The unprecedented social media revolution has transformed businesses forever. Platforms like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn are no longer just meant to stay connected. They have evolved into potent tools for advertising, branding and customer service with the latest entrant in this list being talent search.
For long, companies have grappled to find and acquire talented people. Social media platforms are soon emerging as the preferred alternative to search and screen probable candidates. The biggest advantage of social media is that it can offer extensive personal details about people that traditional forms can never provide.
Scouting Strategies
The most common recruitment strategy used by companies is plain and simple job postings. This can be a part of the company’s Facebook page/official tweet/LinkedIn message or of the employees’ personal profile pages/posts.
Apart from these, the company’s profile itself can play a large part in attracting potential candidates. Like employers, candidates too prefer to screen the profile pages of the companies. A lot of their decisions are based on the content posted on these pages.
Alison Doyle, the recruitment guide for About.com suggests putting good, positive and engaging content on the company Facebook pages that can interest candidates. She suggests posting interesting content about the company culture, the processes and department structure.
Doyle even encourages the existing employees to post positive things about the company that can build a strong employment brand for the company.
Step Ahead
While searching for people is just one part, companies are also using them to screen people and even woo them if necessary. In fact in creative domains like designing and copywriting, companies often look to view their previous work (websites/client work/individual portfolios) to get a fair idea about their skills.
While this can be extremely helpful, wooing them through these networks is soon catching on. Recruiters or managers or even top level executives establish a strong social media connection to woo talented individuals by regular chats and shares.
Though the percentage of companies using social media for talent search is still tiny, it can certainly work wonders if used in the right way. A right mix of traditional and modern methods with a dash of social media can help you find some really creative and sharp minds.
