Samara Parker

Branding a Province: the Art of Facebook Recruiting and Social Media

March 6
Hero branding-a-province-the-art-of-facebook-recruiting-and-social-media
Reg Hamilton is a specialist in Interactive Media. He has over 18 years of tech experience, is an accomplished artist and designer, represents Phoenix Group on the Interactive Advertising Bureau of Canada’s Mobile and Social Media Council, and his LinkedIn profile was one of the most viewed in 2012.So as you can imagine, he’s a pretty busy guy. That’s why we feel very lucky that Reg has agreed to share some of his knowledge with the Jobcast blog.Jobcast: Hi Reg, would you mind explaining to our readers what Phoenix Group is all about?Reg: Phoenix Group is a full-service advertising agency with nearly 40 staff. We offer branding, creative, interactive and media services. Phoenix Group is a place where ideas grow. W……Read More

Happy (Almost) International Woman's Day Link Time

March 6
Hero happy-almost-international-womans-day-link-time
International Woman’s Day is on Friday (March 8th, 2013 for those of you in the future).How will you celebrate?Please don’t say by wearing a lot of pink. Unless, of course, pink really brings out your eyes. Myself, I’m going to celebrate by reading tons of blog posts about women in social media, because thinking about work as ‘celebrating’ is good for productivity!Working with the guys I do, it’s easy to forget how differently women can be treated in the workplace. I never feel like gender is an issue at Jobcast. It’s awesome.Even more awesome, when I started gathering the links for today’s woman-centric post, I realized that in our last article, the one with examples of people using social recruiting effectively, two out of th……Read More

Taking the Plunge with Social Recruiting

March 4
Hero taking-the-plunge-with-social-recruiting
In last week’s blog we talked about taking the plunge into social media — not waiting for permission — just doing it. I asked our CEO and fearless leader, Ryan St Germaine, what he thought about the subject and in true Ryan-style, instead of bragging about himself, he expounded on our clients and best practices of social recruiters:“From speaking with clients I’ve noticed that people get overwhelmed by social media and see it as this big, daunting task that requires a masters degree to understand. It’s not. All of the best social recruiters got started by putting one foot in front of the other and just going for it. They didn’t ask for permission or write a 40 page report. They created a social media account and started having c……Read More

Innovative Interview Questions, Screening Candidates with Google+ and Infographics Galore!

February 27
Hero innovative-interview-questions-screening-candidates-with-google-and-infographics-galore
Okay, fun fact, both of my parents worked in HR. My dad has conducted and consulted on more interviews than I can come up with a clever analogy for (shocking, I know!). My mother specialized in classifications, so she's also very comfortable with the interview process. When I write these articles I always try to keep them in mind. What aspects of social recruiting would they be interested in learning more about, how can I make Facebook recruiting less intimidating for them, and how can I make posts about things like #hashtags less boring for them to read? Super hero analogies work great for my dad, and I sincerely hope that the rest of you follow in my mother's footsteps and accompany your blog reading with a gla……Read More

Why and How Family-Run Business Gordon Food Service Got Social With Their Recruiting

February 25
Hero why-and-how-family-run-business-gordon-food-service-got-social-with-their-recruiting
The past few weeks we've been focusing a lot on taking the plunge into social recruiting. We've shared tips on how to get started, done a link love devoted to the subject, and now we're bringing you an interview with a client of ours who has done an amazing job of using social recruiting: Gordon Food Service.Dave Wiltjer was kind enough to answer some of our questions about how and why Gordon Food Service uses social to recruit.Jobcast: Gordon Food Service is obviously quite savvy when it comes to social media. What does the term social recruiting mean to you?Dave: When we discuss social recruiting, we are talking about using social tools that will help with us in attracting and sourcing passive candidates. We ……Read More

Getting Started With Social Recruiting

February 20
Hero getting-started-with-social-recruiting
On Monday we talked about taking the leap into social recruiting. We shared a few links to back up the argument for using social to find talent, and also some apps to help implement social recruiting strategies. But there is so much more to add to that list!Social recruiting is getting bigger and bigger. The definition itself is expanding along with the social networks that make it possible.From employee referrals to job boards to Vine Videos, the evolution of social is fast and furious. And much like the fantastic film Fast and Furious 5 3D IMAX, it can be pretty overwhelming. But, thankfully, like the plot of every movie in the Fast and Furious series, the basic premise remains exactly the same! Create a strategy, implement that ……Read More

Super Hero Social Recruiting

February 18
Hero super-hero-social-recruiting
It's no secret that I love athletics. Most of the quotes I use in my writing can be attributed to coaches I admire, athletes or super heroes (Yes, I said super heroes. Forget radioactive spider bites and Kryptonian genetics, Batman fights crime with conditioning and wits alone!) It's also no secret that I am a sucker for awesome branding and design (obviously... I mean have you seen how well designed the Jobcast app is?!?!). So it should come as no surprise that I am a wee bit obsessed with Nike. They're athletic, uber-functional, slick and wonderfully bossy -- just like yours truly! Nike is best know for their famous "Just Do It!" campaign. And I buy into it hook-line-and-sinker. The philosophy behind their campaign: If you think s……Read More

Talent Acquisition is Like a Box of Chocolates

February 13
Hero talent-acquisition-is-like-a-box-of-chocolates
Valentine’s Day is almost upon us. I know this because of all the infographics and slideshows on Mashable, Forbes and Pinterest instructing me on “how to woo a nerd”, “how NOT to celebrate Valentine’s Day in the office”, and “How to make healthy raw-vegan substitutions for V-Day treats!”.Personally I want none of this. I wooed my nerd a long time ago, and I work from home, cafes, occasionally bars (it’s a European thing [don’t tell my boss!]), and personally I think the term V-Day should be reserved for remembering veterans and that raw-vegan treats should be reserved only for mortal enemies.Not that I’m not into Valentines Day — any excuse for chocolate is a good one! It’s just that I don’t think it has much to do wit……Read More

Of Snowball Attacks and Social Recruiting, it's All in the Timing

February 11
Hero of-snowball-attacks-and-social-recruiting-its-all-in-the-timing
Timing matters. This is true in all aspects of life. From planning a surprise snowball attack, to knowing when to apologize for said snowball attack, it's all in the timing. If you want to be effective with your social recruiting campaign, or social media in general, you'll need to master a few scheduling basics. Luckily, with social media, unlike snowball attacks, it's very easy to orchestrate proper timing — there are even apps for that! And don't worry, I'm working on one for more effective snowball attack campaigns as well. Winter SnowBlitz 2014 is going to be awesome! But back to recruiting... Here's a pretty easy 4-step plan to timing for your social recruiting attack campaign. (This plan would work just as well for social media ……Read More

Jargon Madness (Buzzwords!), Social Recruiting and Rock-Opera Employees

February 6
Hero jargon-madness-buzzwords-social-recruiting-and-rock-opera-employees
What’s the buzz, tell me what’s happening, what’s the buzz, tell me what’s happening…Just in case you’re not a theatre nerd, those are lyrics from Jesus Christ Superstar. And yes, I was a lady-apostle in a live performance of JCSS, and no, it was not back in highschool… It was just last year!So I’m basically a rockstar, which is awesome, just don’t ever call an employee that. According to Forbes, the term “Rockstar employee” is one of the most annoying bits of office place jargon to come out of 2012.Although I’m of the opinion that all jargon is terribly annoying, I find I still use it  in my blog posts or “Articles”. Mostly because it’s recognizable. Using terms like “personal branding”, though rather silly, is still more succinct t……Read More