New Comm Biz

I’ve told a few people how I got my position here at Waggener Edstrom but I haven’t *blogged* it yet. But it’s a highly relevant story and fits into the broader themes I cover here of how social media is changing the way we work.

Amybeth Hale (@researchgoddess) is a recruiter who uses social media extensively. She recently did a great round up of 8 different stories where people found jobs via Twitter. Here’s her story about mine.

YES – Twitter Works For Recruiting! (I have proof) : Cruiter Talk

Tac Anderson Social Media Director at Waggener Edstrom: Tac’s story is a personal one for me, because it was my direct message to him that alerted him to the position he now has. I had been following Tac’s blog, New Comm Biz, for a little over a year, and we had connected through Twitter and shared a few links and other niceties over time. When the position at Waggener became available, Tac was one of the first folks I reached out to for it. I sent him a direct message and asked if he might be interested.

What’s of particular interest is not just that Twitter was involved. But that Amybeth sent me a direct message through Twitter with a link to a blog post she wrote on her own blog that linked to the job description which was posted on Facebook. (Waggener Edstroms career page on Facebook)

It wasn’t until after I had sent my resume to Waggener Edstrom and had a preliminary phone call with HR (I assume to make sure I was legit) did I actually go to Waggener Edstrom’s Web site.

Part of this was because I wasn’t out of work and looking for a job, I was relatively happy at HP but was looking for opportuinities to grow in the right environment. Part of that was because I didn’t need to.

Jeremy Meyers (@JeremyMeyers) recently posted about the extensive due dilligence he did on WaggEd and Studio D before accepting his recent position with us:

Waggener has several blogs, one of the most popular being Thinkers And Doers, a home for insight from the Studio D team. Their posts reflected a curiosity and viewpoint that I could easily align myself with, so I began commenting, when I had something to say about the topic.

At the same time, I searched for and followed as many Waggener people as I could on Twitter, using the bios page on waggeneredstrom.com as a starting point, and expanding the list using @ dacort’s tweepsearch.com. I set up a separate TweetDeck group specifically for all the WaggEd folk, and started listening to what they were saying, selectively responding, and getting to know some of the people inside the company and what they’re all about.

This is smart. Where are you going to find out more about a company: From the company website or from the people who work there and their online activity?

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