3 Secrets to Social Media Recruiting

While social media is nothing new, it has been evolving over the last decade. Organizations that fail to use social media, not only as a means to advance their recruiting strategies, but also as a means to extend their company culture, will be left behind in the vastly changing world of Internet technology. To use social media as merely a researching tool for incoming candidates only showcases a one-dimensional view of the hiring process. Like many aspects of an organization everything is intricately connected and social media recruiting is no different.

Social media has changed the way we view the world and has opened the doors for individuals to have a voice on a variety of topics. However, for many recruiters, social media has not been used properly. Rather than embracing social media as a recruiting tool, many recruiters use it strictly as a means to weed out candidates for various job positions. 

For social media to be used properly, recruiters must approach social media recruiting as a means to extend a company's culture through the hiring process. In today's hiring process, many job seekers claim company culture is a major point of interest in seeking a new position. A 2014 Jobvite social recruiting study concluded that 73 percent of job seekers highlight company culture as a major draw to change employment. Social media allows for potential candidates to assess an organization’s culture and whether that culture is a good fit or not. 

For recruiters, social media allows for a company's culture to extend beyond the confines of the workplace and identify quality individuals that share the same goals, values and traits that fit within the company culture. Social media helps recruiters connect with potential candidates, create opportunities for exposure, identify talent and finally, determine quality fits within the organization.

Because of this cultural shift, many organizations must adapt to the changing times and approach company culture not as an added benefit, but as a necessity within the workplace. Similarly, recruiters must continue the company culture narrative within the recruiting process. To do that, recruiters must have a clear social media recruiting strategy that reflects the values and culture of an organization.

1. Establish Shared Interests - To properly extend an organization's company culture through social media recruiting, recruiters must first identify potential candidates through shared interests. This involves an examination of the organizational culture itself. A recruiter cannot seek like-minded individuals if an organization does not have a clear company culture. Through an identification of an organization's culture, a recruiter can then examine how potential candidates can interact within the organization. For example a creative based advertising agency will seek individuals who clearly showcase creativity within their social sharing, however a law firm would seek a vastly different candidate. Because of the vast differences between organizations it is necessary to have a clear concept of a company's culture.

2. Create Opportunities - By engaging on social media platforms, organizations are able to move beyond the traditional means of job board recruiting. Linked In, Facebook, Twitter and Google Plus all allow for organizations to showcase their brand, culture and desired needs in creative ways. Because recruiting practices have become far more competitive within the last two years, it is important for organizations to keep up with the demand for social media recruiting. In 2014, 93 percent of recruiters utilized Linked In as a means to pursue key candidates. As more organizations establish a social media presence, it becomes vastly important to stand out among the crowd, which is done solely through expressing an organization's culture. 

3. Identify Talent - Identifying talent through social media is the most traditional form of social media recruiting strategies. While weeding out poor candidates from great candidates by analyzing social sharing should not be the sole utilization of social media recruiting, it does give organizations the opportunity to ensure that the right candidate is hired for the right position. 

Through social media channels like Facebook and Twitter, how an organization presents itself is key to the extension of their company culture. Other social media channels, such as Glass Door increase the demand for transparency in the recruiting process.

At MK Strategic Resources we assist a variety of organizations in not only their recruiting strategies, but also their company culture needs. We don't just provide resumes; we place the right candidates in the right position to ensure business success. To extend your company culture beyond the confines of your office, contact MK Strategic today.