Thinking Ahead | July 22, 2012
Social recruiting is a topic that is certainly abuzz, but how advanced are recruiters and applicants when it comes to actually making it work? Where are the crowds, and what social networks offer the best platform for recruiting?
In their 2012 annual social recruiting survey, Jobvite found that more than 9 in 10 are currently using social media for recruiting – and 73 percent have made a successful hire that way. Along with Bullhorn, Inc in their report An Inside Look at Social Recruiting in the USA, Jobvite also found that LinkedIn was by and far the most popular site for social recruiting and job posting.
Here’s a breakdown of how recruiters are currently using the most popular social networks for talent acquisition, what recruiters should be doing and what to look for in the coming months:
LinkedIn was found to be the most popular site for posting jobs with 77 percent of openings shared there, and 93 percent of recruiters currently using it. The tool is somewhat traditional in its friendliness to sourcing and job posting – think deep Web searching and modern job boards – which may not seem social by nature, but the networking and status sharing capabilities present some interesting opportunities for recruiters.
To be successful, talent acquisition professionals should continue to use LinkedIn in the traditional sense, but should also utilize the platform for social engagement by taking part in pre-established groups and conversations that passive candidates and industry-specific talent is likely already active in. In addition, the reference capabilities of LinkedIn should be taken advantage of, asking current employees to share job openings and get in touch with other professionals in their network that they deem a good fit. Recruiters clearly understand LinkedIn best – with 89 percent having hired an employee on the platform.
Twitter came in second, with 54 percent of job openings shared there and over 50 percent of recruiters using the network for this purpose. Twitter is a powerful social tool because of its virility – think about how simple it is to retweet content and reach a mass audience. What is challenging is the need for influence and a large number of followers, which may be why only 15 percent of recruiters can say they’ve hired through Twitter.
To make an impact on Twitter – where there is well over 200 million tweets per day – visibility and reach is vital. To ensure a big pickup, companies and recruiters have to work hard at becoming a trusted source and influencer. Joining industry chats, using industry or career hashtags that have already gained traction and listening and contributing, rather than just pushing out job openings, is critical. Twitter is much less traditional in that the community at large must be tapped into to build an ecosystem that supports sourcing candidates and sharing jobs.
Facebook came in a distant third with just 25 percent of jobs shared there, and two thirds of those surveyed by Jobvite responding that they’ve used it for recruiting services. However, 25 percent of those recruiters say that they’ve made a successful hire through Facebook.
Facebook is a great platform to sell Company culture with visuals like video and pictures – perhaps not a direct recruiting medium, but an important step in creating a desirable employer brand. It’s also grown as a recruiting medium with BranchOut, and will likely continue based on rumors of the network launching its own job board later this summer. Recruiters should continue to look at Facebook with a dual purpose: a vehicle for creating an employment brand and for job sharing.
Even with 50 percent or less of recruiters currently using Twitter and Facebook, tapping into social networks with a holistic approach is no longer an option. Candidates are out there, and it’s a recruiter’s job to find them first and more quickly. What social platform is working best for your talent acquisition and which do you see dominating the future of social recruiting?
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