Jennifer McClure`

Empowering Organizations and People Leaders to thrive in the ever-evolving world of work

  • About
  • Speaking
  • Schedule
  • Blog
  • Impact Makers Podcast
  • Contact

Written by Jennifer McClure

Celebrating Twitter As A Business Communication Tool

Recently, I passed 10,000 Followers on Twitter…

I’m still waiting on my pony.

“Twitter officials” have informed me that I have not yet reached the Follower count at which ponies are granted. Boo.

But I still can’t quit you Twitter. Let me count some of the reasons why I love you.

Twitter is a great source of business opportunities

Because of my presence on Twitter, I’ve gotten speaking engagements, consulting opportunities, candidate referrals, coaching clients and interviews with major publications. It’s not uncommon for me to get a Direct Message, an email or phone call that starts with “I follow you on Twitter and we have a need for ___ (something I do) and I thought of you.”  While not all of those contacts result in paying clients, a good portion of them have. Enough to classify Twitter as a solid business development channel for me. Win!

Twitter is a great source of referral opportunities

As a Connector, I’m always on the lookout for opportunities to help or to refer someone. Because Twitter is a place where people network, ask questions or mention needs, I’ve spotted a number of opportunities in the last three years where I’ve been able to introduce one of my contacts – which resulted in new clients or new jobs for them. “Social networking” works the same way old-fashioned networking does. It’s about building relationships and connecting people!

Solid professional relationships & friendships developed in 140 characters

Twitter has provided me the opportunity to build relationships with top recruiting and HR leaders that I likely would have never come in contact with in the past. For example, I interviewed China Gorman – former COO & Chief Global Membership Engagement Officer at SHRM while at a conference, where she shared her perspectives on being a business leader in HR. I asked Chris Hoyt – Talent Engagement & Marketing Leader at PepsiCo – if I could get his advice on some work I was doing with a client and he graciously shared an amazing amount of information with me via a phone call. I had dinner and a great conversation across the pond in the United Kingdom with Arie Ball – VP of Talent Acquisition at Sodexo, where she shared more about the Sodexo story and we found that we have much in common. These conversations only happened because I initially “met” all of these folks – and many more – on Twitter. (Follow them on Twitter at @ChinaGorman, @TheRecruiterGuy & @Arie_Ball.)

Twitter doesn’t take that much time – if you manage your time

I’ll be the first to admit that Twitter can be a time suck, but so can the internet, people in the office, clients, email, etc. I’ve had to develop systems for managing these other types of distractions throughout my career and I have to manage Twitter’s influence on my day as well. For example, I log out of Twitter while working on projects and rarely tweet on weekends or in the evenings. I’m in constant communication mode during most of my workday and as an Introvert, I need time away from the “noise” to recharge. Thanks to the saved searches that I’ve set up, I don’t miss tweets or conversations that I want to be a part of that took place while I wasn’t logged on.

The right tools make Twitter use easier

I’m a big Fan of TweetDeck, because it allows me to create groups and save searches so I don’t miss mentions or replies involving any of the Twitter accounts that I manage. I currently manage my own account – @JenniferMcClure, one for my business – @UnbridledTalent, one for my LinkedIn Group – @LinkCincinnati and I’m one of the tweeters behind my local HR association’s account – @GCHRACincinnati. TweetDeck also allows me to schedule tweets, so if I read a blog post or article late at night or want to share it on more than one of my accounts, I can schedule the tweets throughout the workday rather than all at the same time.

The love story continues…

I joined Twitter on March 26, 2008 after reading a blog post from Jim Stroud commenting that there were only 85 Recruiters on Twitter. At that time, like many people today, I didn’t understand the concept or really have an interest in joining, but I did want to keep evolving as a recruiter and a business person, so I decided to try to figure out how to utilize it to develop business, build relationships and recruit talent. Nearly three year later, I’m marking that experiment as a success!

Thanks Twitter for all of the entertainment, information, business deals, relationships and friendships!

Twitter Member #14,221,435 aka @JenniferMcClure

But don’t forget, I still want one of these.

