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The Supply Chain Social - Interview with John Seaman - Client Relationship Director at Social Media Search

Written by: Supply Chain Online
Published on: 1 Feb 2016

SUPPLY CHAIN SOCIAL TITLE

JOHN SEAMAN

Supply Chain Online interviews John Seaman, Client Relationship Director at Social Media Search, a Norman Broadbent PLC company. Social Media for Recruitment, Business Development & Networking.

Name: John Seaman
Company: Social Media Search
Position: Director

What did you want to be when you were at school?
The usual type of thing; Dennis the Menace, train driver, astronaut, dolphin trainer – I shortlisted quite a few! During secondary school it was either to be an architect (like my Dad) or an artist.

When did you first start out in the Recruitment industry?
I joined the Telegraph in 1998. I fell into the job after leaving art college and had the pressure of a huge student loan to pay off - I loved it and have never looked back. It is incredible the amount of exciting changes the industry has seen since then.

What is Social Media Search, and how did it come about?
We are a talent branding business focused on helping companies with recruitment and business development through social media. For recruitment, our clients primarily use our ExecConnections service.    Specifically, we identify everyone you might recruit now or in the future, optimise hiring managers' profiles online and connecting them with candidates and nurture talent pools with great content.
Founded in 2009 by Adam Gordon it has evolved ever since. Increasingly, many of the tools and techniques used for business development and marketing are being transferred to recruitment.

What's been the biggest challenge you and the company have faced since launch?
Personally, my biggest challenge has been the learning curve. My background is predominantly in job boards, so I’ve had to learn a lot about social media. The number of different tools and what can be done with these is mind blowing and very exciting.
As a company it has been getting the products and services right. Over time what we offer has changed and developed to provide services that are proven to work for our clients. We offer a unique service and that can be challenging in a traditional market. We are fortunate that our clients embrace new approaches to recruitment and they reap the rewards in reducing the time and cost to hire.

There can be no doubt that social media has changed the recruitment industry. How do you think this will evolve in the coming years?
I feel the focus will increasingly be on talent branding, an evolution and transition from employer branding. It uses the persona of your employees, specifically hiring managers, to attract talent to your business. Social media is an excellent way to amplify and broadcast this.

How important are job boards within the future of recruitment?
The demise of job boards has been a trending topic over the past few years in much the same way people speculated about the demise of newspapers when commercial TV launched in the 60’s. There is still a place for job boards as the good ones are evolving and offering more than just a list of jobs, and moving towards candidate generation and resourcing. Great content is the key, as it creates communities by offering industry knowledge and insight. This attracts people that would not ordinarily be looking for a job board, and it is vital if job boards are to prosper.

What's the best piece of advice you've ever been given?
I’ve been fortunate to have received plenty of good advice over the years, but mainly to be tenacious, kind and considerate.

What one piece of advice would you give to other young entrepreneurs starting out?
I’m flattered that you consider me young! I had a brilliant history teacher at school and I described his lessons as ‘laugh and learn’. Enjoy what you’re doing and learn while you’re doing it.

What's the latest news at Social Media Search?
Candidate ID is software that we are launching this year and it helps resourcing teams manage their candidate database to identify who is most ready for a move through the candidate’s consumption of content.

Where would you like Social Media Search to be in 5 years’ time?
Our service has changed a lot in the past year and we want this evolution to continue, and to be at the forefront of recruiting and business development. I’d like Social Media Search to be an industry leader.

Visit the Social Media Search website for more information.