Recruiting & Hiring Blog for HR Professionals

The recent EEOC hearings on social media in the workplace have the HR industry buzzing. Over the next few weeks, we’ll be sharing our analysis of the testimonies from these hearings and things you should take into consideration for social media recruiting.

Do you know what social media is? Most people think they do. As we already know, social media is only becoming a larger focus for HR and recruiting. But if the recent hearings held by the EEOC are any indication, there is nothing close to a clear definition of what “social media” actually means.

Finding the right applicant tracking system is already challenging for many businesses—but with all the social media tools available these days, how do you decide which ones to use to support your hiring and recruiting efforts?

Mediabistro states 14.4 million job seekers in the United States have used social media to search for a job. In fact, 29 percent of survey respondents use social media as their primary tool for job searching. If you haven’t incorporated social media into your recruiting process yet, this means social media could be a new opportunity to expand your talent pool.

Many believe LinkedIn is on its way to becoming the No 1. corporate recruiting portal. In terms of social media, it’s already the No. 1 social network used by recruiters, according to a study by Mediabistro. And with more than 277 million users and more signing up everyday, LinkedIn is turning into one of our favorite tools for connecting companies and job seekers in a professional online environment.

Maybe you already use LinkedIn to support your company’s marketing and sales efforts, but have you considered how you can enhance your company LinkedIn page to attract talent? Here we share three ways you can enhance your presence and your company’s profile on LinkedIn to create more visibility for your job openings and engage job seekers.

The Human Resources community has always been a tightknit bunch. They freely share ideas, opinions, and best practices while simultaneously embracing many forms of social networking, especially Twitter.

When Twitter (then called Twittr) first launched in 2006, not everyone was sold on the idea. Co-founder Biz Stone originally described the site as a place where “groups of friends bounce random thoughts around with SMS.” Eight years later, Twitter has become one of the most predominant platforms in social media, helping to spread ideas, launch revolutions, and constantly connect people around the world.

Twitter recently launched a new tool that lets you discover any user's first tweet. So we thought it'd be fun to take a look back at the first tweets of some of today’s most active HR Influencers and Thought Leaders.

Are you thinking about using social media to screen job applicants? According to a study by social media monitoring service Reppler, more than 90 percent of the recruiters and hiring managers surveyed have visited a potential candidate’s profile on a social network as part of the screening process. Another interesting find from the survey is 69 percent of recruiters have rejected a candidate based on content found on his or her social networks. At the same time, 68 percent have actually hired a candidate based on information found on his or her social media profiles.

“Social Media Recruiting” is a hot topic in HR today. Every management software company and professional social media network claims that it can expand the reach of your job postings and attract more applicants. But recruiting revolutions don’t happen overnight. Social media can be a powerful tool to amplify your online voice, but only if this new tool is used in a smart and effective way. So check out these simple “Dos and Don’ts” of social media recruiting, to expand your reach and your applicant pool in the right way:

The Dos

• Leverage Your Existing Communities. Social media is designed to share information that users find relevant and useful. According to a recent CareerArc Group survey, 72% of companies use social media to advertise their jobs. Whether you are trying to share jobs on Facebook,Twitter, or LinkedIn, if you have a thriving online community of users who are committed to your brand, social media can be the perfect outlet to find new applicants who already have a personal interest in your company.
• Target Specific Individuals. Social media allows you to search for passive job seekers that may not even be on the market. These sites allow you to view assimilations of a candidate’s work history and relevant skills and experience. Additionally, through the rise of geo-location, social media sites now allow you to share messages with users in targeted geographical areas – so you can reach out to job seekers, with the right skills, in your neighborhood.
• Use New Communication Platforms. Once you’ve identified a quality candidate you can encourage them to apply via social media messages. Whether it’s a private message via Facebook or an InMail via LinkedIn, companies can use social communication tools to reach out and provide initial contact with potential employees.