Whether you find yourself to be a fan or critic of social media, companies are becoming more dependent on it when hiring and recruiting. In a recent study compiled by Quinstreet Marketing, 80 percent of all hires in the United States last year involved some level of social media interaction. That figure is expected to rise to 86 percent in 2013. So how can businesses use social media effectively and responsibly in their recruiting, and how is social media affecting job seekers?
For Employers
Since social media's effect on hiring continues to grow, businesses need to develop a strategy to use it to attract new employees. Initial steps include establishing a presence for your company where hot jobs can be shared, including your company's Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter pages (among other social sites). While most companies are taking advantage of a basic presence, the real benefits can be found a few layers deeper.
Most major social websites, such as LinkedIn and Facebook, have a number of industry and niche interest groups where recruits can be found and your brand can be strengthened. Typically, these groups are easy to join and offer opportunities for you to post open roles and directly interact with an applicable target audience of qualified candidates. A company can also establish its own groups within these sites, such as LinkedIn, introducing the company to people who are interested in its business and its employment opportunities.
Interaction vs. advertising: Many social media experts say true success is achieved through interaction, not just advertising. This means your posts shouldn't be in set it and forget it mode. It's important to monitor and maintain your social media presence and show potential job seekers that there is an interactive culture at your company. Regular company status updates, responses to posts, and updates on previously posted job opportunities are all important when promoting an interactive culture through your social media presence. Today's job seeker is more interested in culture than ever-and nothing could look more attractive to talented applicants than a feeling of approachability generated by online social media activity.
Keep an open mind: While there are certainly legal implications that must be considered when using social media to research and vet current and potential employees, a certain level of common sense and open mindedness must be maintained. Remember you are recruiting and not conducting a witch-hunt. When visiting someone's public Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn profile, stay focused on what would truly qualify or disqualify them as a good employee. Would their display of gothic imagery and heavy metal music make them a bad software engineer? Probably not. Would the fact that they were by a campfire drinking beer make them a bad marketing manager? Probably not. These are all examples of questions that should be kept in mind as the talent pool continues to shrink.
For Job Seekers
As I regularly speak to job seekers, I constantly emphasize the importance of using common sense when posting photos and status updates. Yes, most people agree that social media presence is a modern day form of personal expression and nobody wants to relinquish their soul and/or sell out to the man through self-censorship. With that said, a middle ground can be achieved when seeking employment.
Unless you truly feel that profanity, over-the-top political views, opinions on religion, and even illegal activities are personal defining qualities, do your best to keep them off your public profile. To most people, this is stating the uber-obvious, but to some, a general sense of self-control disappears in the presence of Twitter and Facebook, and for job seekers that could result in more time without work. There are a number of things you can do to make your social media profile more attractive to potential employers.
Control your brand: The beauty of social media is its ability to let each of us control our brand. We all know that Nike is all about Just Do It because of their massive marketing budget. Until the past few years, we, as individuals, haven't had the power to fully design what employers see about us and what we can offer.
Consider your employment goals and create status posts, blog articles, and shared content that positions you as a thought-leader in your professional space. Sharing a best practice or a powerful article shows you are not just aware of your role, but of your surrounding industry. A significant void in the overall profiles of many applicants is the appearance of being strategic and forward thinking in their industry. Controlling your brand through social media can deliver this message in ways not possible through the traditional rsum and cover letter.
Be active and consistent: Positioning yourself for a new employment opportunity is a job in and of itself and must be taken seriously. Leveraging your LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook profiles, as examples, can provide great benefit, but can't be treated as a flavor of the week. The tone and frequency of your status posts, blog posts, and general updates should be executed with consistency. An employer will be more interested in what you did this week than what you did last year. With that said, they don't need to know what you did five or 10 minutes ago. And the more you can show progression and interaction, the more relevant your social media image will be. Responding to comments, posting a blog of the week, posting your best practice of the month and commenting on relevant industry news and information shows you are in touch with your industry.
Accuracy equals integrity: Outside of posting something that is just absolutely inappropriate, the most damaging thing you can do, related to obtaining employment, is inaccurately represent your employment history. As you apply for jobs, your rsum will often be cross-referenced with your online profiles, such as LinkedIn. An absolute must is ensuring your rsum and professional profiles represent the same employment histories. There are red flags that can be overcome when applying for new employment, but representing yourself as dishonest isn't one of them.
To be clear, social media hasn't taken the place of traditional employment media such as rsums, cover letters, and traditional job posting websites. It has added a level of depth in which one can effectively enrich the image of their company or employment background. Leveraging social media will give you instant access to thousands of companies and/or millions of job seekers. With a talent pool that is constantly shrinking and a global employment economy that becomes more competitive by the day, now is the time to take social media seriously regardless of what side of the hiring table you are on. N
Jason Alexander is the managing partner of BANK W Holdings, LLC in Bedford, which includes Alexander Technology Group, KBW Financial Staffing & Recruiting, and The Nagler Group. He can be reached at www.alexandertg.com.
Current Issue - May 2024