Before I continue looking at the Fortune 500 blogs and evaluating whether or not they are using their corporate blog to recruit talent, I should take a step back. I would say that simply BECAUSE these companies have blogs – they are impacting their employer brand and attracting prospective job candidates whether or not that is the intent. Not that this is unique to blogging. I believe that ALL corporate communications impact employer brand and present an opportunity to attract talent and engage employees – they make an impact whether they were meaning to speak to that audience or not.
If companies have already decided to remove their veil and are partially (or more fully in the best examples) exposing themselves via a public forum like a blog – WHY NOT include a careers message? It could be as simple as a link to ‘job search and apply’ – to as open and transparent as full discussions with interested readers about company values, beliefs, and work environment.
Virtually everyone that is new to social media in the business of recruitment marketing jumps to the notion that companies just aren’t willing to give up control of their brand and open up their juicy insides to possible negative comments. While most companies I come into contact with aren’t ready to just start blogging – I am shocked that more aren’t at least monitoring what is being said in the blogosphere from a recruitment and retention stand-point.
It usually takes about 5 minutes of explaining that social media actually enables companies TO REGAIN CONTROL of their brands before eyes begin to light up. Once I explain that blogging platforms allow the moderation of comments to prevent spammers and vulgar content – minds open up a little to the possibility that a company could actually ADDRESS and participate in what is being said about them by providing a forum for two-way communication and interaction. Great companies will learn that it is OK to let go of traditional employer brand control, and utilize forums like blogs to allow their employees to openly represent the company with transparency, authenticity, and most of all, integrity.
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