In taking on a recruiting assignment headhunters shoulder an enormous responsibility within the framework of the search for competent qualified executives. Thanks to the development and expansion of a wide range of social media platforms, there are numerous, partly unknown, possibilities and means available to meet this challenge and select and identify suitable candidates who are willing to perform and also have a personal integrity. This master thesis examines the exciting question of whether social media are suitable for the recruitment of executives by headhunters, what new opportunities and tasks result from their use and to what extent they are already being used by headhunters, in particular in their search for executives for the fashion business in Germany. Using social media purposefully and systematically, the suitability of potential candidates can be verified prior to probationary periods or even personal interviews in a much better way than in former times. In these times of demographic change, skills shortage, "War for Talents", companies increasingly doing their own recruiting conducted by personnel managers, growing significance of social media and resulting increase in information about persons and companies on the Internet, headhunters in particular must prepare for these old and new trends. The empirical study presented in this master thesis analyses the current situation with regard to this development. Taking into account the results from the research discourse on the topics of headhunters, social media and the fashion business and including the results of the analysis of the study, concrete recommendations for action and potential for the future use of social media in the recruiting of executives by headhunters are made and elaborated.
Table of Contents
- Introduction
- Initial situation and problem description
- Objective of this thesis
- Methodological approach
- Layout and structure of the thesis
- Basic principles and preconditions
- Importance of the German fashion business
- Theoretical basic considerations and assumptions
- Tasks of personnel consultancies and headhunters
- Headhunting as a service provided for the human resources area
- Terms used
- Development of a secretive business sector
- Economic explanation of the development
- The task of a headhunter - How does the daily routine work?
- Consulting procedure
- Legal basic conditions
- The executive search sector: Recruiting trends and social media
- Headhunters and the fashion business
- Characterization of the term "social media" - Definition and development
- Characterization of the term "social media"
- Social networks
- Significance of social media for personnel work
- Online instruments for personnel recruitment
- The traditional Internet approaches - E-recruiting
- General online job databases
- Online job databases for specialists and executives
- Industry-specific online job databases
- Summary
- Social media in personnel recruitment
- Reasons and possibilities for the use of social media
- General communities
- Google+
- Business communities
- Anangu
- Summary
- Empirical survey: Detailed analysis of interviews conducted with headhunters in Germany
- Introduction of the questionnaire
- Presentation of the procedure and the target group
- Analysis of the particular questions
- Sociodemographic data
- Professional and private behavior related to using social networks
- Estimation of the significance of social media for recruiters
- Measurement of the use-to-success ratio of social media in the search for candidates
- Scope of use and the specific reasons for the use of social media in recruitment
- Search for additional information to assess candidates
- Recruiters' requirements for social media
- Changes in way of working due to social media
- Supplementary results and personal comments
- Potential of social media for headhunters - Overall interpretation on the basis of relevant detailed results
- Relevance of the different social media portals for headhunters
- Gender and age-related relevance
- Potential of social media for recruitment in the fashion business
- Estimation of the significance of social media for the recruiting process
- Recruiters' needs and requirements related to social media
- How can social media support the recruitment of executives - A response that takes into account the results of the analysis
- Concrete recommendations for action
- Use of social media to analyze a client's company
- Use of social media during the research phase
- Use of social media during the follow-up phase
- Summary
- Social media and the executive search sector - Conclusion and outlook
Objectives and Key Themes
This master thesis aims to analyze the suitability of social media for headhunters in recruiting managers from and for the fashion business in Germany. The thesis explores the potential of social media platforms for headhunters and evaluates their effectiveness in the recruitment process. Key themes explored in this work include: * The role of headhunters in the recruitment process and the evolving landscape of executive search. * The development and significance of social media in the context of personnel recruitment. * The specific applications of social media platforms for headhunters in the fashion business. * An empirical survey of headhunters in Germany, focusing on their experiences and opinions regarding the use of social media in recruitment. * Recommendations for headhunters on how to effectively leverage social media platforms in their recruitment strategies.Chapter Summaries
The introduction provides background information on the evolving landscape of recruitment and introduces the research question concerning the suitability of social media for headhunters in the fashion business. Chapter 2 discusses the importance of the German fashion business and examines theoretical principles relevant to the topic. Chapter 3 explores the roles and functions of headhunters in the recruitment process, including the historical development of the industry and the legal framework surrounding headhunting activities. Chapter 4 defines and characterizes the term "social media", highlighting its development and significance in the context of personnel work. Chapter 5 delves into online recruitment instruments, including both traditional approaches like e-recruiting and the use of social media platforms. It analyzes various social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Google+, XING, LinkedIn, and Anangu, examining their potential for recruitment. Chapter 6 presents the results of an empirical survey conducted with headhunters in Germany. It analyzes the data collected through interviews, focusing on the respondents' sociodemographic characteristics, their professional and private use of social networks, their perceptions of social media's significance for recruitment, and their experiences with using social media to find candidates. Chapter 7 offers an overall interpretation of the survey results, focusing on the relevance of different social media platforms for headhunters, the potential of social media for recruitment in the fashion business, and the needs and requirements of recruiters related to social media. Finally, Chapter 8 provides concrete recommendations for headhunters on how to effectively leverage social media in their recruitment strategies, including suggestions for analyzing client companies, conducting research, and following up with candidates.Keywords
The main keywords and focus topics of this master thesis are: headhunting, executive search, social media, recruitment, fashion business, Germany, empirical survey, online recruitment, personnel work, LinkedIn, XING, Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Anangu. The research examines the potential of social media platforms for headhunters in the recruitment process for managerial positions in the fashion industry in Germany.- Citation du texte
- MBA Robin Schlesinger (Auteur), 2013, The suitability of social media for headhunters to recruit managers from and for the fashion business, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/279097
