I agree. The moment I saw the page, it reminded me of how simple and powerful online recruitment can be in just one page. Well, actually, it’s 3 pages dsiguised as one. So let me summerize what I like about this approach without pretending to be complete.

First, visit the page here.

For each section I have added a screenshot below. The numbers of my post correspond with the numbers on the screenshots.

Click on image to enlarge

1. The promise: it’s about us together

You immediately feel what it must be like working there, in just a couple of seconds:

• short, tempting introduction with the promise in 2 heads
• no paragraph about how great, big and brilliant their company is: it’s about you and us
• a nice and open invitation to join their team and create great products
• accompanied by a screenshot of an app they made: this is what we stand for

Click on image to enlarge

2. The offer: smart and tempting

Well-chosen words and images give you an idea of what you will get at 6Wunderkinder in less than 5 minutes:

• alternating text and images on the left and the right: old school web, wonderfully executed:
  makes you read the text, all of it, like a breeze
• well-chosen images underline the emotional value of a wonderful offer
• great copy: short, vibrant, in paragraphs accompanied by clear titles and with a distinctive tone of voice
  balanced, harmonic, friendly… Great choice of words as an employer. Sounds like a great environment to work in.
• direct tone and talking to the visitor, they make an offer you almost can’t refuse: a great team, a great place, great tools

3. The job and you

Look how they make you read large chunks of info. This is how web works.

• large amounts of info offered in bullets: easy to scan and read
• 2 clear parts: you and your tasks
• short statements, not full sentences
• but: for usability I would have not used capitals at the start of each bullet

Click on image to enlarge

4. Call to action: hmmm…

This is the one point that, in my humble opinion, could have been better. A call to action can’t be too clear: so this standard-looking button “apply now” could have been more original and more convincing, possibly accompanied by a nice picture. Now they suddenly sound like an ordinary company. How about: “come join us” or “write us”…

The button should have been bigger so that it stood out. And I would have repeated it at the top of the page to make sure everyone found it.

Plus: once clicked the button triggers your email client. Just a detail, but I would have said that that would happen. Just a short example: “email us your CV + motivational letter”, or: “e-mail us!”.

Online recruitment: contact us

Want to learn more about recruiting online? Contact us.

As seen from the copy corner

Being a mere humble servant of the word as a copywriter, I have the greatest respect for the esthetic skills, experience and sensitivity that comes with designing ads, logos, flyers, posters, reports, websites and basically any visual means of professional communication in the world of advertising.

So it is with the greatest respect for both graphic designers and artists that I state here that graphic design is not art. No, really. They might have a lot in common, but they are not, and I repeat, not one and the same. Not even variations of one another.

Without pretending to be complete, here are 4 short reasons why. Just to be clear: I am talking about graphic design as applied in e.g. advertising and communication.

Clearly, a lot of people seem to disagree.

1. Art has no other purpose than to be art

Plenty of room to argue here, I know, but compared to graphic design art definitely has no clear and predefined purpose. In my humble opinion, art has plenty of different reasons to be made, and there is a wide range of different kinds of art. But its primary purpose is just to be made and to be art.

And maybe even it is us, experiencing art, who ultimately define its purpose. Art that needs a clarification by its maker has a tendency to be bad, or at least to be poorly made. See also my reason 3.

2. Art knows no rules

This is obvious, and follows from reason 1. For every rule you can come up with to illustrate how something works or should work in art, there is another work of art that does the complete opposite – and still both creations can be art.

Due to its communicational purposes, there are clear rules for how an advertisement can reach maximum impact through its graphic design, or how an annual report should be built up visually.

That is not the case in art. You think there are rules for how a novel should be made? There are plenty of unreadable books out there that are art. Try something by Robert Musil, and you’ll see what I mean. Or just think “Ulysses”.

3. Graphic design is a means

See also reason 1. In graphic design the communication objectives lie with the target group: graphic design is made to have a communicational impact. Most of the time, it contains a clear ‘cta’ and tells the target group what to do: it is a means to get a clear message or purpose across.

In art the communicational objective lies primarily with the artist. In some cases, the only reason it is made is because the artist felt the necessity to create it, and he or she is not concerned with how it will be received, or what it should do.

Imagine your AD designing a recruitment ad like that. Good luck with presenting it to your customer.

4. Exaggeration and inspiration they do have in common

And that is why people are tempted to compare art to graphic design. They both use a lot of the same tricks. Esthetic principles, primarily. Exaggeration, for example, as a way to create emotional impact and make identification easier.

And inspiration: I tend to agree that great ideas to create something for a work of art and for graphic design come from that same awesome endless source called human imagination and inspiration.

