As most recruitment professionals know, finding the right people can be difficult. That, coupled with our ridiculously low unemployment rates, makes this job even harder. We are at the point where to hire the right person; we need to start targeting someone who is already employed and not necessarily looking for a career switch. This is where knowing your audience comes into play.
Recruitment professionals have taken to new routes when seeking out their next hire. No, they are not bored and searching social media while they wait for their next interview. They are actively using social media to find future quality hires! You heard me correctly. If you are not looking or advertising on social media, you are missing out on great hires.
Ask any human resources professional, and they will tell you that you need to target where you will find the right candidate. Social media allows you to target “passive candidates,” of which 75% are not currently looking for a new opportunity. This is where having a strong offer comes in. You want to offer the person thumbing through their Facebook feed a reason to look into your company.
There are numerous ways to do this. You could try to work in an industry-focused trigger point, such as, “Are you working too much overtime?” or “Are your deadlines too tight?” These could cause the potential employee to question their loyalty to their current employer, and that is where you step in to make the grass greener!
Another way is to offer other benefits that are non-standard in your industry. We have seen companies offer more pay, sign-on bonuses, quarterly performance bonuses, paid leave, and better hours just to name a few.
When starting to use social media for recruitment, it is also good practice to create an account designed strictly for recruitment. This will be clear to those who follow or interact with the page that it has one purpose. Most companies create an account with “jobs” in the title, such as “Smith & Sons Jobs.”
Another tip would be to create hashtags for your recruitment posts. Hashtags are good across multiple social media platforms due to their searchability.
Timing should be thought of, as well, when posting jobs on social media platforms. You will need to think of when your target hire will typically be using social media. Are you looking for factory line workers? Before or after a shift might be a good time to post. We have also seen good results from posts over the lunch hour.
Social media is just an all-around great way to interact with the public and potential employees. You are able to promote your company culture all while getting a view of the potential employee’s background. I hope you take some of these tips into consideration the next time you find your company looking for employees. Social media can be a huge asset in finding passive candidates.
If you have questions, feel free to give us a call, and we can help determine which platform would be best for your next recruitment push.