Image Credit: Shetland Pony by suvodeb

Categories: Blog, Networking, Twitter
Posted on March 1, 2011

Written by Jennifer McClure

Who Should Recruiters Follow On Twitter? 100+ Suggestions

One of the most popular posts on this blog continues to be 10 People All Recruiters Should Follow on Twitter – and two of the top ten search phrases that land people here are "Twitter for Recruiters" and "Recruiters to follow on Twitter". Hopefully, when they arrive here, they're finding helpful content on using Twitter for Sourcing/Recruiting and thanks to a heads up from HR Technology Blogger Steve Boese recently about a new Twitter app (TweepML), I'd like to share a suggested "Recruiter Twitter Starter Pack" of 100 Recruiters/HR/Talent Management professionals that I recommend following on Twitter.

One of the coolest things about TweepML lists is that you can click on one button to automatically follow everyone on the suggested list or view the profiles and select just a few. Users can create lists of up to 100 suggested Follows, so while my list doesn't include everyone in the industry that I follow or learn from, I tried to create a good mix that would be helpful for a Recruiter/HR pro new to Twitter or someone building a network of Talent Management professionals. 

So without further ado, click on the icon below to access my suggested Recruiter Twitter Starter Pack:

Bonus #1: Steve shared two lists of his suggested Follows for HR and Recruiting Peeps (that's 200 people on Twitter) on his blog – Steve Boese's HR Technology – and I'd suggest that you go here and follow his suggestions as well. There's definitely some overlap in our lists, but that just confirms that great minds think alike.

Bonus #2: Follow @badbanana. Nothing to do with recruiting or HR, but a seriously funny dude who makes me laugh every day. And I deal with people here in Cincy Recruiter's World, which means some days I desperately need a laugh!

If you've been a late adopter or a Twitter-Hater, hopefully you're starting to thaw – or at least develop a slight interest in figuring out how to use this increasingly popular tool in your sourcing and recruiting efforts. (If not, you can always bookmark this post and come back to it later when you reach that point… like tomorrow, or maybe next week.)

Who'd I miss on my Recruiter/Talent Management suggestions? Add yourself or your suggestions in the Comments so people can find you here!

Categories: Blog, Human Resources, Recruiting, Twitter
Posted on October 7, 2009

Written by Jennifer McClure

Fall ERE Expo 2009: It’s a Wrap!

ExpoFall09_facebook I’m back from attending the Fall ERE Expo 2009 in Hollywood, Florida and I can safely say that it was one of the best conference experiences that I’ve had yet! It’s also safe to say that I suck at “live-blogging” conferences, because I really get wrapped up in learning from the session leaders and interacting with other conference attendees. But apparently I’ve got some skills at “live tweeting“… (Is there a job where I can get paid to do that?)

So here’s a wrap-up from around the recruito-sphere (and HRo-sphere), while I let the good stuff that was shared digest and marinate for future posts…

AWESOMENESS: All conference presentation slide decks and videos are available on the ERE Expo Blog.

Steve Fogarty – Recruiting Captain and Steve Bonomo – Head of Global Recruiting at adidas covered a lot of ground in their “Impossible is Nothing” Recruiting presentation. The Steve’s talked about the importance of employment branding, metrics, candidate experience and asking forgiveness rather than waiting for permission to make things happen. They also discussed their new branded and interactive Careers site and Fogarty does a great job of capturing some of the trends he noted from attending and presenting at the Expo on his own blog – Recruiting Revolution.

On HRmarketer Blog, Jonathan Goodman summarizes his thoughts and takeaways from the conference including one of the many great quotes shared in the presentation by Tony Blake – Director of Recruiting at DaVita. It’s from Michael Foster – Founder & Chairman of the Human Capital Institute: “The next killer app in recruiting is – the recruiter” – ERE Fall Expo ’09: The next killer recruiting app. If you’re a Recruiter, hopefully, you are at least on version 2.0 by now…

“If networking is King, then Twitter is Queen” declares Sarah White – who was inspired to share her thoughts on how Twitter enhances the conference experience by a photo of Mr. Recruiter Tweeter himself – @TheRecruiterGuy – wearing a t-shirt proclaiming “I’m Huge on Twitter”. (indeed he is)

Sarah also recaps her conference experience in ERE Expo – The best HR Conference I have been to yet – Behind the Scenes – which includes a link to some great photos from the event as well.