Conclusion

Salman Rushdie may have been a copwyriter, but his novels are art, his copywriting work was not. Though art and graphic design use a lot of the same esthetic tricks and share the same origin, there are fundamentally different.

Feel free to disagree in the comments below. Or check out some of our work on our website.

2 Comments

Author : Conard
I would have to disagree with you. As a graphic designer I would have to say that graphic design is indeed an art. Exactly what is art to you? Isn’t everything art? Do you have to have artistic talent to be an artist? In my opinion, art is an expression of how someone feels portrayed on a canvas, notebook paper, post-it, poster, Photoshop document, etc. Sculptures as well; architecture is also art, music, the list goes on. Everything is art, including graphic design and I have never seen that more clearly until I became a graphic designer myself.

Author : Walters
Having been researching for a paper on aesthetic theory in relation to graphic design I stumbled upon this entry. I would like to offer some rebuttals to some the points made here, not to nay-say these points but to question the validity of them in light of new information.

1.Art has no purpose other than to be art. I would think many people would argue a great many things as to what arts purpose is. Many common things would be ‘the exist to be an expression of emotion’ or ‘well the mona lisa was supposedly commissioned by a man for a portrait of his wife so that would mean that art exists for the husbands enjoyment’ I would argue that art is made for the purpose of the aesthetic experience. (in whichever form that may be)

2. I don’t believe I’ve ever seen a set list of rules for graphic design, and while one might say that the rules are given to them by the person commissioning the design, then you could argue that the Sistine Chapel painted by Michelangelo (where he was commissioned to paint certain figures in certain ways) was a set of rules so all the paintings in there are not art due to the rules associated with their creation.

3. All art is a means, if any artist makes a work of art it is because he feels like it is a means to convey whatever he is trying to convey. Even if it’s not targeted at anyone other than himself.

I hope these thoughts of mine aren’t offensive in any way, and that these may offer different and thought provoking ideas for you and any others that might read this.

What is wrong with this screenshot?

Look closer:

Question of the week: 'Promoted'? What are traditional marketing ploys doing on Twitter?

Ok, I am probably a bit late in discovering this. My first reaction was:

WTF? Promoted tweets?

Turned out there was a help page explaining this ‘new’ feature:

We are launching the first phase of our Promoted Tweets platform with a handful of innovative advertising partners that include Best Buy, Bravo, Red Bull, Sony Pictures, Starbucks, and Virgin America — with more to come. Promoted Tweets are ordinary Tweets that businesses and organizations want to highlight to a wider group of users.

Moreover, Twitter claims:

[...] all Promoted Tweets are organic Tweets, there is not a single “ad” in our Promoted Tweets platform that isn’t already an organic part of Twitter.

Isn’t that just a fancy way of saying: ‘O hai, we’re now pushing ordinary ads/hashtags on Twitter, but they are not ordinary, because they were already a part of a popular conversation.’

Why would you have to promote them, then? That struck me as a contradiction. And kind of ironic too since they mention ‘innovative advertising partners’ are taking part in this.

What happened to engagement, conversation and relationships?

If Twitter is all about

• creating meaningful relations with your customers for your brand
• joining the conversation about your brand
• providing your fans with meaningful and relevant content
• over a long period of time

… why would you try to push tweets/trends in the short term? To get attention? But how could you meaningfully engage people in this way?

Isn’t that just plain lazy; a shortcust just too far? Or am I missing something here?

I’d love to hear your take on this. So feel free to comment.

So without further ado, please enjoy this. And keep it in mind.

I’m always a bit surprised when I talk enthousiastically about Twitter and social networks, when someone responds to me by saying:

Yeah, I’ve done that and it’s just a waste of my time. Why would I want to listen to people all day just saying what they are doing? How can that be relevant for my work?

Then I usually respond by asking:

But what kind of network did you build?

And most of the time the answer is a blank stare.

Do you ever get the feeling you don't fit into the social network you created?

It’s the network

And more importantly: your network quality. To put it bluntly: if you are into, let’s say, the house painting business, why would you go networking with people who make coffee cups?

If you are socially networking for your job, do you really need friends and relatives chatting away in that same network?

Quality over quantity

When getting started on social networks, the key question is: what do I want it do do for me? If you are joining Twitter for professional reasons, then look for professional contacts. Good and relevant professional contacts.

Be strict, demand quality. You may not connect to the overwhelming amount of people you planned to boast about later on, but with a good professional network you are far more likely to receive great content that is relevant for your business. And you will spend less time digesting a huge pile of annoying and meaningless status updates.

