This Week's Herman Trend Alert Cyberbullying---a Growing Problem

The Herman Trend Alert December 6, 2006 Internet Recruiting and "People Search Engines" As the saying goes, "Information wants to be free." Savvy job-seekers know this. Millions of people go online every day to research companies and compare potential employers. Company web sites, job boards and other recruiting sites, and blogs posted by disgruntled former employees and upset customers provide a treasure trove of information to help us make career decisions. The web is also finding application for recruiting purposes. Increasingly, employers are using social and professional networking sites and "people-focused search engines" to identify and evaluate candidates early in the recruiting process. While referrals still rank as the most valuable recruiting source, according to a recent Direct Employers/Booz Allen Hamilton study, social networking sites have edged out employment web sites as the number two recruiting source, based on the number of new hires recruited and employers' recruitment budget allocations. One such tool is Zoominfo, which bills itself as "the premier summarization search engine." Zoominfo approaches information found on the web like pieces of a digital jigsaw puzzle. It aggregates and cleans data and manipulates the pieces until a clearer picture of each subject emerges. As of November, 2006, the site boasts profiles on more than 33 million individuals and 2.6 million companies. Variations include Ziggs, which focuses only on professionals and Blue Chip Expert, an invitation-only site for top-caliber hires. Newcomer Spock will take the invitation-only approach to the masses. Spock aims to have 100 million profiles when it goes live in late 2006. Internet recruiting isn't limited to third-party search tools, however. Some recruiters use candidates' own words to weed them out. According to the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, one in four employers uses social networking web sites such as Facebook.com or MySpace.com to screen out applicants based on the information they post there. A CareerBuilder.com survey found that about 63 percent of employers decided against hiring someone after seeing content the person had posted online. Remarkable! As user adoption reaches the tipping point, expect these sites to become even more robust and include more tools and options that delve even deeper into personal and professional lives. © Copyright 1998- by The Herman Group, Inc. -- reproduction for publication is encouraged, with the following attribution: From "The Herman Trend Alert," by Roger Herman and Joyce Gioia, Strategic Business Futurists. (800) 227-3566 or http://www.hermangroup.com. The Herman Trend Alert is a trademark of The Herman Group, Inc." DISCOVER WHAT’S REALLY GOING ON... in the hearts and minds of your employees. Our InnerViews interviewing service uses SPHRs and PHRs, certified human resource professionals to probe for the information you really need to know. Exit and Stay Interviews, as well as Why-Didn't-You-Take-Our-Offer Interviews. Call Rosalie Catalano at 937-416-7066, or read more at: http://www.hermangroup.com/retentionconnection/exit_interviews.html. MOM ALWAYS TAUGHT IT WAS GOOD TO SHARE You have probably subscribed to The Herman Trend Alert for a while now and you know how valuable it is to you. Why not suggest that your friends sign up at http://www.hermantrendalert.com? Join the thousands who subscribe in 87 countries around the globe. Are there particular topics you'd like to see covered? Let us know and we will research "The Future of. . .". And let us know how else we may serve you? E-mail: joyce@hermangroup.com. YOUR EMPLOYEES NEED THEIR LEADERS MORE THAN EVER Help your leaders to excel. Thousands have used our weekly Lessons in Leadership to help their supervisors and managers remember how to hold onto top talent. The 52-week subscription is only $47, a bargain when you think about the savings to your organization in reduced turnover. Quantity discounts available by emailing Carol at carol@hermangroup.com. Order today at: http://www.hermangroup.com/store/subscription_all.html#3. Herman Trend Alerts are produced by the Herman Group, strategic business futurists, Certified Management Consultants, authors, and professional speakers. New subscribers are welcome. There is no charge for this public service. The Herman Trend Alert is received by over 30,000 subscribers in 78 countries, in addition to other websites and printed magazines. Do you enjoy receiving this weekly e-mail update? Contact us about our co-branded Trend Alert service. Click here to sign up for the Herman Trend Alert. Subscribe or Unsubscribe to weekly Herman Trend Alert View this week's Herman Trend Alert Archived Weekly Herman Trend Alerts

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