Digital Media News and Views
Welcome to the Digital Personnel Blog where you will find interesting articles and up-to-date news and views from one of the UK's leading providers of Digital Media recruitment solutions. Please feel free to interact with the site and add comments to stimulate discussion about all things digital. Digital Personnel is a proactive Digital Media talent provider, sourcing the very best talent from the UK and internationally for a highly demanding and innovative client base. The blog has been developed to provide greater awareness of our presence within the digital media space and provide a platform for our associates to correspond with us on key issues affecting and shaping the digital landscape.
New Recruitment Opportunities at Digital Personnel
January 11th, 2011
We are delighted to announce that Laura Overgage is now a fully employed member of the Digital Personnel team following a successful probation period.
With the Digital Media marketplace continuing to evolve and grow at an alarming rate it is essential, as a business adding tremendous value to the space, that we guarantee an undiluted service to our client base. Digital Personnel recognises the value we are offering within this fast-paced industry and is equipped to build the business as demand dictates.
Laura’s exceptional academic record and passion for digital media has resulted in a quick settling in period! She is now working across a number of diverse briefs for pure play agencies, media networks and inspiring clients that are looking to push the boundaries of online marketing. If you are a talented Digital Media Specialist expect a call from her soon!
Digital Media is an exciting industry to be a part of and Digital Personnel is offering opportunities for graduates and successful recruiters to begin and/or further develop a career in recruitment. The recruitment market is changing and with the emergence of Social Media comes the need for engagement with talent across social networking platforms, online forums, webinars and blogs. This is an exciting time to be a part of a Digital Media recruitment specialist that is pioneering an innovative way of identifying talent and attracting clients.
Of course traditional recruitment methods have not been ditched for good, the ability to communicate verbally in an articulate manner will always be a key attribute but critically in the age of e-mail and social media interaction written communication skills are also very important.
With demand for talent high, candidate identification and capture is business critical. It is no longer accepted that the old role of “resourcer” requires a simple database search but now requires dynamic individuals to work on search strategies across many different interactive platforms and then instigate engagement appropriately.
If you have recently graduated with an online marketing related degree and have a desire to drive dynamic recruitment campaigns for leading companies across the online space then Digital Personnel may have a role for you too! We are also keen to speak with recruiters who offer account management, candidate management or new business development skills.
Follow Laura’s lead and send a CV direct to me at ashley.seddon@digitalpersonnel.co.uk.
Ashley Seddon
Director
Digital Personnel (UK) Ltd
Tags: account, candidate, consultant, digital, manager, online, recruitment, resourcer, sales
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Why is the redesign of Websites so Unpopular?
October 18th, 2010
The saying goes, “A change is as good as a holiday”. Some holidays turn out to be perfect, while others can be disastrous. Many of us do not relish change of any kind and prefer to remain in our comfort zones with our familiar objects around us. This can be said of websites, where navigation through a site becomes “old hat” and then all of a sudden the re-designers step in, change things around and upset the apple cart. This can be compared to a shopping trip. Most of us may prefer visiting a particular supermarket on a regular basis and therefore become aware of which aisle certain products are to be found. To be super efficient, one can then compile a shopping list according to the layout of the store, thus avoiding an energy wasting run-around. Then all of a sudden, the owners decide to revamp the store and one’s next visit is turned into one of frustration and time wasting, trying to find what one needs from a now, no longer, carefully planned list.
Keeping pace with the ever moving advances in technology, it is necessary for websites to assess their position and consider redesigning their portfolio. A recent example this year is the major redesign on sites such as BBC, Google News, Flickr, Twitter and ask.com. Google, Facebook and Yahoo are constantly tweaked and just like the shopping example, users of these popular sites complain of not being able to locate something as they are used to the routine of the old site. Words such as “hate” and “change” were frequently used on posts on Facebook and another comment which surfaced was “Why mess with something that already works”.
But as usual, one eventually adapts to all these changes and we begin to feel comfortable with a new look, with the old site, if it resurfaced, appearing a bit strange. The initial reaction of users is one of shock and surprise which makes it difficult for websites to filter constructive feedback. However, if they get it wrong, visitors will leave in droves. For example, ever since a significant redesign about four weeks ago, the website digg.com has experienced a huge exodus. This is a website where the focus is on news and consists of stories and links from around the web which are voted up and down by the community. Traffic from Britain alone is down by 34 per cent. For reasons of equality, digg.com put in place a new system, as they correctly felt that too much power was held by too few users. This did not appeal to them and a large percentage have departed to a competing site namely, www.reddit.com. As a result of some of the criticisms, digg.com instituted some changes, but the whole debacle has been described as a perfect example of how to alienate visitors. Perhaps though, there is something to gain. MySpace is a website which relaunches with a new look in two weeks time. It has been a much neglected site, where logging into the site felt like going back in history. Protests may be minimal but it remains to be seen whether we will be tempted to return.
dp@digitalpersonnel.co.uk
Tags: change, creative, design, facebook, google, twitter, website
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New LinkedIn Signal feature is launched
October 18th, 2010
The marketing power of social networks such as LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter has become an essential tool for job seekers making career choices and for business growth. The mammoth amount of information on these sites boggles the mind and wading through it all can reduce the incentive to find exactly what one desires.
