Earlier in the month, I hosted a presentation at Experience’s client conference that focused on the so-called “Net Kids.” I discussed common Gen Y traits (namely their comfort with technology) and Web 2.0 media, and why combined they all matter in setting effective career services strategy. Citing the Experience Online Usage Survey we ran late last year, I suggested in my presentation there’s a clear opportunity for social networks– a key Web 2.0 component — to make a serious impact on those of us who live and breathe all things Gen Y careers, not to mention the candidates themselves.

Love it or hate it, social networking is here to stay. The biggest player by far is Facebook, of course, with its 130 million (and growing) active users. Half of these active users access it at least once every day.

In our survey (which I detailed last month in “What’s The Use”), respondents were asked to check off a list of the social networking sites they use. An overwhelming 85 percent of Gen Y surveyed reported being active with Facebook. MySpace was a distant runner up, followed by LinkedIn.

Being social on social networking sites is of course the primary focus, but those of us looking to connect with Gen Y — employers, college career services, alumni associations and everyone in between — have an opportunity to use these networks to engage young professionals on their terms, and on their time. More than a quarter of our respondents indicated they use social networks in the context of careers, whether it’s hunting for jobs, making new business contacts or staying in touch with co-workers. In our current economic recession, career-related activity on Facebook and the rest will only increase come spring and summer.

On a related note, Experience on Tuesday announced the Best Places to Work for Recent Grads, a top 20 list of the leading employers that “get it” when it comes to recruiting, hiring and retaining Gen Y. Many of the organizations highlighted in Best Places fully embrace and support social networks at the workplace. They’re committed to fostering communities and affinity groups (professional and social) at the workplace through new media. As a result, they’re fostering a more productive work environment by building trust between younger workers and managers. Check out the report and get some ideas for yourself.

At the end of October, Experience refurbished its Facebook Page and we’ve seen some great traction with our growing fan base. As the universally regarded #1 online destination for Gen Y, college students and young grads alike flock to Facebook daily to do everything from connect with friends to discovering new music to joining communities (like Experience!) that resonate with their interests.

Tied in with our Facebook relaunch, last month we surveyed more than 230 Experience.com candidates with our Online Usage Survey which was designed to gauge how millennials spend their time online. And whether it’s catching up with friends, watching videos, reading the news or looking for jobs or internships, our respondents told us many interesting things - especially when it comes to looking for entry-level opportunities.

One specific area of interest the survey covered was job sites. In addition to Experience.com (which took the lion’s share of responses) and using offline college and alumni-related career services offerings, candidates most often use the big brand-name job sites. More significantly than who made the list, our respondents told us some important things that we should consider when reaching out to Gen Y.

Q: What challenges do you face when searching or applying for a job online?

As you can see in the graphic above, the biggest area of opportunity for recruiters is to optimize their job descriptions. Though the top challenge identified in the survey was “unable to find what I’m looking for,” this frustration is caused in large part due to the description-related challenges identified. Vague job descriptions or not relaying the right (or enough) information can prevent a top candidate from connecting with an opportunity that just might be that “perfect fit” in reality. Candidates may not be finding what they’re looking for because sometimes the descriptions aren’t up to par with the opportunities and employers themselves.

As I mentioned in my post from last week, there’s only one chance to make that first impression. Maximize your recruiting dollars by ensuring your entry-level job and/or internship descriptions are up to snuff and are hitting all the notes Gen Y wants to hear. If you haven’t yet checked it out, I encourage you to read our whitepaper on the subject.

Next up, I’ll take a different dive into this Online Usage Survey and will specifically look at social networking and how it factors in to the career discovery and job search process. Stay tuned!

Late October is always a fun time of year, between Halloween, colorful landscapes and the World Series. And even though the Red Sox are busy making plans for the upcoming winter instead of facing the Phillies in the ultimate contest (not that I’m bitter), it’s been a blast watching the fall classic unfold – especially this year, with the election, the economy and everything else clamoring for our attention. Baseball is just what the doctor ordered! Rain, not so much. But I digress.

On that note, recruiting – like baseball – has its own “power hitters,” and we’ve been taking a close look at select industry verticals and how the players are stacking up with Gen Y. Last month, we drilled down into oil and gas companies. This week, employers in the technology industry are on deck – specifically those companies that are actively seeking entry-level talent through Experience.

Looking at technology employers, specifically focusing on entry-level opportunity applications, five companies in particular – Dell, Motorola, Cisco, Microsoft and Intel – are above average and at the top with their success with apply rates on Experience.com. The technology industry on a whole is batting with nine applies for every job found through search results.

Even with the cold economic climate, technology is hot. As independent surveys indicate and our own data validate, tech-minded job seekers must take notice that employers in this space are hiring. Case in point: last week I dissected entry-level placements in 2008, and the technology industry scored a close third in the number of jobs started by recent graduates. In “The Job Function Search Spectrum,” we found that the IT/systems job function was popular in job searches. Even my “Hot Cities” post identified San Francisco and its pool of technology companies as top post-graduation destination for young talent.

On the flip side, to attract major league entry-level candidates, technology industry employers need to move beyond only offering compensation packages. Like a good sports franchise reaching out to top athletes, recruiters will be successful when they meet Gen Y on their terms. And it’s not that hard – consider using internships as extended interviews, facilitating job shadowing and/or information interviews, leveraging  your commitment (or embracing a commitment!) to “being green” and emphasizing other work/life benefits such working from home, volunteering for social causes, etc.