I’ve been talking about ways to hire in a tight labor market. Turns out there’s a new way. Business 2.0 magazine (which I highly recommend) has an article about a social networking approach to hiring, using an Internet company called Jobster. The central idea is that you send out vacancy notices to your employees, and encourage them, if they are not applying, to send to vacancy notice on to their friends outside the company. If the messages go through Jobster, a network of possible candidates is found.
It also has a neat feature for employees. We all know that the best employees are currently at work in a good job; it’s hard to lure them away. Jobster asks, what’s kind of job would lure you away? People can describe their dream job. If an employer has an opening that fits the dream job, it’s probably a good match–if the employee has been realistic. But at least it’s a way to find someone currently working who would consider moving.