How trends in social media recruitment are changing the job-seeking process
February 2004, Harvard University. Mark Zuckerberg locked himself in his dormitory room. And changed the world. In developing Facebook he changed the way people communicate and – eight years later – the way they’re recruited.
Job seekers no longer need briefcases - they need smartphones. Having a digital presence is as important as having a CV.
Candidates need to be accessible
Social media has added a new dimension to the recruitment mix – allowing employers to build affinities with candidates before they hire them. 93% of US-based companies have recruited employees using social networks and 43% of them have seen an increase in candidate quality. Applicants with a professional online presence give recruiters and employers access to a fuller picture of themselves.
Global trends indicate that LinkedIn is the most-used social recruitment tool with Facebook and Twitter second and third respectively.
How do you leverage LinkedIn?
LinkedIn allows employers and recruiters to post jobs within specific fields, targeting candidates who are related to (or already employed in) the industry. It also gives recruiters the opportunity to view CVs online without asking candidates to send them.
Recruiters can build a database of probable candidates within a specific field by interacting with them in LinkedIn’s Learning Centres. These discussions can be used to match candidates’ opinions and personalities with the requirements of a particular company.
Facebook is widely used as a social recruitment tool
LinkedIn is known as a professional networking platform. Facebook? Not so much. Yet global trends indicate that 66% of companies use it as a recruitment tool.
2 ways you can use Facebook as a recruitment tool
1. Fan pages are important for both employers and recruiters. Company pages allow employers to post job openings and then measure interest in these. Recruiters or recruitment companies should have pages set to communicate new employment opportunities immediately.
2. Facebook is an evaluation tool. Many candidates will (hopefully) know the dangers of posting public content – especially if it’s questionable. Still, checking on the content they have made public will give recruiters an idea of the individual behind the CV.
Use Twitter in conjunction with other recruitment methods
Of them all, Twitter is the least obvious tool for social recruitment – especially in South Africa. However, it can be effective you use it in conjunction with standard recruitment methods, LinkedIn and Facebook.
Twitter means immediacy. Recruiters and employers can post immediately – and frequently – about open positions. This is a long-term investment because, to be effective, a Twitter account needs to have as many followers as possible. And this takes time.
A newer trend in social media recruitment is using job-focused Twitter search engines, such as TwitJobSearch. Recruiters can enter the details of a position they’re looking to fill and then have it broadcast – via Twitter – to users who are seeking employment.
Integrate social media platforms
A candidate can have a digital presence made up of profiles on numerous social media platforms. It can be tricky for them, and you, to keep track of them all. Websites that integrate social media platforms with an interactive job portal allow recruiters to get a fuller picture of a candidate.
By creating professional 3D profiles a candidate’s application creates virtual chemistry – a shared interaction between a potential employer and employee – wholly created online.
Global trends which have a local impact
When it comes to social media recruitment, South Africa has some catching up to do. However, the argument that South Africans aren’t as focused on social media as Americans or Europeans is (mostly) void. Approximately 1.9 million South Africans have profiles on LinkedIn and 1 in 4 job seekers have used social media for job-seeking. Since 2010, there’s been a 15.8% increase in the use of social media to find talent in SA. With this in mind, careers24.com developed their own plug-in for Facebook allowing jobseekers to use their social media profiles in their job search.
It’s not uncommon to enter discussion about if online recruitment is as applicable locally as it is globally. Those for argue that only a small percentage of South Africans has a computer with Internet access. This may be true, but South Africa is a mobile country – 29 million South Africans use cellphones for Internet access and South Africa is ranked 6th on the World’s Top Ten List for Mobile Internet Connectivity,.
Recruitment by referral is a trend to watch
One of the most significant trends in social media recruiting is that it’s being used as a tool for employee referral. 31% of companies using social media as a recruitment tool indicated a sustained increase in employee referrals. Encouraging current employees (or if you’re a recruiter – successful candidates) to share job openings with friends and followers on various platforms will increase your reach.