Jason Buss – VP, Talent Acquisition & Diversity at Ameriprise Financial managed to find 10 tweets from the thousands shared at the conference to capture his experience in ERE Recruiting Expo Re-cap, Twitter Style and he also snagged an interview with Expo Chairperson Kevin Wheeler – Social Media & Recruiting: Do We Have It Wrong? (Stay tuned to Fistful of Talent for my upcoming post/interview with Kevin following his session on What Will 2010 Bring? Insightful stuff from a Talent “futurist”!)

Industry Guru Gerry Crispin believes that the ERE Expo 2009 will be a Tough Act to Follow due to a little giveback (the ERE Charity Poker Classic which raised $10,000), a lot of Community, a lot of Learning and a Trend or Two. Gerry’s always way out in front on talent management issues. We’d be wise to pay attention – although sitting next to Gerry at the Poker game didn’t seem to help me much. 🙂

HR Pro Sharlyn Lauby makes a great point in her post on hr bartender encouraging conference organizers to embrace the opportunity to share content freely and allow attendees to actively participate as ERE has successfully done. Sharon states that “It’s time for conference organizers to realize that social networking is a key component of the conference experience. Attendees want to tweet, post photos and videos and share their experiences – while the event is taking place.” <I agree!>

Senior Editor at SmartBrief – Mary Ellen Slayter puts her journalist skills on display with her post “Where Social Media Meets Our Biases” and cautions against its use in the employment process: “Prolific isn’t competent. A social media maven, who has figured out how to get their name out there in all these channels, isn’t necessarily a better fit for a job than someone who hasn’t adopted these tools. Someone can have an amazing professional network and not have a single Twitter follower. Social media communities can quickly get cliquish; make sure you use these tools to broaden your networks, not push people out.”

Newly announced chairperson of ERE’s next Social Recruiting Summit in NYC – Laurie Ruettimann of Punk Rock HR – continues the “networking is the best part of attending conferences” theme by giving props to the inspiring Women of #EREExpo. Indeed. We’re planning to take over the world soon… so watch out!

Laurie also posted her thoughts on a frequent question that came up at the conference “Should Recruiting Report in to HR?“. Granted, this was a conference filled mostly with Recruiters, so when it was suggested during one presentation that HR should report to Recruiting, the audience cheered. For the record, I’m with Laurie on this one.

Leanne Chase of careerlife connection found the secret for connecting with and engaging attendees on the Trade Show floor to garner interest in her company focused on flexibility issues in the workplace. All it takes is some food, a few blow up chairs and a guy wearing your shirt – Tales from the booth at ERE.

And finally, Stephanie Lloyd shares her thoughts and several photos in her post Wrap-up: ERE Expo 2009, as well as a video interview with yours truly, which I’ll leave you with below. In summary – thanks to David Manaster, Scott Baxt and the ERE crew – the Fall ERE EXPO 2009 ROCKED – so start making plans for Spring 2010 in San Diego!

Categories: Blog, Networking, Recruiting, Twitter
Posted on September 15, 2009

Written by Jennifer McClure

Social Networking – What HR Needs to Know

Recently, Paula Santonocito, a business journalist specializing in employment issues, contacted me to discuss some of the challenges and opportunities for HR professionals and Employers with using social networks. The article she wrote following our conversation appears this month on HRWire – an online subscription resource that provides news and information for Human Resources professionals – and she kindly allowed me to share it in its entirety with my readers here.

After you've read the article, I'd love for you to take just a few moments to share your thoughts and opinions in the Comments section on what needs to happen for HR pros and Employers to address their concerns with social networking and begin to use the tools to meet their professional and business needs. Inquiring minds want to hear from you – because you already know that I think it's past time for everyone to get on board!

——

Online Social Networking: What You Need to Know Now

Paula Santonocito

LinkedIn. Facebook. Twitter. You no doubt know the sites, and you are likely a member of at least one. But are you leveraging these social networks to improve your work performance and enhance your career?

Beyond an online presence

If you're like a lot of HR professionals, you have a LinkedIn profile, which provides details about your current employment, work experience, and education. You probably also have a number of associates as connections.

However, the business network is more than a site where you can park your resume and contact list.

Similarly, social networking site Facebook is not merely a place to show your face.

These social networks, along with Twitter, offer HR professionals tremendous opportunities.

What can you do using social media?

Learn, develop yourself, and grow your career, says Jennifer McClure, vice president of Centennial, Inc., a company providing business advisory and recruitment services.

