As social media becomes more popular as a way to find and attract top talent, recruiters are getting more and more savvy about how to use it effectively. And social media “best practices” are different today than they were when social recruiting first hit the scene.
Are your strategies good enough for today’s competitive social media recruiting landscape? Recruiting conversations are changing every day, and your team needs to keep up. Below, we’ve put together a list of five of today’s best practices for recruiting top talent via social media.
Engage in a dialogue.
One of the biggest benefits of social media recruiting is that it gives you a chance for meaningful, back-and-forth interaction. While recruiters once had to rely on posting ads into the void of career pages and third-party job sites, they can now use open positions as a way to start real conversations. Realize that most job seekers have come to expect some level of personal interaction from the companies they’re interested in. Communicating directly with potential hires via their Twitter pages or LinkedIn profiles is an easy way to break the ice and better assess their job suitability. So, keep posting ads – but also reach out, answer questions, and start conversations.
Spread out your media presence.
Everyone recruits on the big three: Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. But your recruiting efforts shouldn’t be limited to just a few sites. You’ll reach more potential candidates if you establish a presence on more non-traditional platforms. Go the extra distance and reach out to candidates on sites like Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube, or Vine. In addition to connecting with content creators on more platforms, you’ll also be able to garner more interest in the work your company does and gain a following that could help you promote available positions.
Rebrand your corporate culture.
Social media is all about image. That means you should spend a little time on your employer brand, and figure out how to promote that brand on social media. To attract new talent, you have to present the benefits of working at your organization and promote your company as a fun, energetic and caring employer. Use social media to share business wins or anecdotes about workplace events. Post videos and images of people on the job or products in action. Invite employees to post positively on your behalf – current employees can often be the most convincing voice when it comes to branding yourself as a great employer.
Tackle the forums.
Today, social media isn’t just about Facebook and Twitter. It’s also about Q&A and forum sites like Quora, StackOverflow, and more. These knowledge-based, industry-specific sites facilitate high-level conversations that make it easy for recruiters to discover people who are experts in a specialized field.
Many recruiters maintain accounts on these forums just to keep up with the latest industry news, and those actively seeking candidates may even follow and interact with prominent members who frequently solve problems. Some industry-specific forums include sections where you can post job listings (although it’s wise not to spam these boards with your own content).
Go project hunting.
The final frontier of today’s social media recruiting? Online portfolios. From writers to web designers and beyond, many professionals use social media and sites to showcase their work and network with recruiters and other industry professionals.If you’re searching for candidates, make portfolio sites like Contently, Behance, and Dribbble part of your process. Whether you’re starting from scratch or vetting existing candidates, online portfolios can give you greater insight into candidate skills and help widen your pool of potential applicants.
By expanding your reach into these and other innovative digital venues, you’ll increase your chances of discovering great assets for open positions at your company. What are your new best practices for social recruiting? And where do you see social recruiting going in 2017?
The main benefit of social recruitment is that the recruiter is given an opportunity to meet and assess an individual before the time-consuming processes of reviewing applications begins. We all know that, while a person may be qualified for a job on paper, the first impression given during an interview can counterbalance their qualifications. In addition, we can assess if the demeanor of a candidate would be appropriate for our company.
One very important benefit of using social media as a recruitment tool is being able to check recommendations. If another employee is willing to put their reputation on the line for your candidate, it is likely that this applicant is worth looking at.
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The main benefit of social recruitment is that the recruiter is given an opportunity to meet and assess an individual before the time-consuming processes of reviewing applications begins. We all know that, while a person may be qualified for a job on paper, the first impression given during an interview can counterbalance their qualifications. In addition, we can assess if the demeanor of a candidate would be appropriate for our company.
One very important benefit of using social media as a recruitment tool is being able to check recommendations. If another employee is willing to put their reputation on the line for your candidate, it is likely that this applicant is worth looking at.