Morning!

Have you ever heard of RSS, otherwise known as Ready To Share Stories?

Okay, it’s not really that (that’s the title of the really cool post "How to explain RSS the Oprah way") but the point still is valid.  

RSS is something every recruiter should embrace because it can REALLY cut down on information gathering PLUS give you the headsup whenever:

• Anyone in your industry is gearing up for a layoff
• Executives in your clients’ company get promoted
• Someone posts looking for a job at an industry forum
• Star candidates migrate to another position

and much much more.  In essence, when you take the small amount of time required to master RSS, the time savings and competitive intelligence you’ll receive at your fingertips can boost your Internet recruiting ability brilliantly with a capital "B".

Here’s a nifty way to look at RSS.

• Step 1.)  Think about your TV.
• Step 2.)  It’ has lots of channels, right?
• Step 3.)  But you can watch them all from a single location (ie, your comfy chair, your sofa, your bed after you dispersed your kids from playing Lost in the Caves with your comforter, your…)
• Step 4.)  Right.  Anywhos, you => one place.  And within that one place are => MANY CHANNELS/sources of information.  You don’t have to move to access them, they’re right in front of you.

So!  "RSS" is basically the different streams of information you can gather on the Internet and bring to one single spot for you to read.

That one single spot is called your "RSS Reader" (ie, feed reader etc.).

Now!  Let’s apply this to recruiting, shall well?

• Fact 1.)  There are tons of information streams online that focus on your industry.  Corporate blogs, people getting promoted, news about research advancement, etc.
• Fact 2.)  There are industry forums in which your passive candidates are sharing their knowledge.
• Fact 3.)  There are star players in your industry who have their own blogs.
• Fact  4.)  There are magazines in your industry that showcase the latest happenings and exciting developements.

Wouldn’t it be peachy neato nifty coolio if you could get ALL those hundreds of updates brought right in front of your eyes in ONE SINGLE PLACE?

When you add the RSS feeds (ie, informational feeds, ie, informational content) from EACH of those sites into your RSS reader, you’ll have THAT PRECISE ABILITY.

Now, where do you go for RSS readers?  

What a great question!  You can visit Google Reader , sign up, and start adding relevant feeds to your profile.  When you’re done, voila – you’ll have your own personal competitive information resource at your fingertips.  

Nice, eh?

Need some  help in setting up Google reader?  Check out:

I’ve been using Google reader now for years and years and it has truly been a boon for my particular industry, that of training in Internet search, marketing and more.  For example, check out a snapshot of one of my Google readers:

I have a category called "Recruiting".

In that category I have several hundred recruiting/HR blogs/informational sources/etc. that I follow.

Soooo…whenever my colleagues report something new and exciting, or whenever new advances are portrayed in the industry, or whenever my favorite bloggers update their blogs…I will see it whenever I’m viewing my feed reader.

Think about putting THIS particular power to YOUR benefit and your Internet recruiting…it can truly give you an edge over your colleagues and competitors alike.

Enjoy,

Barbara Ling

PS - Ever want to be found online as THE recruiter in your industry? If so, check out Be Found As a Recruiter Online! - I explain in simple, easy to follow ways just how YOU can appear on the first page of Google search results for YOUR specific industry and location. And....it's guaranteed.