Companies are increasingly using social media in recruiting, a trend known as social recruiting. The 3 main platforms to leverage for sourcing candidates are LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter. Finding candidates won’t happen overnight, though. You must set up your profiles and work to build a community before you broadcast job openings. Start early, build your network and then leverage that network.
LinkedIn
LinkedIn is the best place for HR departments and staffing firms to find candidates online, since job seekers are already looking to network with recruiters and apply for jobs there. LinkedIn offers many paid options for sourcing passive candidates, sharing jobs and promoting your brand. Find out about them here, and read the recruiting on LinkedIn blog.
Post Jobs
Posting jobs on LinkedIn is more powerful than traditional job boards because it harnesses the power of an entire professional social network. Users can easily share jobs with others and the “Jobs You May Be Interested In” feature recommends jobs to people, which is especially powerful for recruiting passive candidates. After a candidate views your job posting, they will probably check out your company page.
Company Page
Every company should have a business page on LinkedIn. This allows you to broadcast messages to followers, give information about your products and services and ultimately gain exposure to potential employees. You can customize a careers tab to showcase jobs as well.
LinkedIn Apply Button
Make it easy for high quality, passive candidates to apply for your job openings by installing the “Apply with LinkedIn” free plugin. Information can be received via email or through your Applicant Tracking System.
Connect with Candidates
From an individual LinkedIn profile, try to connect with as many professionals as possible within the targeted skill set and geographic region. Send a simple, personalized message explaining why you want to connect.
Create a Group
For a long term strategy, consider starting a LinkedIn group. Think carefully about the group title. It should be something that your targeted candidate would want to join, but should not include your company name. Start conversations related to the industry and job roles. Don’t immediately start posting jobs – you must cultivate an engaged audience first and then you will have earned the right to post promotional content.
Create Targeted Ads
LinkedIn Ads are very easy to set up and monitor. Create targeted ads to specific groups based around the experience and skills you are seeking. For example run an ad for a .net developer job opening in Calgary targeted to the “.Net Developer Calgary” LinkedIn group.
Facebook
Facebook is another social media platform that is increasingly being used to fill positions. On your company Facebook Page, install an app such as Jobcast.net that posts jobs directly onto a careers tab. Visitors are often prompted to like your page before they can find out more details about current openings. They can read all the details and apply either on Facebook or on your website. BCjobs.ca has utilized this app to display recently posted jobs, and drive applicants to their website.
Facebook is also a tool to showcase your company culture, recent awards you’ve received and the reason people want to work there. Humanize your company to make it more engaging by posting pictures of the latest company event or just goofing around the office. You should post similar content on Twitter as well.
Twitter
Twitter is primarily used by recruiters for broadcasting job openings. When tweeting job openings, including hashtags is extremely important, since job seekers will search them to find opportunities. Use hashtags to denote it as a job, what location and the position. For example: “#adminjobs Office Administrator, Sunshine Staffing, #Toronto #jobs #hiring. (link to job posting)”. If this sounds exhausting, you can always sign up for another Twitter account to post jobs on your behalf. Network with influencers on Twitter that post the top jobs in a particular category, and try to have your jobs featured by them.
6S Marketing was founded in 2000 by Chris Breikss and John Blown. Chris and John started with a simple concept – provide outstanding Internet marketing services while always focusing on return on investment for clients. From humble roots (the first 6S office was in Chris’ apartment), 6S has grown to be one of the leading Internet marketing companies in North America, and the largest of its kind in Canada.
Today, the 6S team is comprised of talented, experienced and diverse people that strive towards this same goal.
We have developed our mission statement around this concept – “Delivering success through innovative Internet marketing.”
Related to Top Ways to Leverage Social Media in Recruiting:
- Social networking: how to mine the richest passive candidate pools in North America
- Using your Facebook Fan Page to Recruit
- Webinar: Optimize Your Network to Generate Referral Hires in Five Simple Steps
