Heather Hamilton of Microsoft Talks about Corporate Blogging to Attract Candidates

Corporate recruitment blogs can help build your talent pools as well as paint a real picture of your company culture and what it's like to work there, according to Microsoft's recruitment manager.

Heather Hamilton was one of the first recruitment professionals in the US to use blogging as a means of creating talent pools. She says Microsoft's recruitment blog began as a tool for collecting resumes, "but we soon found that creating a platform for two-way communication with prospective candidates allowed us to be aware of any myths about the company, paint a real picture of what it's like to work at Microsoft, and give people the tools to tailor their resumes, thereby increasing [our] recruitment success rates".

She says companies that haven't started blogging are missing out on a rich recruitment tool that can create a dialogue with potential employees, increase visibility in the online space, and demonstrate an understanding of their target market. Opening the lines of communication has had a major impact on Microsoft's recruitment outcomes, she says. see whole story