Here's the thing: social media recruiting is, well, pretty awesome. Highly searchable people databases, with oodles of user-generated, fresh data on candidates. Highly targeted advertising opportunities. Deeply engaging talent pools.  Wordtwist.

It's also a great way to develop some bad habits.

Here it is: social media recruiting matters. You can accelerate your placements, build your rep, etc.  Because of it's seeming ease - and ubiquity - it can be easy to skip over the fundamentals.

Like: when did you close your candidate? At the offer? Maybe your client told you they were thinking of an offer in a certain range, and you did a close then?

If you waited until either one of those times to do your close, then you waited too long - way too long.  At that point, you enter crap shoot territory.  If you're a professional recruiter, a big part of your job is to avoid that murky place.  The only way to do that is to establish a level of candidate control from the very first meeting.

(Is it weird that a social media recruiting company is talking about the limits of social media in recruiting? Not at all: It's the equivalent of a company that sells bicycles to tri-athletes reminding them that they need to know how to swim, too. Just good service).

That's right: meeting.  Not in an e-mail, IM exchange, Facebook message.  It's either on the phone or in person. Talking to them. You don't get to pitch jobs to them at this point, btw.  That happens when you start presenting opportunities that you're reasonably sure they're going to be excited about pursuing - and will accept if offered.

I can hear some of you now: "But my client's hiring now! They won't wait! I just need to get a resume and get going!"

Slow. It. Down. Your goal should be to present offers you're pretty sure are going to be accepted - and to get acceptances that don't turn into fall-offs.  It should never, ever be a guessing game as to whether or not your candidate is going to accept an offer - the minute your client tells you the details, you should know how the candidate will react.

I know - what?? How do you know if they'll accept even before they go on an interview?  By closing.  I don't mean "what'll it take to get you in this car today??" type of closing. It's about asking the fundamental questions. "What would you change about your current job, and can you?" (Great way to get their pain points, as well as find out if they're susceptible to counter-offer. "What if I had the perfect job for you, but one thing was off - money, location, you name it - should I not call you?" (Gauge seriousness, and more importantly, if you really know what it takes to close them - if they say they'd be flexible, then you have some more digging to do).

Write down every stinking thing they say. Keep copious notes. Ask them - in every single call - who else they're talking to, has anything changed (from money to their spouse's attitude about the search, thoughts about commute), etc. You should hate surprises. Surprises in recruiting usually mean no money for the recruiter. Candidates will forget to tell you things, and it's those things that will surprise you.

Close them. At every call, close them, be it "how are you feeling about the search? Any concerns", to "I got you an interview - they'd like to see you this week. Hey, if they make an offer quickly - I doubt they will but you never know - are you ready to accept if the job is interesting?"  This means talking to them - lots and lots.  Don't hide behind social media.  Use it for all the great good it can do for us, but not as a crutch.

The job market's up - make some hay. Get out there, and get talking.