Hopefully, the answer is – a fairly big one! In recent years, the dependency on social media for recruitment has increased dramatically. As an industry, we’ve been able to use LinkedIn to hire and headhunt for the past 22 years. In fact, that was, or has been, the platform’s primary function – until fairly recently. Let’s lift the lid on social media, and discover how being more social can change the way you grow your workforce.
So how are you utilising social media?
We’ve already mentioned that the majority of recruiters will use LinkedIn to advertise vacancies and headhunt potential talent for your organisation. Within minutes, they can create a post which provides all the information to attract applicants, whilst filtering their suitability. The platform uses the key search terms as a benchmark, providing instant feedback to the applicant on how compatible their profile is to the vacancy itself. This even partial qualification could save you plenty of time when you’re looking at a volume of CV’s.
But social media is also a fantastic tool for research. You can learn a lot about your potential candidates by reviewing their professional experience, understanding how they engage with other professionals, and gaining a basic insight into how they’ll adapt or fit within your existing culture.
Is there an inbound strategy?
The short answer is – yes. Getting candidates to apply through a job advertisement is the most obvious way of encouraging your inbound process. But there are also other avenues of attracting clients (and being more strategic) This could include, but is not limited to:
- Publishing regular company updates on social media and via your website
- Celebrating successes within your organisation
- Writing blog content to demonstrate culture and thought leadership
- Starting a podcast to debate popular industry issues
- Setting up a newsletter that you encourage subscription to
- Consider influencer marketing for certain products/services
What you want to convey is that your business is somewhere they would want to apply, and therefore giving applicants a sense of how you work will encourage them to track your opportunities, before applying for the role of their dreams.
What other platforms could you use?
Of course, there are plenty of other platforms that could be suitable in giving your ideal candidates a sense of who you are and what you do. Instagram provides a visceral way of connecting artists, visionaries and creatives to your purpose. YouTube gives an insight into how you work and what it’s like to join your team. TikTok can reach a younger generation of talent for apprenticeship programs, or those looking to work with a company on the cutting edge of their industry.
It goes without saying that all of these things are important to attract the right candidates during your next round of recruitment, but you still need someone on the lookout for that special person. The one who is the right fit, who can take your business to the next level and who can use their talents to create a future yet to be imagined. If you would like to work with a recruiter who sees the value in the person, and not just in their qualifications, get in touch.