You can also build relationships and seek advice, she says.

Meanwhile, from a day-to-day work standpoint, social media can facilitate employee recruitment and retention, and further efforts at employment branding.

HR's position

Yet, while opportunities to take advantage of social media are readily available, HR professionals as a group are reluctant to fully embrace what the technology offers.

McClure, who was an HR professional for nearly 20 years before transitioning to consulting, understands the hesitation.

She tells HRWire she knows the tendency toward isolation, to put your head down and do the work at hand. Be that as it may, McClure says she also knows that HR professionals should think more about how they can develop themselves and interact with others.

Used effectively, social media tools allow for interaction and relationship building, she says.

But first an HR professional has to overcome another obstacle, one that, ironically, makes him or her good at the job: the risk management factor.

McClure finds an HR person's initial perception with regard to social media is how to control and how to manage the risk, from both personal and company perspectives.

"How much of myself do I put out there?" is the personal conundrum. From the company vantage point, it's about risk and possible repercussion.

Risk averse

Unfortunately, when an HR person gets bogged down in this kind of thought process or analysis, it only contributes to lack of participation.

The reason?

Looking at social media through a risk-management lens doesn't work. "Social media is the exact opposite of that," McClure says, adding that the lack of guidelines in not how HR is wired.

To further explain the situation, McClure likens HR's role, or its perceived role, to that of a church pastor. You're put on a level where you represent the company and its policies and as a result tend think of yourself as one step above the everyday, McClure says.

Social media, by its very nature, allows for exposure. In effect it allows people to wander into a social setting where they see the pastor having a beer.

Given this scenario, even those HR professionals who use social media generally take a vanilla approach so they don't risk offending people. McClure believes this is a mistake, and recommends HR professionals put themselves out there more.

Setting the tone

One reason is rather basic. "Being vanilla kind of makes you boring," McClure says.

At the same time, social media wallflowers need to understand sharing isn't about becoming the life of the online party. There's a business reason to put yourself out there: It allows for more connection opportunities. And, according to McClure, the benefits far outweigh any potential risks.

This isn't to say a no-holds-barred approach to interaction is advisable. McClure doesn't recommend venturing into controversial areas like politics and religion, at least not without some restraint.

But sharing information of a personal nature can help forge personal relationships. McClure gives the example of how disclosing her interest in horses has helped her get to know other professionals.

With so many people working virtually today, interacting via social media makes sense. The tools allow for business relationships with a social component, just like in the face-to-face world.

"For me, it's how I do business now," McClure says.

Professional resources

And doing business via social media allows for a wide range of opportunities.

For McClure, social media is a valuable source of information. If she doesn't know the answers to particular questions, she can easily connect to people who do. By participating in LinkedIn Groups, for example, she can tap into a huge network of knowledgeable associates.

Following people on Twitter offers opportunity as well. By reading the tweets (Twitter postings) of various professionals you quickly learn who the experts are. When a question arises, you have a resource.

HR professionals can also use Twitter to establish themselves as experts in the field, which can help further their careers.

Social media provides a connection to community, and although the community has a social component it furthers business objectives.

McClure tells HRWire she gets an average of five business inquiries per day that are the direct result of social media activity.

Company presence

HR professionals can acquire professional knowledge, make new contacts, and brand themselves as experts using social media.

They can also use social media for employment branding.

McClure gives the example of online shoe retailer Zappos.com, which has branded its culture using Facebook. The company's CEO is also on Twitter, where he shares news.

The concept behind using social media for employment branding is to show that a company has a human face, that the organization is comprised of people. The way to do this, according to McClure, is simply to show the person or people who work at a company.

In addition to Zappos, McClure cites high-speed Internet and cable provider Comcast and Southwest Airlines as examples of employers that use social media effectively.

From an HR perspective, involvement with social media for the purpose of corporate recognition takes time. But according to McClure there is a return on the investment. "When they do need to recruit, the brand is out there," she says.

Social online, social offline

In an age where social media continues to gain ground, it may be advisable for HR to shift resources.

Instead of newspaper ads, marketing campaigns, and websites few people use, McClure advocates joining communities where people are already interacting.

In fact, she says social media isn't that different from good old-fashioned networking, the kind where you meet in person and exchange business cards. What's more, it can facilitate live interaction.

