Recruitment and Social Media

Social media seems to be re engineering the way we work across all areas of business. Whilst it has most heavily impacted on our marketing, sales and branding processes, it has for many businesses become a method of sourcing referrals for suppliers, listing products, linking with associates and forming strategic alliances. So how can social media help you recruit staff for your business and is it a good tool to use?

There are 3 keys ways Social Media can play a part in our recruitment processes:

Social Media as part of your network

Perhaps the most obvious, and widely used social media recruitment technique is the concept of 'word of mouth'. Our social media networks act as an extension of our existing 'traditional' networks so putting it out there to all of your networks that you are currently recruiting is not a new concept.

The Pro's:

you can access a wide range of people, each of whom know (or are connected with) lots of other people. This means the news of your vacancy may end up in front of many more people than via your 'traditional' networking, giving you a higher chance of someone suitable applying. It's easy and it's free a Facebook post linking the reader to an advertisement on your website, or even just an overview and an e mail address takes a couple of minutes and is completely free.

The Con's:

Do you want everyone to know you are recruiting? Putting it out there via your networks means the news of your vacancy could end up almost anywhere, in front of anyone. This includes suppliers, clients, competitors and staff (both past and present). There may be certain circumstances in which you wouldn't want the news that you were hiring to be quite so public, in which case this is not a great tool for you to use. Also, by having the news of a recruitment project publicised so willingly, you may find yourself inundated with interested applicants, which may be difficult to manage from an administrative and time perspective.

Social Media Job Boards

Just like Seek, MyCareer, CareerOne and all of the other niche online job boards, there are now social media job boards which are available to use when recruiting for staff. The most obvious being LinkedIn which is considered the social media site of choice for professionals looking to connect. LinkedIn has an integrated job board and recruitment function.

The Pro's:

Like all job boards you can tailor your ad and nominate how you receive applications, queries and responses. If you are seeking professionals or executives this can be a great why? Because it's where the professionals are 'hanging out' online.

The Con's:

There is a cost in placing ads, like with all commercial job boards. For LinkedIn it's just under $200 per ad. Like any form of direct employment advertising, you can get a range of unsuitable applicants which need to be managed and responded to.

Building My Company Brand

Social media is a great way to build brand awareness and presence, it's one the main reasons it's used across all industries as part of their marketing mix. When recruiting staff, this brand awareness can be used a great tool to attract top talent. To be the best business you can be, you want the best possible people working for you. Similarly, the best talent want to work for the best company in their field. So how do you get that reputation?

Social Media can be a great way to help build this. It also builds a level of 'familiarity' in candidates minds. It allows you to communicate your key values and attitudes, and in doing this you will be more likely to attract talent whose views and beliefs match up to the organisations. This leads to better long term recruitment solutions, with individuals who engage more readily and fully with the organisation and their role, and who are going to be a better fit for the organisation and its team.Overall using Social media to recruit can be an excellent way to leverage your online networks to attract a wide range of applicants. However, like with all other recruitment methods, you should still follow through in using your other selection tools, such as interviews, reference checks and assessments to ensure you are making the best possible hiring decision for your business.