Another week has passed, and another group of people have started using new internet technology to connect with others and build business.  Hopefully, that group of people includes some lawyers.  Welcome to part 16 of our blog series on social media for attorneys.  This week we will focus on using various forms of social media for recruiting.

Any good lawyer needs help.  Any good law firm needs lots of help.  And where do you go to look for that help?  More and more, people are looking to social networks and various other online sources to recruit talented workers.

I must have been thinking ahead when I posted this article just about a year ago about using the web as a recruiting tool.  Just one year later, the popularity of social networks as a means of recruiting potential employees is on the rise.

You never know when you are going to need to hire people, though in this economy it may be less frequently.  It is a good idea to have your professional network open to people who may be looking for jobs at all times.  For example, a simple status update on Facebook or Twitter can alert those people that know/follow you to the fact that you are hiring.  Additionally, a blog post about your open position can draw a lot of attention.

Job seekers are increasingly looking to the web for potential employers and opportunities, so it is a good idea to meet them there.  Using unique sources to find job applicants can increase the number of responses that you get for the open position, which usually leads to more qualified candidates.

As an example of how this can work, the Lawline.com summer internship spawned from online recruiting strategies.  We posted on our blog, Facebook, and LinkedIn that we were looking for interns with certain qualities and a defined skill set.  Within days we had hundreds of responses from interested college students and young professionals.  Now, we use these networks to announce all open positions at the company with tremendous success.

The recruiters and temp agencies already know the value in social networks, so why shouldn’t you use your knowledge of the social web to hop on board.  The more people use the internet for, the more attention you can get online.  Some simple announcements across your networks can go a long way to hiring your next team member.

Past Installments of this Series:
Part One – Intro to Social Media for Attorneys
Part Two – Signing up for the Networks
Part Three – Using Blogs as an Information Source
Part Four – Start Blogging Today
Part Five – Introduction to Twitter
Part Six – Introduction to LinkedIn
Part Seven – Networks as a Communication Tool
Part Eight – Submit Yourself to Blog Catalogs
Part Nine – Put Your PR Department to Work
Part Ten – Lend us your Comments
Part Eleven – Intro to Viral Marketing
Part Twelve – Answer Questions 2.0
Part Thirteen – The Big Picture
Part Fourteen – Interactions on Blogs
Part Fifteen – Interactions on Networks