Social Media: A Tool For Recruiting

We’ve all read the articles on why social media is an important tool for recruiting… But who else stopped halfway through the article and thought, “Ok, I get that social media is a useful tool- but how can I actually go about using these resources for recruiting?”  There are plenty of sites like LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter that are said to be used for recruiting purposes… But the question I often found myself asking was HOW can we go about utilizing these sites to expand our company’s network and growth?

So, after some research and experimentation with various sites, I thought I would lay it out straight and simple for you… Here are a few easy steps to get started networking on the 3 main social media sites used today:

1)      LinkedIn: Build connections- it’s that easy! Start by connecting with people you already know, such as former co-workers, current clients, even friends and family.  After all, you never know who someone else might be connected to that could make for a great candidate!  Don’t afraid to use the network activity box to broadcast a great role you are hiring for.  With that being said, don’t overdo it.  The last thing you want is to start plugging up the newsfeed so that your connections begin to remove you.  Lastly, you need to take advantage of LinkedIn as a very helpful pre-screen tool.  Chances are that your candidate is on LinkedIn- so why not find out a little more about your potential candidate by checking out their profile?

 2)      Facebook: You can utilize the resources on Facebook in numerous ways, such as posting jobs in the Marketplace.  However, I want to focus on how important it is to maintain and update a company Facebook Page.  You will want to create a public profile for your company that allows users to view up-to-date information on your company, such as contact info, photos, etc… Believe me when I say that a LOT of potential candidates spend a large amount of their time on Facebook, so having your information accessible to the public really increases the chances of catching a job seeker’s attention.  Thirdly, and most importantly, you will want to consider posting a Facebook Ad.  The main advantage to this feature is that you can choose the exact audience that you are looking to target, as well as decide whether you want to use pay-per-click or even pay-per-impression.  The options are endless on how narrow a field you wish to define!

 3)      Twitter:  Expand your network by gaining followers of both clients and candidates.  But how does one go about achieving this? Well for one, you can simply run a quick search on a specific keyword (such as “Edmonton Jobs”) and then get hundreds of contacts.  It’s particularly rewarding to follow clients you do business with and even interesting recruiting sites that give great ideas and tips.  Next, tweet jobs.  You’ll want to make sure your job postings stand out by including hash tags to increase the popularity of your tweet.  An example of this would be to include #careers, #staffing, etc… Then the people who are searching that specific topic will be able to view your tweet!  Finally, be sure to take the opportunity to tweet about the general happenings of your company and topics that are important to your firm.  This shows both current and potential candidates/clients that your company isn’t stagnant.  On the contrary, it will exhibit a proactive image of your company by showing that you are constantly engaging in various activities, whether it may be a job posting or simply even a humorous quote! Watch your follower count rise and soon people will be reaching out to you through twitter.  It worked for us!
Well, that just about sums it up. As with any job opening, using social media recruiting does require time and effort; however, it’s an investment that truly offers excellent long-term benefits for your organization. Happy networking!

Katie