Use Social Media to Hire and Recruit

Gone are the days of cold-calling potential applicants or hoping the right person applies for your job opening. Social media hiring tools reduce the amount of time it takes to identify and hire qualified candidates. These tools also reduce the amount of paperwork you have to keep on file, streamlining the entire process. Use these social media hiring tips next time you have a position to fill.

LinkedIn is one of the most useful social media recruiting tools, especially for recruiters who need to fill executive-level positions or positions requiring advanced technology skills. The LinkedIn network is ideal for sourcing applicants because people freely share their information with professional contacts. Not only can you view a potential hire's job history and skill list; you can also read endorsements from past employers. Reading these endorsements isn't a substitute for conducting reference checks, but it can help you gather the information you need to make a good hiring decision.

Social media hiring tools also give you the opportunity to gather feedback about your company without having to run a formal focus group or send surveys to past applicants. You can set up alerts that let you know every time someone mentions your company name on social media networks. If a number of people have the same complaints about your interview process or pre-employment testing strategy, use the information to refine your hiring process. Your hiring process needs to leave a good impression on talented applicants, so don't be afraid to make some tweaks until you get it right.

If you use social media recruiting tactics, make sure you post insightful content on the platform of your choice. Many recruiters make the mistake of using their social media accounts solely for job advertisements, but this is not a good way to engage potential employees. Attract high-caliber applicants to your organization by sharing blog posts, articles and other information that would be of interest to people in your industry.

Social media hiring tools give you the opportunity to engage applicants, making them very valuable for recruiters who need to assess applicant communication skills or critical-thinking skills. Posting links to articles is a good start, but you should also be sharing videos or holding Twitter chats to ensure your company attracts the best candidates. If an applicant responds to your post, write a short response to keep the discussion going. This social media hiring tactic gets potential employees invested in your brand and makes it easier to narrow a large pool of applicants to a more manageable number.

Social media makes it easier for recruiters to attract high-quality candidates, assess their skills and make good hiring decisions. If you are not currently using these social media hiring strategies, think about how you can incorporate platforms such as LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube into your recruiting plan.

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