Are you maximizing social networking to recruit top talent for your organization?
According to a recent survey by Jobvite, many large companies and recruiters are using social networking to recruit and research potential job candidates. “LinkedIn (76 percent), search engines (67 percent), Facebook (44 percent) and Twitter (21 percent). Respondents reported that 24% of candidates disclose their social networking presence when applying for a job.”
These recruiting tactics shouldn’t be exclusive to larger organizations! If you work for the smaller company, a start-up, your own company, even if you are a state employer, using social networking in the recruitment process can help you get the kind of employee that you are looking for!
Let’s discuss two things you can use social networking for: First, finding the candidate and second, researching the candidates.
Finding the Candidate
Many of us have used LinkedIn to maintain existing professional connections. LinkedIn is the most popular social networking site for recruiting for the obvious reason that it is designed for business professionals. But don’t just limit your candidate search to LinkedIn. Does your company post on Twitter? Who is following you? Is your competition on Twitter? Who is following them? Search twitter for hashtags and keywords that relate to your industry. You can also search Facebook for specific job titles, employers, colleges, etc. Once you identify a candidate on Facebook or Twitter, you can click on their profiles, find out what information is available and then cross search for them on LinkedIn.
In the conversations that we’ve had with folks in HR departments and in smaller companies, many people just don’t know how to search for the right candidate, or aren’t sure if it is appropriate to reach out to them out of the blue. As for reaching out to your prospective candidate, depending on how active you are in LinkedIn (how many connections you have and how many groups you are a member of) you may be surprised at shared connections you have! Don’t be shy! A simple thing to remember is: if you are afraid to scare off the candidate by reaching out to them, you never had a chance to get them anyway. Just reach out to build the connection, you have nothing to lose!
Now, to search for the right candidate…. That part is simple! Take a look at this video regarding LinkedIn searching:
Researching the Candidate
Whether you found your candidate through traditional recruiting practices or through some of the above-mentioned techniques, you will want to do some research on them. Sure, your background check and calling references will prove to be informative, but you may be amazed at what you can find out about job seekers through some simple searches in social networks. Check the big social sites: Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc. Start your search by the email address that is on the resume, then search by their name combined with their geographic area. You will know a “red flag” when you see it.
This sure seems like a lot of work, why would you want to do this? The real question you might ask yourself is: can you afford not to? Top recruiting firms and large organizations are using these concepts to find the best candidates for their open positions. Any recruiter will tell you that the best candidates are often the so-called Passive Candidates that aren’t actively seeking new opportunities. You can use social networking to find them, recruit them and ultimately to help your organization grow!
Happy Recruiting, Social Classroom!
(See the 2009 Social Media Survey by Jobvite that was referenced above: http://recruiting.jobvite.com/2009-social-recruitment-survey.html)
