Headhunters banned from Facebook, Linkedin and Twitter
In an unprecedented government intervention, the Department of Justice has banned all headhunters from using the 3 top social media services.
Citing unfair access to key employees at high tech companies with government “affiliations,” the DOJ has created a no-Tweet, no-Friend and no-Link restriction for those in the Recruiting profession.
Sam Mohammad, one of the leading search executives at Wheat & Wizard International was quoted as saying, “Gimme a break! We need these services so that old-fashioned traditional headhunting doesn’t come back into practice right under our noses!”
I, for one, find this very interesting.
If headhunters are not allowed to employ social media “tricks of the trade” to solicit people minding their own business at work, how will jobs get filled? Before social media was invented, recruiters had to use the telephone and other archaic devices to fill jobs. Some say that if social media is banned for headhunters, the entire industry will be crippled, and if this gets out of hand, people may even have to get together personally to discuss their careers.
The LinkedIn group named “Disgruntled Recruiters,” had its highest level of traffic ever, so this definitely supports the idea that these Headhunters are unhappy. Have you ever been in the room with a disgruntled headhunter? NOT pretty.
On the other side of the coin, a LinkedIn group titled “Headhunters against Social Media,” has also seen a spike in activity. One of the recent posts lamented “This infatuation of Recruiters with social networks is destroying a time-honored industry. Honestly, what are these guys doing—blogging and posting from their Smartphones at coffee shops when they should be at the office making phone calls? It’s a disgrace and we are taking this message VIRAL (as soon as we can figure out how to do it without using Facebook).”
Because the DOJ has been successful in putting the kibosh on things like the T-Mobile and AT&T merger, and is also expected to halt the combination of plaid and stripes in the fashion industry, experts feel that the government will be triumphant in its latest infringement upon people’s rights to turn an un-monitored profit.
Critics of the plan say that it will be impossible to enforce. Others think that the crafty Headhunters will just find another way to annoy people with offers of higher pay, better benefits, and for some, the chance to feed their families.
Either way, I’m sure this blog will get lots of comments from Recruiters. After all, they have to do something while waiting in line at Starbucks…