Where Facebook and Twitter operate in a more casual manner, LinkedIn caters mainly for the professional sector of social networking. As a result of the vast volume of knowledge available, LinkedIn has developed a solution by introducing a new beta service which they have named LinkedIn Signal. This enables users of this facility to filter through all the data and zero in only on the relevant information pertaining to them. As the first of many LinkedIn products, it is a new way of easing the search facility of all professionals, through the constant stream of updates and news.
Signal splits a LinkedIn page into three columns. The left column consists of a range of filtering criteria, the middle column shows a choice of filtering results and the right column illustrates the most popular links that are shared by users in a LinkedIn network and also on Twitter. Streams of information can be filtered via different sectors namely, industry, region, education, primary and secondary networks and time. A search for specific key words in LinkedIn and Twitter streams can be done by users and alerts can be set up to inform them of any alterations to a stream. The popular links or “trending links” feature allows users to see who is sharing these links.
Compared to the multitude of users of social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter, LinkedIn represents a membership of approximately 70 million, which is considered to be quite small. However, LinkedIn has a strong presence in the technology industry and with professionals who are career orientated.
LinkedIn is now beginning to introduce Signal to its members and over the next few weeks, the beta service will become available to all LinkedIn members.
Digital Personnel
dp@digitalpersonnel.co.uk
Tags: facebook, jobseekers, linkedin, networking, social, twitter
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Headhunt Strategy in Digital
October 11th, 2010
The headhunt is something most business people will be familiar with. Maybe you’ve been approached yourself or maybe you have attempted to headhunt someone from another company – whatever your involvement it is true to say that the headhunt strategy has changed, particularly within the digital space.
It is imperative when working within a growing market that candidates are recognised for what they are – valuable assets! In this time of great demand it is very important that relations with candidates remain strong. The candidates are in control, particularly at the higher levels, meaning an advertisement policy and general database searches will not be sufficient to identify the very best talent available.
The old traditional style of headhunt has long been eclipsed by social media engagement and the ability to engage with the right talent, at the right time with the right content – and that does not mean “hey, I am looking for a Head of Digital in London!” via a lazy tweet!
What is required though is the desire and ability to create working communities of digital media talent that engage naturally in debate about all the innovations that affect and direct this fabulously eccentric market. Digital Media personnel have to be aware of new advancements in the market and continually keep their skills up-to-date. By providing interactive platforms on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and even the much maligned Google Buzz, this allows the employment business the opportunity of communicating with true pioneers day in and day out. The headhunt strategy then becomes a congruous approach to candidates that understand and appreciate the credibility of the recruitment business. Social Media has allowed everyone access to names, companies, career histories and the like so the trick is to gain credibility first, followed by an appropriate approach thereafter.
Social and business networking sites are not the only places to gain credibility – forums, blogs, conferences and live events also provide the perfect platform to converse with people who are making a difference in this industry and may just be looking for online marketing jobs.
This kind of interaction across the entire digital landscape offers value to potential candidates that far exceeds a regular flow of job opportunities and subsequently generates referrals and influence that affords exclusivity.
As the digital media recruitment marketplace continues to provide record revenues, it is imperative that brands and online marketing agencies recognise the evolution within digital and work with recruitment partners that constantly look to further their own offering.
Ashley Seddon
ashley.seddon@digitalpersonnel.co.uk
Tags: digital, headhunt, jobs, marketing, media, online, recruitment, strategy, vacancy
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Using Networking When Recruiting
August 9th, 2010
Did you know that social networking resources can be a quick and accurate way of verifying a person’s claims in terms of job qualifications? You can also use social networking sites to examine a candidate’s behaviour, to discover insights about the candidate’s job skills, the type of person that the individual is and you can use such information to determine if a person is right for a particular job.
A growing and popular trend is found in using sites like Twitter, LinkedIn, MySpace, Face book, and other social networking avenues for the purposes of making more accurate decisions about hiring people. Clearly, while using networking when recruiting, there are definitely some advantages. The use of social networking sites may reveal to you more about a person’s job skills, the type of associates the individual has, and if the information supplied on a CV is accurate.
Just as there are advantages to using networking for recruiting purposes, there are a few disadvantages. You may want to ask for legal advice before you rely on networking to make hiring decisions. If you negligently use the information you derive from social sites to make hiring decisions, it can prove costly if your hiring techniques are ever questioned. You may want to use additional safety measures like requesting a person’s permission to view online information and to use it during the hiring practice or to give the individual a chance to refute any information you uncover.
You must always call into question the accuracy of information offered online. Bear in mind that the computer and the Internet are a screen; a mask for an individual and that all information conveyed or shared online may not necessarily be true, correct, or accurate information. If you base your hiring decisions on false information, it can cause trouble for your agency down the road. You will want to consider all alternatives to social networking first; you may find that using social networking resources is not needed or necessary. For example, if you are worried that a potential candidate uses drugs, do not rely on social networking information to find out. Instead, use legal means for learning if the individual is clean or not by turning to legalised drug testing methods.
Digital Personnel
dp@digitalpersonnel.co.uk
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