Maintain your network

Keep track of the people you connect to. How do they behave, what do they share? Is their content any good over a longer period of time?

I, personally, have a fond dislike of people who clog my feed by simultaneously posting up to 5 or 10 messages. It’s too much, and I unfollow them when they keep doing that. It’s annoying and distracting.

So, yes, it is ok to be tough. Just hit “unfollow” when followers are not good enough. “Being social” does not mean you can waste your time.

I invest about half an hour per week into checking my network quality. Because before you know it, there’s tens of contacts to sift through and it will take up too much of your time to repair your network.

Conclusion: social miracles do not exist

Social networks are not miracles: if you want them to work for you, just like any other medium, you will have to invest time into building and maintaining a quality network that matches your business goals and gives you relevant content.

How do you get the most out of Twitter?

How can you make Twitter work for you? Read this post: “This is a conversation, not a commercial.”

Comment, contact

Feel free to post a comment or contact us if you have any questions or thoughts you would like to share.

Photo credits
Alone in the crowd by Sam Felder on Flickr.com
Published under a CC License

So:

• 81% of b2b companies have corporate accounts in social media
• 75% of b2b companies actively participate in microblogging
• 48% of b2b buyers follow news and conversations on social media while 37% post questions on social networking sites
• 89% of journalists use blogs for research, 96% visits corporate websites

www.youtube.com/watch?v=nXQdy-22TXM

Bron: “Stats for the B2B marketeer” (Dutch)

You have an employer brand. You want to support your good influx of young workers online, and you know that many of them swim daily in social channels.

In fact, you have got the basics right: you have an attractive job site where the fast, personal and accessible application forms get plenty of traffic because of your smart media mix. You even have five good reasons to start recruiting through Facebook. Nice.

However, few companies in Belgium are on Facebook for recruitment. Why?

These are 5 reasons we hear most often. Along with our answers.

Few companies seem to hurry to start recruiting on Facebook

1. Privacy is in danger

Suppose your employees follow your recruitment page. What if the job you post is replacing someone? Do you want everyone to see what profiles you are looking for? And what if workers react? In public, and negatively? Because that is Facebook: like windows and doors to the company.

Privacy continues to be important in HR. Realize that everyone can read what you post here; workers, friends, customers, even prospects, as well as lawmakers. So think very carefully about what you post, and why. Do what anyone with common sense would do within the social networks of his or her office.

2. Customers are responding to our HR page

It is almost certain that your corporate brand and your employer brand are one online together, certainly in the eyes of customers, prospects and candidates. For them, there is only one brand. So what if they interact with your recruitment page about your product or service, or post questions, complaints, or ask for advice? Will that affect recruitment?

There is a real chance this could happen. However, you can make a clear distinction between your recruitment page and your corporate job page on Facebook: in text, visuals, in cross-links in your updates. Always refer people to the right page kindly. For the five hundred and sixty sixth time.

3. We could attract attention from ex-employees and ex-candidates

Facebook is open. Including to people who had less success in your business. This be may ex-employees, or candidates who were rejected. Would you open the door for their comments and questions?

Negative comments will always be there in social media. It’s part of the open doors and windows. If you treat negative comments as open and honestly as possible, it suggests that is how you would be as an employer, as well. Isn’t it better that it happens in your backyard rather than in places where you can not see? And, a game rule: Do not remove negative comments.

The chance that people would comment in such a way toward their ex-employee is indeed very small. It would be enormously damaging to their online image with other employers, even more than it harms your brand. It is very rare in recruitment.

4. I do not see how it will help me

It is the domino effect that is the power of social networks. Friends who share information, advise each other, giving a message more impact on more people. But would you share a beautiful job opening with friends? What if they are also good candidates? You will probably only share information about that new job if you have the job.

Adjust your expectations from the start. A Facebook profile lends itself more to branding you as an employer, rather than as a hard recruitment tool. If your Facebook profile increases traffic to your job site, you have already achieved a lot.

5. The workload is too high

Maintaining a presence on Facebook takes time. Both to maintain and expand your network quickly and manage it well when people respond, requires an effort. And the necessary skills.

Ideally, you need an ambassador, someone who is so enthusiastic about you as an employer that he or she wants to testify online. If your ambassador is already active in social networks, all the better. With the right agreements on investment in time, the content of posts and a few hours if necessary, you can go a long way. But you can also take your first steps by externally outsourcing, again based on good agreements.

Agree, disagree?
Let us know in a comment below.

Bron foto
“Oxford train station – do not run” by Mark Hillary on Flickr.com
Some rights reserved

What is the recruiting potential of 3.500.000 Belgian Facebook users?

