3 Ways to Get Results from Social Recruiting

Using social media in recruiting isn’t new — 84 percent of organizations surveyed by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) currently use social recruiting. But social recruiting is no longer limited to screening candidates’ social profiles or connecting with talent on LinkedIn.

As technology and social platforms evolve, new opportunities and trends emerge, and employers need to stay on top of them to find the best talent. Here are some of the latest social recruiting trends to know to get the most from the strategy:

Screening goes both ways.

Employers have used social media to screen candidates for a long time — but job seekers are turning the tables. More and more job seekers are using social media to learn more about potential employers, their company culture, and their reputation with employees.

In fact, 25 percent of job seekers surveyed by Adecco said they use LinkedIn to check an employer’s profile, while about 22 percent of said they use Facebook to see what others are saying about the employer.

Recognizing the growing importance of employer branding, 77 percent of employers surveyed by SHRM said they are using social media to improve their brand awareness and recognition. Job seekers want to know what it’s like to work at your company and you need to use social media to show them.

Post pictures of company events, industry conferences you attend, and anything that helps to define your culture. Share posts from current employees that highlight what a typical day in the office is like and what makes your culture different from competitors.

Take it a step further and contact promising candidates with personalized messages that reflect your culture. Use a talent acquisition platform, like SmartRecruiters, that allows you to view and group applicants by source and send targeted messages to show the brand and bring them onboard.

Social recruiting is more than LinkedIn.

Job seekers are no longer just on LinkedIn — they’re using Facebook, Twitter, and other platforms to help them network and find jobs.

In addition, they use different platforms at different stages of the hiring process. For example, the Adecco survey found that job seekers tend to use LinkedIn to search for jobs but they use Facebook for social activities like personal branding, networking, and checking out what people are saying about employers.

Keep up with job seekers and use multiple social media platforms in different ways to get the best results. LinkedIn might be the best place to post jobs, while Facebook might be your go-to place for sourcing passive candidates. Twitter and Instagram may be where you share news and put your company culture and branding efforts.

But using so many platforms at once can get complicated and difficult to manage — 77 percent of recruiters said they use up to five talent acquisition platforms at time, according to our survey conducted at HR Tech 2015. Instead of juggling multiple tools, use one talent acquisition software that integrates with multiple social media platforms and job boards to make social recruiting more manageable.

Candidates want an easier way.

Everyone uses their smartphone for everything — and job seekers are no different. Candidates want to find and apply to jobs as quickly and easily as possible, and they want to do it at any time from any place. After all, data from Pew Research shows that 50 percent of smartphone job seekers have used their phones to fill out an online job application.

Although job seekers are using mobile more, it’s not always easy for them to apply to jobs from their phones. In a survey conducted by Glassdoor, nearly 50 percent of respondents said applying to jobs on a mobile device was difficult.

Make it easy for candidates to apply to your positions from any device with social. Use a talent acquisition platform, like SmartRecruiters, that allows job seekers to apply with their social profiles. With one click, candidates can connect their LinkedIn or Facebook profile and submit an application. They don’t need to fill out lengthy applications or upload multiple documents from their phone — one click from any device and they’re done.

The easier the process and the better the candidate experience, the more applications you’ll get and the faster you’ll find the right talent.

The best candidates are using multiple social media platforms in new ways to find jobs, apply to them, and connect with employers. Keep it with the latest trends, learn how to use different platforms, and use the right technology to get the most from social recruiting efforts.

How do you use social recruiting to secure the best talent? Share in the comments below!