One week ago, on December 1st, HeadBlade, the leader in head shaving razors and headcare products for head shavers, tweeted that they were looking to hire someone to lead their Social Media and Interactive Marketing. Within 24 hours, a candidate’s social media plan unfolded before their eyes. A concerted effort linking a blog with Twitter and Facebook grabbed their attention – and wowed the likes of Debbie Weil, author of The Corporate Blogging Book and blogging consultant; Joe La Puma, Editor for Complex Magazine; Lance Moore, New Orleans Saints(#16); and the Career Builder Blog (written by Chris Baggott, CEO/Founder of Compendium Blogware).

5 years ago, Eric Romer of Indianapolis, who had been BBC (Bald-By-Choice) since 2002 in his early college days at Butler University, discovered the solution he had been looking for to keep his head closely shaved–HeadBlade. The ease of use of the product and the results had him hooked for life as a brand advocate, and he began telling everyone he knew about the fantastic product he had found. Last week, Eric Romer’s dream job was announced by HeadBlade in his Twitter feed. Springing to action, he developed a blog, Twitter page and Facebook page for his “Hire Me, HeadBlade” campaign. Within 24 hours he had a phone interview with Todd Greene, CEO of HeadBlade Inc. and began making plans to fly out to LA to meet with him this week.

It’s a story of social media at its best. By using widely available tools, Eric has been connected to his dream company; HeadBlade has been connected to a promising candidate for their position; and the brand has been buoyed up with all the extra eyes following Eric’s story. Some of the takeaways I’ve identified from the present story are:

• For College grads and job seekers, Eric Romer has set the precedent. Leveraging free tools, web know-how, and media savvy he has created a dynamic and real “resume” that actually shows what he can do.
• For company’s looking to hire, this has affirmed that social media outlets can help you attract promising talent; also that it can be a good arena for evaluating candidates.
• As far as branding goes, Eric has already been engaged as a brand advocate on his own account. By officially engaging someone like this in their social media driving seat, HeadBlade can connect with other happy customers like Eric, and amplify their brand awareness.
• There’s also a lot of opportunity for Headblade to capitalize on the extra attention. As Eric’s story continues to gain steam over this next week, more eyes are attracted to HeadBlade, and the opportunity is ripe if they have a new product features or other announcements up their sleeve.
• Third parties in the game, such as Butler and Compendium, are recipients of the Halo effect. Their affiliation to Eric may give their own brands a boost if this all bodes well.

There’s sure to be more best practices as this story unfolds. Stay updated on Eric and see if he gets hired by HeadBlade by following him on his blog, Twitter, and Facebook.