Utilizing Social Media for Recruiting

To coincide with Adecco’s global social media recruitment and job seeker surveys, we are publishing a two-part blog series. In part one, we discussed some best practices of using social media as part of a job search. Now in part two, we present some basics of utilizing social media for recruiting needs.

If you are interested in helping Adecco better understand the impact that social media platforms have on job seeking, recruiting and hiring, please take our recruiter and job seeker surveys today!

Over the course of a few short years, the methods by which recruiters find and hire talent has changed drastically. Around the globe, recruiters and hiring managers are regularly using social media to help find the best candidates to fill new and exciting positions. This is what is commonly referred to as social recruiting.

As a matter of fact, according to SproutSocial, 92% of U.S. companies now use social media networks such as LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter for researching candidates as well as recruiting. This is not surprising since those social media websites attract a growing audience of skilled professionals.

If you are not using social networks for recruiting, you are most certainly missing out.

Utilizing the big three: LinkedIn, Facebook & Twitter

LinkedIn is without a doubt at the top of the food chain when it comes to job seeking and recruiting since it is geared towards professionals and uses existing connections as well as work-related contacts to pair people together.

But Facebook and Twitter are not far behind.

Successful social recruiters often make use of the big three social networks by asking questions in groups, share news, insights and stories that are pertinent to the industry and positions they are seeking to fill. Of course, letting your audience and connections know of any new job openings will also go a long way in finding the right candidates.

Social recruiting basics

Social recruiting can save you and your organization a tremendous amount of time and money as you can easily pre-screen applicants for inappropriate or unsavory content.

Don’t overlook that search bar! Many social media websites will allow you to search for people by interest and past work experience making this an extremely useful tool to have in your arsenal. The advanced search option — which exists on most social networks — is your best friend if you are looking to find and hire highly skilled individuals via social media channels. It is crucial to get acquainted with how the search mechanisms work for each social platform you intend to use for recruiting. (We recommend checking out Facebook and LinkedIn‘s advanced search basics first.)

As a recruiter, it is also imperative that your own social profiles are current, updated regularly, and convey professionalism through the content you publish. Just as job seekers should keep things clean and professional on social platforms because recruiters may look them up, as a recruiter, you need to apply the same logic. Remember that job seekers are evaluating you as well. Looking for some advice on optimizing your own LinkedIn profile? We have you covered!

Inc.com suggests using your existing connections as well as joining groups and pages in order to tap into this growing pool of talent.

Many organizations will even advertise their job openings via the social network’s own social advertising platforms. This is a great way to reach an even wider audience since those platforms allow you to customize your advertising campaigns and target certain demographics like location, interests, and even work experience.

Interested in helping Adecco better understand the impact social media platforms have on recruiting and hiring? Make sure you fill out our Global Recruiter Social Media survey!