You may be leveraging every resource at your disposal and turning over every possible stone to find great candidates. But if you aren’t making the most of social media during your selection and sourcing process, you may be missing out on critical opportunities to find and attract top talent. HR experts and professional recruiters no longer view social media as personal space; Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn are an essential element of any sound hiring and staffing program. But only if they’re used correctly. Keep these moves in mind as you make the most of these popular platforms.
Use social media to expand your brand.
Send your message out into the world and double the size of your online footprint by encouraging conversation about your company. The best branding approaches still revolve around old-fashioned word of mouth, and social media, at its best, is simply word of mouth taken to the next level. Keep your posts and updates clever, positive, and frequent. Imagine your company is a guest at a party, and as all great raconteurs know, elevated and interesting conversation is the key to success. Turn your company into a thought leader, second; a conversation leader, first.
Respond.
The most fruitful conversations will be a two-way street, and the more and better you communicate, the more love and attention your company will get from the social media sphere. Keep a close eye on all comments, questions, and public posts. Don’t allow your social media feed to look like an abandoned ghost ship.
Don’t factor social media into candidate reviews.
While you shape your social media footprint to attract top candidates, avoid the reverse. Allow and encourage candidates to judge you by your feeds and posts, but stop short of using social media to evaluate candidate profiles. Of course it may be difficult to avoid a quick skim of a candidate’s online person before making an offer, but if you take a brilliant candidate’s Facebook feed too seriously and reject said candidate for silly reasons (for example, a photo of her drinking a cocktail and clowning around with her friends) you’ll lose. You’ll also need to have a plan in mind if your social media “evaluations” reveal protected or sensitive aspects of her profile.
Keep your content smart and fresh.
You may not personally have the time or resources to generate a constant supply of intelligent, interesting, relevant content that addresses the issues affecting your industry. But if you can’t, find someone who can. Consider enlisting the help of a digital marketing firm who can provide great content and also monitor your views and other stats.
For more on how to use social media to your best advantage during the hiring process, reach out to the experts at Cordia Resources.