruiting Blogs- Run by Jason Davis for Recruiters
Job Boarders - Run by Chris Russell
Jobs In Social Media Run by Chris Russell
Recruiting Network - Run by Craig Silverman for Independent Recruiters

And when you're done with those, it's time to join the social networks in your industry (to find candidates).  Better keep that Ning ID handy.

Great Question at LinkedIn Answers from Walter Pike - asking what companies should look for in a Social Media firm. Is it a PR firm or Ad Agency? My response below.

1) Check the web for their presence. Ask for their social media expert, and type their name into Google.  Look at the company blog.  Is it updated, ranked high, and do people link to it? Are they on Twitter, Facebook?  Look at examples of other campaigns they rate as successful.

2) Ask them what results they've achieved with a campaign.  If they can't tell you, then they haven't bothered to track past campaigns, which means they'll have no experience tracking yours.

3) Don't ask what they can do.  Social media firms should be solution agnostic.  Instead, ask yourself what you want to accomplish, and then ask them how they would accomplish it.

4) You're not hiring them for social media. You're hiring them for marketing/pr/advertising/search, and they're using social media tools to accomplish those goals.

5) Be smart with your budget:  I'd say as many as 80% of "Social Media" experts have never been paid for their work, and that includes people inside very large agencies.  Large agencies have no clue how to bill for this, which can mean you're paying 10X what you would with a small agency or an individual to get the same results.

6) : Don't buy the hype - look for execution:  A large number of followers or friends or subscribers doesn't make you a social media firm or consultant.  Just because you're good at self-promotion doesn't make you good at helping another company do the same. 

7) Look for integration - the best social media campaigns take advantage of work you're already doing and magnify it by putting it online. SMM works best in conjunction with traditional and other online marketing. 

This is what I'm looking for in candidates.  Are they enamored of their tools, or of the results of using those tools?  And in terms of salary - you're getting paid for your background, not your social media experience. It's an important distinction.