More than 3 million Belgians are on Facebook today. Thinking about joining Facebook for recruitment? Here are five short reasons why.

1. Support SEO (Search Engine Optimization)
   Your presence on Facebook helps you score better in search engine results. In the recently revamped Google you can also search for ‘updates’. These are real-time search results in social media like Facebook and Twitter.

   You will get the best results when you integrate your online efforts: cross-promote your websites. Link your jobsite to your pages in social media – and create social media streams on your website.
   

2. The authenticity of ambassadors works
   Ambassadors are ideal to strengthen your employer brand and defend it when necessary.
   A well-managed Facebook profile gives your company a living identity. People tend to feel themselves more engaged with living beings than a logo.

   Do you have enthusiastic coworkers who like to talk about their work? Let them be the faces and voices of your company: let them talk about their job, their ups and downs, their working environment. Visualize the atmosphere by showing pictures of company trips, events, special occasions…But let them share work-related content too: links with extra tips and info about your business, new insights, links to blog posts, awards you won, new clients and projects…

3. Position yourself as an open employer
   By communicating actively with Facebook users, your employer brand becomes an  open and authentic voice: you show that your door is always open and that you like to take part in the conversation. And if people start talking about your company in a positive – or negative way -you can join in.
4. Spread job postings
   You can easily publish job postings automatically on your Facebook page with HRM-tools like Persis, Taleo or Igrasp. With a ‘send-to-a-friend’ button, users can share jobs with just one click.

   The reach will not be as broad as with classic advertising in print; but the job may suit the people better who receive the posting because it was forwarded by a friend: people only forward a job offer if they are almost sure the job fits their personality.

5. Stand out and create sticky interactive apps
   Facebook has a rather open policy for apps. A fun online quiz? An original e-card? A game? Everything can be developed and made available on your Facebook page, ready to be enjoyed, used and shared. These are small differences that can make your employer brand stand out to attract more people.

Forgotten something?
There are probably far more reasons to use Facebook as an employer – or maybe not?
Feel free to let us know!

Wow, Eurocontrol really understands Twitter.

While that volcano on Iceland with its unpronouncable name (despite my short course in Icelandic) disrupted air traffic over Europe, I have come to admire the way Eurocontrol – The European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation – is using Twitter in days of crisis. Plenty to be learning from.

The power of immediate conversation

It showed they really understand the power of social media, especially in a time where lots of people need reliable and up-to-date information. All they do is: what do you want to know? Just ask us.

Personally, I think using information and conversation like this has turned out to be a great way to handle the growing pressure from airlines on their decisions. In their positioning, they clearly focused on the needs of passengers and really hélped them.

So here are just a couple of reasons why I think Eurocontrol on Twitter rocks:

1. Open to conversation

You’d think they’d be afraid of being flooded with questions by passengers, but no, they clearly stated: any questions, just ask us. They let the door open wide.

2. Quick with answers

Tested it myself: since we have a flight booked for this week, I asked for news on our route yesterday. Response within half an hour. That’s how it works.

3. Loud & clear communication

They are not afraid to close the door and clearly announced their “Twitter blackouts” and when they would be open again. They tell when exactly official announcements would be made. Smart communication, inspiring trust like that.

4. Consequent in hashtags

From #ashtags to #eu, they used the same hashtags over and over again in a smart and logical way. That makes it easy to find their info Twitter.

5. Sounds like a person

Their tweets are written naturally, as if in a real conversation. That makes you feel like you are really being helped by people, and not by a machine or an inanimate, slow institution.

6. Nice in the right way

I just loved their tweet about EarthDay: “We’ll issue our environmental experts’ figures on CO2 emissions during the #ashcloud crisis asap to celebrate EarthDay”. Just made me smile, what a great way to handle those data and show you they cover all sides of the story.

Follow Eurocontrol on Twitter and learn.

Or do you see things differently?

Need more advice on Twitter?

Read our post: This is a conversation, not a commercial: 8 tips to make Twitter work for you.

Image source
APTOPIX China Volcano Flights by Plasmastik
Photo reproduced under a CC license

1 Comment

Auteur : Francisco George
URL    : http://twitter.com/paco229

Well a Spanish news paper realeased an article about the woman that tweeted for Eurocontrol and tonight Antena3 TV will air an Interview on Why and How they tweeted.

NewsPaper:
http://www.elmundo.es/elmundo/2010/04/21/internacional/1271872273.html

Antena3 TV News:
http://www.antena3noticias.com/PortalA3N/home.do