The world has evolved at a rapid pace from the emergence of landlines to the wildfire-like popularity of social media, and it impacts on the new generations. As per a report by the leading statistical research portal Statistic, Facebook has 2.06 billion users, and WhatsApp has 1.3 billion users. To put that into perspective, the population of China, world’s most populated country in the world, is 1.38 billion. A crazy number, isn’t it? This is a goldmine of opportunity to marketers set out to build their brand, and as a more recent pool for recruiters in search of the perfect candidate.
As a hiring manager, you wish to hunt the most talented, qualified, and a well-versed pool of applicants. Social networks like Facebook and LinkedIn offer hiring managers a tremendous opportunity to connect with potential employees – many of whom would never come up through traditional sources.
Bad Reputation Can Cost a Company at Least 10% More Per Hire – Wade Burgess
Wondering you best you can use social media for hiring? Here are a few pointers to get you jump-started.
Reaching Out to the Best-fit Candidates
Your social media posts are more like to reach a younger audience who do not usually follow opening notification through the traditional channels. Your reach will also grow at an exponential rate, taking advantage of your immediate network, and the networks of those who interact with your post, increasing your chances of finding the right fit.
LinkedIn is the current hotbed for sourcing potential employees on the fly and without much investment. Tweets about job updates and openings also get a lot of likes and retweet, which will add to your public relations activity.
Finally, you can post job openings on your own blog, and send the article to leading bloggers who are experts in your industry.
Filtering The Best Candidates
Social media can help you learn more about your potential candidates – right from their political inclinations to how they like to spend time away from office. You’d think this data is irrelevant, but in the age where millennial’s are taking over the workforce, working with each other as a team is a big priority for any organization.
As a general rule of thumb, you shouldn’t filter out candidates just based on social activities like a drunk picture. That way, you will end up filtering out everyone below age 30. Instead, you should look for patterns of good or bad judgement, personality, writing style and issue knowledge and interest.
Building A Robust Employer Brand Leveraging Social Media
By 2025, the workforce will be comprised almost entirely of millennial’s, a generation that loves quick and crisp communication. But to get them on board, just a sumptuous pay packet is nearly not enough.
More than the compensation, millennial’s care about who they are working for, and how the organization treats them. And they spend a lot of time on social media. Posting examples of employee engagement activities and wellness programs are bound to draw a lot more attention from these circles than anything. If you need inspiration, look at Google, Facebook and Microsoft. They are some of the best companies when it comes to employer branding, and they make the most of it through social media.
As we move into an era of faster communication and instant gratification, social media will play a definitive role in shaping every aspect of life – from how we perceive problems, situations and opportunities, to how much we are aware of the world. With the world connected by social networks, the world is indeed a global village. And what better place to find the right employees for your company than the networks you are already a part of.
