Social Recruiting is a strategy used by companies to search, attract and hire talent more efficiently, using social networks and websites as the main tools. It is a personnel selection technique that is gaining more ground in the recruitment world, and it offers numerous advantages and interesting benefits.
In a world ruled by digital technology, it seems like a no-brainer to search for candidates on social media, especially among the younger generations, but it’s a relatively new trend. Social Recruiting is a booming trend that continues to gain traction and is increasingly used by companies around the world. A recent study indicates that 94% of companies use this medium to search for candidates, and the number of companies that do so actively, will increase even more in the coming years.
When it comes to statistics on social recruiting, there isn’t a lot of hard data as in other areas of social media. However, these few figures justify the growing trend in recruiting on social networks.
- According to Glassdoor, 79% of jobseekers use social media in their job search.
- According to an article published by CareerArc, jobseekers rank social media and professional networks as the most useful job search resource compared to job boards, job postings, recruitment agencies and hiring events.
- SHRM states that recruiting via social media is growing, with 84% of organizations currently using it and 9% planning to use it in the near future.
- MarketingSherpa says that at least 58% of US consumers use social media to follow brands.
- CareerProfiles claims that 73% of millennials (18-34 age group) found their last job through a social media platform.
- Betterteam explains that 80% of employers say that social recruiting helps them find passive candidates. They also claim that 70% of hiring managers say they have successfully hired with social media.
- Apollo Technical has published that more than 50% of university graduates use LinkedIn.
- LinkedIn has announced that 40 million people search for jobs on LinkedIn weekly.
- The Harris Poll says that 67% of employers use social media to search for candidates.
Social networks are very versatile, you can use them for so much more than to connect with family and friends. You can also use them to post job offers, communicate with potential candidates, have others suggest people and tag them through social media posts, research candidates, etc. This has certainly changed recruitment and hiring strategies.
What are the most used networks for Social Recruiting?
There are numerous tools through which Social Recruiting can be carried out. In the first place, it is worth highlighting social networks, which are one of the main communication channels used in this technique. LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram are the most used social networks for this purpose. Another of the online tools used in Social Recruiting are websites specializing in job offers, such as Indeed, Infojobs or Monster.
What advantages does Social Recruiting offer for companies?
Engaging in Social Recruiting offers numerous benefits for companies, first, it allows greater dissemination of job offers, which translates into an increase in the chances of finding the ideal candidate. Companies can also reach candidates who are not actively looking for a job, but who may consider a change of employer if an exciting new opportunity presents itself.
In addition, this technique saves time and costs, since companies can reach a greater number of candidates more efficiently and cheaper.
The brand is reinforced, by investing time in creating content for social networks, and the digital presence of the company increases, generating greater prestige and visibility.
Another of the benefits of Social Recruiting is that it allows you to obtain relevant information about the candidates since social networks are usually a good reflection of a person’s personality and professional profile.
Likewise, this technique promotes transparency in the personnel selection process, which is an advantage for both companies and candidates.
What advantages does Social Recruiting offer for candidates?
Social recruiting also offers numerous advantages for candidates. Firstly, companies can spread job offers more easily and at a lower cost, which translates into an increase in available job offers and, therefore, an increase in the chances of finding the most suitable job. It also makes it easier for potential candidates to apply and establish communication with the company. In addition, Social Recruiting promotes transparency in the personnel selection process, which allows candidates to know the expectations and requirements of the company in a clearer and more detailed way. Likewise, this technique allows for obtaining relevant information about companies, which facilitates decision-making when looking for a job.
What Social Recruiting strategies can we apply?
There are numerous Social Recruiting strategies that companies can use to find talent online.
First, you must create an online presence, creating a company website is essential, then defining the ideal target audience and investigating which social networks they congregate on. It is possible that very technical or specific profiles congregate in very specific networks.
Depending on your objectives and audience, you should create professional profiles on the main social networks, especially LinkedIn, which is the largest social network for professional relationships. Of the more general social networks, you can also consider having updated profiles on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram to produce an online presence and interact in groups related to specific industries.
Another strategy is to post job openings on specialized job search websites such as Indeed, Infojobs, or Monster. Joining these job forums and blogs and posting job postings, as well as interacting directly with candidates, can be very profitable and efficient.
Registering on these social networks and sharing job offers is the first step, as a company you need to have an objective, and a vision and share your message with your audience. This of course means you will also have to have a content strategy. You need to be consistent, disseminate your articles and add value to your audience. It’s also very important to analyse the interaction of your audience that fit your ideal profiles, as wellas the traffic generated on your website and social networks.
Don’t forget that your current employees can be your best ambassadors, they can share the content you publish, and thus exercise social proof and influence their networks.
Finally, there are some programs that can facilitate the implementation and execution of your Social Recruiting strategy such as Manatal, Lever, Recruiterbox, Jobvite, among others.
It is clear from the data that incorporating Social Recruiting to your personnel search strategies is an effective and profitable approach.
