Poor Shel Israel. He's just catching up on recruiting blogs when, according to David Bowen, they are on the verge of becoming passe.
What's the next hot thing? Podcasts. That's a surprise for me since I have never been a great fan.
The Negatives of Podcasts
In fact, I haven't listened to many podcasts and here's why: reading is faster.
Of course, if someone is a dynamic speaker, you want to hear the way she talks but how many of us fall into that category.
I keep yakking about one fantastic podcast but I'll bet the editor spent at least five hours cutting out all the dull parts. And, unlike most podcasts, it was done in a studio, not by phone, so the quality is very good.
The Plus of the Podcast
On the plus side, an unedited podcast is a fast way to gather and distribute information. You get the target on the phone, yak for fifteen minutes and it's done. Let the listener suffer through all the umm's and awww's if, in fact, there are any.
Recruiting Blogs Are Non-Starters
But, back to Bowen. First, he disses corporate recruiting blogs.
According to him, the blogger has to come across as genuine and authoritative. But, corporate websites are guarded by lawyers who are paid to choke off spontaneity. So no recruiting blog is going to be any good.
Microsoft sets a contrary example but it's an anomaly. Bowen says that its recruiting blogs are not integrated into the company's own career site which makes them, legally, separate entities. Still, any company could do the same thing.
But, as Bowen also notes, it's hard to get people to write regularly. And anyone who has visited the many abandoned or neglected recruiting blogs knows that this is true.
The Recruiting Podcast
So, what about podcasts? Why are they so good? Bowen claims that podcasts can be more easily monitored by Big Brother Shyster.
He also points out that podcasts don't invite troubling comments from listeners but that's a false issue since comments can be disabled on text blogs too and some popular bloggers don't allow them.
Bowen is enthusiastic about a podcast interview with a new recruit which PwC uses on its career pages. He believes it has more potential than blogs written by new recruits. But, he virtually admits that the latter, because they are heavily monitored, are not really blogs at all . And, happily, he does leave us with a funny line.
Maybe blogs will always do better in the States, where they like to chatter, than in more reserved parts of the world.
via Andy Marrit in Switzerland, Bowen's blog, Bowen's Financial Times article.
See also: Are Recruiting Bloggers Company Shills?
The Canadian Headhunter
He's missing the point, CH. Recruiting blogs shouldn't be about recruiting - they should be about branding.
Blogging as a new channel for employment advertising is destined for failure. Blogging as a corporate strategy for drawing in a captive audience is the future.
I would bet on it. In fact, I already did.
Posted by: Jim Durbin | Apr 20, 2006 at 12:19 PM