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Talent Acquisition

Are You a 40 Year-old Social Media Virgin?

I love the 40 Year-old Virgin movie.  Scenes which spring to mind:

  • Chest waxing
  • Speed Dating
  • The scarey driving lady on a date

The one I totally love is the “just ask questions” scene… Do you know where I’m going on with this?

The premise of the movie is that Andy is 40, and has never “known” anyone in the biblical sense.  He goes through several (what I think are) hilarious scenes of preparing for a date, which leads to him finally getting one.

His friends advise him that the best way to get a date is to ask lots of questions to make the woman he is talking to feel special and say “yes”.

Tenuous link?

This scene gives me the opportunity to:

  1. Compare social media to dating (a theme of mine)
  2. Talk about why recruiters have the potential to be a virgin at 40

Are you a 40 year old virgin?

  • Is your chest hair so thick that waxing it may be appropriate?
  • Do you simply broadcast? (or worse say nothing at all?) #jobs #’hiring  #silence
  • Do you wear polo tops? 😉
  • Do you ask questions online, ask what other people think, offer content that’s engaging?

Only 21% of surfers are job seekers… not all of them are thinking of dating you (connecting with you), so what are you doing to attract their attention? And very important, once they are connections, how are you keeping them engaged?

Watch the scene (it always makes me laugh), and look at how he turns a potentially terrifying situation into a date.

Think about how your online behaviour impacts on your offline business opportunities – and give some thought about how you communicate (not just talk) online.  Sitting behind a keyboard is no excuse for not getting a date.

Related: What Social Media Teaches Us About Leadership.

By Lisa Jones

Lisa Jones is a Director at Barclay Jones, a Consultancy working with recruiters advising them on the most effective use of technology, web and social media to improve their business processes, recruitment and bottom line. Follow Lisa on Twitter @LisaMariJones.