It’s tough finding candidates. That we all know. So it’s handy to remember there’s one lovely big place they’re bound to be hanging out. And that’s on social media. So if you’re not already using the likes of LinkedIn and Facebook to source new talent now is most definitely the time to get social with your recruiting.

Candidates are out there. One recruitment study  found that 86% of job seekers use social media to look for work. Which is great news. But here’s the thing. There’s a lot of social recruitment going on right now. On Twitter alone, more than 60,000 jobs are tweeted daily  That means recruiters need to be savvy to cut through the noise and make the most of their social recruiting.

Here are a few tips…

TikTok, Twitter or YouTube?

First up is sussing out the right social media channels. TikTok, Pinterest, Google+, YouTube – they’re all there for the taking. But there’s obviously no point directing your recruitment activity to a social platform if it’s not where your ideal candidates are. You need to delve into different platforms to see who’s there, what they’re talking about, their interests and likes and dislikes. Because you’re not looking for any old candidate. You’re looking for a candidate that’s going to be the right fit for the organisation. 

#hiring

Hashtags will draw candidates to your social posts. Sure, you can use #hiring and #jobopening. That will do it. Or maybe you need to be more specific – like #SocialCareJobs. Perhaps you could big up the perks or benefits – #WFH, #FreeBiscuits, #BringYourDogFridays. And if you use your brand personality in your hashtags you’re more likely to attract the right people.

Get visual

Did you know you’ll get a 94% higher response rate if you use a great visual  alongside your content? And tweets that include an image get 150% more retweets. So, yeah, images are important. 

Share the love

Many organisations use employee referrals to help them find candidates. It’s a good move. In one Monster survey , 65% of people said they’d consider a job if someone in their network let them know about it.  

Our ATS system already has a referral capability so employees can pass on job opportunities via a simple ‘Email to a friend’ button within their organisation’s internal careers portal. Last year, when a client came to us for help with their social recruiting, we took things up a notch. We built an option for employees to get a unique, trackable link that could be shared on their social media. The link tracks both the vacancy and the referrer – handy for reporting on as well as seeing what lovely person in the organisation is helping to bring in candidates. 

Just so you know, referred candidates make strong contenders. For starters, research has found that they’re better quality than non-referred applicants. Andreferred candidates are likelier to accept an offer , perform better in the job role and stay in the organisation longer.

Be social

Yep, social media – the clue’s in the title.  Dive in like a salesperson on steroids and you’ll blow this whole social recruiting opportunity. Don’t make your engagement all about the job. Join conversations, share photos and videos to showcase the organisation’s culture, big up company news (placements, promotions, staff member of the month – you get the picture). Take time to get to know people and build and nurture relationships. Then when you have a job vacancy you’ll have a nice little talent pool all warmed up and ready to respond. Heck, they might even love what you’re posting so much they’ll come to you first. 

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