I Follow: Stacy Williamson

Stacy Williamson, proud Virginia Tech grad and ESPN Recruiter

Editor’s note: I Follow is all about ESPN employees on Twitter: what they tweet, whom they follow and how you can interact socially with anyone and everyone.

Today, we focus on ESPN recruiter Stacy Williamson.

She will be in Philadelphia this week attending the National Association of Black Journalists’ annual convention.

She discusses how Twitter helps her when recruiting potential employees, her favorite people to follow on Twitter, and what difference social media makes when considering job applicants.

Twitter handle: @RecruiterStacy
ESPN Job: ESPN Careers Recruiter
Followers: 8,295
Following: 2,485

FR: Can you say that being active on Twitter with you has helped a job applicant’s chances? If so, can you give examples?

SW: It helps because through me they learn more about the job opportunities we have available. Followers also learn timeframes of when positions, such as internships, are available and when they should apply. I also tweet advice on resume building, interviewing skills, networking and building your personal brand. Through this medium, I’ve had several followers apply online through our career site and be considered for interviews. Some have even been selected to join our ESPN family.

FR: What do you like most about Twitter?

SW: Twitter is a great platform because it provides the ability to reach large amount of people in a short period of time. I love engaging followers in conversations regarding careers at ESPN and other topics that are currently trending. It’s also a great way to keep an eye on what’s going on in news, sports and entertainment media.

FR: Who’s your favorite person to follow on Twitter?

SW: I love following our ESPN employee accounts because they help me keep up-to-date on what’s going on in various segments of our business. Secretly though, I must admit that I am a huge @TimTebow fan and would love to one day have him help me plan one of my weekly Sunday School lessons.

FR: What’s the strangest encounter you’ve had on Twitter?

SW: Let’s just say you have to have thick skin as a recruiter on Twitter. People can say really mean things when they find out they weren’t selected for an interview or didn’t land a specific job or internship position.

FR: Do you have celebrity followers?

SW: The day that my former classmate at Virginia Tech, Michael Vick, started following me was probably one of the happiest days in my Twitter career. In regards to recruiting, it’s a huge help to have ESPN talent following me. One retweet of a job posting helps to market that open position to their vast network of followers. On a consistent basis, Adam Schefter, Mike Hill and Jay Harris have been a huge help to me on the recruiting front.

FR: How did you get your first ESPN job?

SW: I first met ESPN when @CollegeGameDay came to Blacksburg, Va. to cover one of our Virginia Tech football games. As a student reporter for the campus TV station, I was allowed on the field to cover the game and conduct interviews. While filming, I met an ESPN photographer and told him how it was my goal to one day work for ESPN. He gave me his contact information and the rest is history. I emailed him my resume the very next day and he helped me land an interview.

FR: What are the primary responsibilities of your job?

SW: Managing recruitment activity for various departments within ESPN’s Content division. I review resumes and credentials for qualifying skills and experience to match candidates to current and future opportunities. I also conduct interviews and serve as a liaison between candidates and hiring managers to successfully fill open positions. Once we find our top candidates, I extend and close candidate job offers, negotiate salaries, review our Disney benefit packages and coordinate new hire on-boarding.

FR: How many miles a year do you log on the road?

SW: With the power of social networking, I can accomplish many of the same feats of traveling while sitting at my desk or on my couch. However, I love going to conferences and college campuses to meet potential candidates in person because their energy fuels my desire to help others achieve their dreams. For a future goal, I would love to develop a recruitment strategy partnering with @CollegeGameDay to help spread my network even wider across the collegiate landscape.

FR: Is social media the future of job recruiting?

SW: It is a best practice today to engage candidates immediately within their social space. Social media provides a vehicle to share information with candidates and keep them informed on available opportunities, upcoming recruiting events and on-going company initiatives. It also allows candidates a way to share their personal brand and network with people within the companies they are targeting for employment.

FR: How do you relax away from work?

SW: As most of my followers will be able to tell you, I spend most of my non-work hours watching or tweeting about Star Wars. I watch an episode almost every week. It keeps my imagination churning. In another life, I would definitely have been a Jedi Master. Aside from my fascination with the Empire and the Rebel Alliance, I play the violin and piano. I love playing classical music and pieces from movie soundtracks.

FR: How much do you like conventions [like NABJ]?

SW: One of my favorite parts of my job is meeting and speaking with candidates at conventions and college campuses. Students and attendees are always super excited to learn about career opportunities within ESPN and The Walt Disney Company. I love sharing with them my passion and enthusiasm for working here. Through me, they learn that their goals are achievable if they set the right strategy, target the jobs that are the best fit for them, and build their resume accordingly.