I would like to share an observation that I have found regarding recruiting and social media websites. I recently signed up as a candidate on several recruiting websites and have been tracking their results 'matching' my background to the "New Jobs Posted This Week" - which were supposed to match to my background. We do this to stay current with all emerging and established forms of electronic recruiting available today.
While these sites are touted to replace traditional recruitment, and their pitch does sound like the "Holy Grail" of job search, the results they produce are oftentimes suspect. While there may be an occasional job that might be in the general ballpark, I have not yet seen a job posted that would be a direct match.
One needs to keep in mind that electronic job boards are only as good as their programming. They search for key words that link jobs with resumes. The problem: while the words may link, the context does not. Therefore, a flood of irrelevant connections are made. For example, beware if you have the word 'strategic' in your resume. You will be flooded with every job in the universe that has the word strategic in the job description.
As a candidate, you may want to post you resume on these job boards. However, I would still strongly recommend that you also work with professional recruiters - who have a real pulse on our industry. The professional recruiter will know what the job descriptions really mean and know their candidates and industry deeply enough to understand where the real job matches are made.