McClure tells HRWire she attended this year's Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM) annual conference as a blogger and found she had a core group of people she already knew at the event. Even though she had never met any of her colleagues in person before, it was a reunion of sorts and they were able to socialize with ease.

Contact: Jennifer McClure, vice president, Centennial, Inc., cincyrecruiter@gmail.com.

Online: Cincy Recruiter's World, Jennifer McClure's blog, which includes social media tips and other information for HR professionals, http://www.cincyrecruiter.com. 

© 2009 Thomson/West

This article originally appeared in the Thomson Reuters publication HRWire and is reprinted here with permission.

Categories: Blog, Employment Branding, Facebook, Human Resources, LinkedIn, Twitter
Posted on September 4, 2009

Written by Jennifer McClure

Using Twitter For Recruiting – Definitely Maybe

If you’re a Recruiter who has been resisting the idea of checking out Twitter for finding candidates or for sharing your job openings, you’re not alone. But there are several Recruiters and Talent Acquisition pros out there who are finding Twitter to be a fertile new ground for building relationships and accessing potential talent pools that haven’t been previously as accessible through other means. So how do you decide which camp you should be in?

Recently, Joshua Kahn – an Accenture Talent Consultant embedded at Best Buy as a Pipeline Generation Expert – responded to a debate (on Twitter of course) among several Recruiters as to whether or not Twitter is an effective tool for posting jobs by taking to his blog – find+attract – and sharing his thoughts. As with everything I’ve seen from Josh – including his recent presentation at the ERE Social Recruiting Summit – his post on “Should You Post Jobs to Twitter” is spot on. If you’re trying to figure out if Twitter is a tool to add to your Recruiter’s Toolbox, then check out Josh’s post.

Some things Josh suggests considering to determine if Twitter is a viable recruiting tool include:

Twitter-bird-big

Ground Zero: Twitter will only be a useful recruiting tool for you if the people you’re trying to hire are on Twitter. (duh)
Obvious Point 1: The number of Followers you have on Twitter matters.

Obvious Point 2: “Who” your Followers are matters.

Obvious Point 3: It’s important to post jobs during high traffic times and maybe more than once.

Obvious Point 4: Use URL shorteners to track your results and determine if your job posting links are being clicked.

Other important things to consider:

  • Use relevant Hashtags to post your jobs.
  • Don’t have a Job Board mentality with Twitter. Remember it’s a social network.
  • Add links and code to your Career Site that allow your jobs to be shared on Twitter.
  • Enable the community of people who have a vested interest in the job to participate on Twitter. (Best Buy uses ConnectTweet to allow multiple employees to tweet via one account.)
  • Follow appropriate Hashtags and Conferences to access potential candidates for your jobs.

Nice “secret sauce” recipe on using Twitter for recruiting by a Candidate Sourcing expert!

What tips and tricks do you think have been left out? Anything you’d add that you’ve found helpful – or not helpful – in using Twitter for recruiting?

Categories: Blog, Recruiting, Twitter
Posted on July 21, 2009

  • « Previous Page
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • Next Page »

Recent Posts

  • Why HR Should Be the Chief Disruption Officer in Every Organization
  • Mastering the Art of Virtual Networking: 5 Steps to Build Powerful Connections Online
  • Networking for Introverts: Practical Strategies for Building Meaningful Connections with Greg Roche
  • Leading with Vulnerability: The Key to Future-Ready Leadership with Jacob Morgan
  • Future Fluidity and the Evolving Role of Leadership in the Age of Disruption With Dr. Tanvi Gautam

Categories

Archives

Need A Speaker?

I've delivered keynotes and led workshops at over 350 conferences and corporate events.

If you want to check my availability for your event, or if you have questions, click below.

Start the Conversation »

Recent Blog Posts

  • Why HR Should Be the Chief Disruption Officer in Every Organization
  • Mastering the Art of Virtual Networking: 5 Steps to Build Powerful Connections Online
  • Networking for Introverts: Practical Strategies for Building Meaningful Connections with Greg Roche
  • Leading with Vulnerability: The Key to Future-Ready Leadership with Jacob Morgan
  • Future Fluidity and the Evolving Role of Leadership in the Age of Disruption With Dr. Tanvi Gautam

Connect on Social

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • Vimeo

Copyright © 2025 · Jennifer McClure · Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2025 · McClure Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in