Technology is not just a tool to manage information or make life easier it is a tool to create and channel relationships between people, businesses, and employees. 

Way back in 1999, Kevin Kelly, author of the book “New Rules for the New Economy,” wrote that networks were the key to 21st-century business, and technology is how networks are put together, and it is through them that relationships form.

What many of us fail to realize is that through technology relationships don’t have to be face-to-face.  The pandemic has shown us that virtual relationships are not only possible but often preferable whether in chat rooms, email, or social networks. People can also create relationships without a direct people connection.  We can forge relationships through videos and content that creates interest. For example, we may not know anyone at Netflix, but we most likely have a relationship with that site. We go to it for entertainmet and relaxation and eitehr like or not. It is similar to a relationshiop with others.

People always decide whether to work for a firm or not because of the relationship they have with its reputation and values or with its people.  That is why the best recruiting sites are interactive and focus on building those relationships. Career sites that are static, boring, and that lack engaging content are not usually successful in attracting candidates or converting them to hires.

Candidates who find a career site and are enticed by good content are more likely to apply and interactive design is critical. Perhaps a chatbot interacts with them to provide information, answer their questions, or direct them to the position that best fits their skills. Artificial intelligence-assisted software evaluates skills and recommends possible opportunities.  And they find day-in-the-life scenarios or videos about the people they will be working with.  

Candidates can remain connected through social media, chat rooms, blogs, or email even if they did not find an interesting opportunity or one that fits their skills. The potential candidate is no longer passive but invited to participate and interact with your site.  The candidate is in control of what she sees and where she goes, and what she chooses or does not choose to do. 

A career site that is effective will have most of what I have described and incorporate many other tools and functions to enhance networking and relationship building.

Engaging Job Descriptions
We should always write the job description for individuals – not categories or types of people. There really aren’t any programmers, but rather individuals who can write C++ code, or some other code, for a particular application at a certain speed and level of complexity.  The job description should generate excitement and jump out at the right candidate.  They should also be easily emailed or referred to others because one of the growing ways to find people is by referral.  If I see a job described that fits someone I know, I will likely let them know about it if it is easy to do so.

Virtual Experience Programs
Virtual experience programs offer potential candidates a self-paced virtual experience that gives them a feel for what it is like to work at your organization. you can see an excellent example on the Boston Consulting Group’s career site.

Make-a-Friend Programs
Make-a-friend programs allow prospective candidates to be put directly in contact with a current employee who does what they do or something very similar.  This way candidates can ask what it’s like to work in your organization and can get a sense of the culture and communication style.  This will lead to better candidates applying for jobs and faster assimilation if they are hired.

Live Chat Rooms
Chat rooms should be built into sites so that candidates and recruiters can have ongoing discussions.  Recruiters should spend time building traffic in the chat rooms by offering seminars or webinars on what the company does and profiling various jobs. Employees can take part as well and be the foundation of a talent community. The talent community becomes most useful when as many people as possible take part.

Webinars
Another way to attract candidates is to offer periodic webinars on topics related to the skills you are seeking. These webinars help build traffic and create opportunities for people to learn what your organization does and how they might fit into it. Invite a guru or a personality to host the webinars. 

Contests and Games
Promoting contests and games can also be a valuable way to generate excitement and build relationships.  People respond to trivia games, contests, and online mini-surveys.  Potential candidates like the instant feedback and the ability to do something rather than just read.  These contests are also a way to get people to come back repeatedly.  Each time they return is another opportunity to recruit them or have a conversation with them and keep them excited about your organization. 

Being creative, open, and engaging are the fundamental requirements for building relationships. Your career site should be all of those things and use technology to ensure quick responses and provide targeted information.

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