Google+: A New Way to Recruit

With the arrival of Google+, many recruiters who have embraced social media are wondering, "Should I bother or is this another failed attempt at social networking by Google". While the user base remains intentionally small, there seems to be the sentiment among critics and users alike that Google+ has staying power. Some have tried to make comparisons with other social networks by saying that it is "Facebook for adults" or "Twitter with a better interface" but Google+ really is less of a social network and more of a means to share content.

At the moment, Google is still working on its platform for businesses (which won't be ready until late 2011) and have been actively disabling business accounts that have already been created on Google+. The reason, as Google Product Manager Christian Oestlien puts it, is that "how users communicate with each other is different from how they communicate with brands" Oestlien hints that the business version of Google+ will include deep analytics and the ability to connect with products. Google intends to offer a test trial of the business platform to a limited number of companies over the next few months, much like how the personal version of Google+ has been limited to invitees.

That does not mean that recruiters should wait until their company is on Google+ before joining the network themselves. The "Circles" feature, which is Twitter's Lists function, is a great way keep tabs on potential candidates and organize them into groups. For example, you can create circles for each job you are filling and place candidates in as many of the job circles as you wish. If you find a candidate that is worth pursuing further, you can set up a "hangout"to enable voice and video chat with that candidate or with the entire circle.

Google+ can also be a valuable resource for screening and identifying what candidates are truly passionate about. While Google+ allows for more private sharing of content and information than Facebook (by letting users selectively choose which circles to share with), it is fully integrated with other Google products showing images from blogs that the user maintains on Google Blogs and any +1s from Google Search. While you may not be able to see a candidate's scandalous party pictures and controversial status updates, you will be able to get a sense of his or her interests and passions.