Whether it be LinkedIn, Instagram, or another platform, social media is a strong tool for hiring top talent.
Below, 12 business leaders share their best tips for using social media to recruit.
Be Truly Interested
It’s important that you are thoughtful, genuine, and unique in each message you send as a Recruiter. The most sought after candidates receive several emails or InMails a month and most Recruiters use generic, template emails that don’t stand out and therefore get ignored. I always coach my recruiting teams to review each candidate’s profile first to make sure that the role we’re looking to fill is a reasonable match to their skillset and experience. Then, find at least one item in the profile that they can point to as something that stands out and piqued our interest. Include a short blurb about the role and why you believe it’s worth their time to talk with you about it. Don’t make the messages all about you or the company or the role—just enough key information to get their attention. Try to identify something special about the open role like the opportunity to use an up and coming technology or being a part of a high profile project, etc. Keep your messages short and sweet and custom to each candidate for the highest chance of a response. Finally, don’t give up after one message. Be prepared to follow up 2-3 more times if needed but again, customize each message so they know you’re truly interested in them and have something unique to offer vs. sending spam messages to lots of candidates.
Heather Marcom, Freedom Financial Network
Highlight Your Unique Personality
Highlight your organization’s unique personality and culture on relevant social media platforms. One reason people use social media is to connect with others, including brands. Personalized and relatable content and communication on your organization’s social media accounts can be a powerful tool in creating an emotional connection to a brand. Engage with other accounts and apply personalization there, too. Consider adding a customized note to a LinkedIn invitation; like and comment on other appropriate posts; and sprinkle in engaging details and articles, when applicable.
Lauren Cohen, Farmers Insurance
Leverage All Team Members
At Spear, we leverage all of our team members to help spread the word. Each time an opportunity opens up, the Talent Acquisition team creates a social media post specific to that role. We then send it to all members of the hiring team and their departments and we encourage them to post to their LinkedIn and Twitter accounts. We also put links to each job in our weekly newsletter so everyone can share the posting on their social media accounts. My tip? Make it as easy as possible for people to share!
Promote Your Culture First
Using social media for job recruiting should go beyond a “now hiring” post on your Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn page. Create a buzz around your company before you ever have an open position. You should share content on these platforms that shows that your company is a great place to work so you can organically attract candidates. Then, when a job opening does come along, you should already have several candidates that have reached out beforehand.
Stay True to Your Values
In the age of social networking, it is easy to get lost in the noise. In order to recruit key talent, keep your brand’s social media messaging authentic to its values and goals. Not only do you want to recruit the right competency fit, but it’s also crucial to attract people that culturally align with your business. Be clear and concise about your organization’s vision on social platforms and the right talent will follow.
Build Trust
When using social media to recruit, specifically LinkedIn, chances are you are going to come across several passive candidates, or people that aren’t actively looking for a job. In these instances, don’t be afraid to reach out to a candidate that has the qualifications you are looking for even if their Linkedin states they are currently employed. The worst they can do is ignore or decline your offer, and the best that can happen is you find an experienced, qualified new hire.
Be Active. Be Consistent.
LinkedIn is my social channel of choice when it comes to both reactive and proactive recruiting. The most valuable takeaway for employers- become active and maintain consistent engagement. Employers that are engaged and consistently providing industry-relevant content, promote thought leadership, and industry expertise. Rather than ONLY promote hiring needs, get creative, and drive candidates to apply. This will save time and a ton of the back and forth leg work. It also gives employers easy access to a wider talent pool and fills roles quicker. Last but not least, remember candidate experience is crucial and ANY interaction a prospective candidate has with your company will reflect on company culture.
Austin TeNgaio, Talent Acquisition
Focus on People
Our digital pr agency actively uses Instagram to attract new candidates. If you visit our Instagram page, you’ll notice that it’s all about our people. We often post employee spotlights, celebrate anniversaries, and share our team outings to provide a glimpse into our culture. The best part about this is that it works! Most of the candidates we interview mention our Instagram account and say that one of the reasons they would love to join our team is our company culture.
Don’t Limit Yourself to One Platform
Post your listings on different group boards on Linkedin that are relevant to the position. This helps improve the viewership of your listing. Also, ask people in your network to share your posting.
Lloyd Hopkins, Million Dollar Teacher Project
Authenticity is Key
Be yourself! Authenticity isn’t so hard to achieve on social platforms if you’re brave. I also have boundaries with social media. I use LinkedIn primarily for recruiting and keep my interactions professional yet real. Holding boundaries sacred & still letting your true self shine through – that’s honesty. Authenticity & honesty help professional social relationships grow.
Emily Beattie, Recruiter & Human Resource Consultant
Consider Your Industry
It depends on the business. For travel, product, materially focused businesses, I would definitely advocate for social media platforms like Instagram or Facebook because you are conveying an experience. Pictures definitely help with that. In other businesses like SaaS and tech, it makes more sense to stick to LinkedIn.
Sharissa Staples, Business Operations Analyst
Tailor Your Message
Know your audience! You can market the same job on LinkedIn, Instagram, and Facebook but each posting should be tailored to the demographic that uses that platform.
Andrew Aziz, HRBP