JobTonic's recently announced partnership with social network MyNeighbourhoods is yet more evidence of the importance the recruitment industry is placing on social networking websites to attract candidates.

Nick Goldstein, general manager of the referral recruitment website, saw MyNeighbourhoods mentioned in a 'What's hot' barometer in the Sunday papers and felt there was a synergy between them.

"Like us, they are all about building communities," he said. "It [the partnership] is moving us from a job site business into the realm of social networking. We're shortly to be announcing another partnership like this and I am sure there will be more. Social networking is fundamental to our business model."

MyNeighbourhoods is a community website that helps people get to know others in their area and also offers free classified advertisements, a business finder and local recommendations. JobTonic will feed local jobs through to the various areas in the MyNeighbourhoods network.

Goldstein believes it will add value for the network's users, who can now access job adverts and potential referral rewards, and allows recruiters to tap into a source of local talent (users can also see what jobs and rewards are available nationally).

Goldstein has always seen its service as offering recruiters and agencies another channel to getting better candidates rather than competing with them.

Earlier in the year it struck an advertising deal with recruitment consultancy Badenoch & Clark to post its jobs on the referral site. Matt Clark, web marketing executive at the consultancy, believes there will be more cross over between the worlds of social networking and recruitment as recruiters ensure they are accessible to and in tune with tomorrow's talent, such as the millennials (see also New media column, right).

"It's well established that we should be using social networks to advertise to candidates but studies show that traditional online advertising [such as banner ads] applied to social networks hasn't been success- ful," he said, adding: "The answer is to spread your brand virally throughout the network. Create your brand a 'profile' and allow users of the network to associate themselves with it as a 'friend' and communicate with them on their plane."

www.jobtonic.com
www.myneighbourhoods.co.uk 
www.badenochandclark.com