Strategic HR Review

Best practices for using social media as a recruitment strategy

Sherrie A. Madia,
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Sherrie A. Madia, (2011) "Best practices for using social media as a recruitment strategy", Strategic HR Review, Vol. 10 Issue: 6, pp.19-24,
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 Best practices for using social media as
a recruitment strategy
Sherrie A. Madia
Downloaded by UNIVERSITY OF COLOMBO At 02:50 01 October 2017 (PT)
Sherrie A. Madia is Director,
Communications, External
Affairs at the University of
Pennsylvania, Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania, USA.
DOI 10.1108/14754391111172788
Abstract
Purpose The aim of this article is to explore how HR professionals can best use social media in their
search for talent.
Design/methodology/approach This article discusses the current state of social media for
recruitment and its relation to job boards, and examines best practices, including consideration of a
social media recruitment strategy plan, appropriate resources and the importance of a content strategy
and social media policy. The best practices are based on a comprehensive review of literature coupled
with experiential accounts from practitioners and the authors firsthand experiences in crafting
successful social media strategies.
Findings While levels of awareness and adoption continue to develop both for recruiters and job
applicants, organizations must consider adding social media to their overall recruitment strategy to meet
the goals of being cost-effective, targeted, and strategic; remaining competitive; and sourcing top
talent.
Originality/value The article points to the need for starting small, gauging response, and utilizing an
iterative approach to the inclusion of evolving social networks for optimized recruitment.
Keywords Social media, Recruitment, Job boards, Social networks, Talent
Paper type Research paper
everal years ago, it was acceptable for organizations to pass on social media, citing
S the fact that these channels may be no more than a fad, and reconciling themselves
to the fact that they simply were not resourced to accommodate yet another channel.
Today organizations can no longer afford to sit it out. The business reasons for engaging in
social networking have been sufficiently documented through success stories across
industries, signaling to organizations that if they choose not to engage, they risk becoming
less competitive at best, and irrelevant at worst (McCann, 2010).
As part of an organizations recruitment strategy, social media is compelling. It is also still in
the stages of being formulated, being adapted, and being adopted, which for many adds a
layer of angst and apprehension. And yet, in this climate of slow economic recovery,
companies have a need to get it right when it comes to hiring decisions, and they have a
need to get it right in a way that is cost-effective and efficient.
Tactics such as job boards and employment fairs are proving less successful in a glutted
market. They are producing far more individuals who are far less qualified for positions, and
can now be supplemented with channels that are largely free and reach a more targeted
talent pool.
Social media can no longer be ignored
For companies who have not yet engaged in the social networking space for the purposes of
recruiting, the downside is that a companys competitors most likely have, so it behooves HR
VOL. 10 NO. 6 2011, pp. 19-24, Q Emerald Group Publishing Limited, ISSN 1475-4398 j STRATEGIC HR REVIEW j PAGE 19
 departments in companies large and small to develop a plan even if this means one
simple, social-media component through which to test the waters. The key to success at any
stage of engagement is to maintain an iterative approach, and compare results to existing
recruiting strategies based on viable applicants, response rates and quality of candidates,
to arrive at an organizations optimal recruitment mix. For instance, the ideal social media
elixir to complement Unisys more traditional recruitment tactics comprises YouTube,
LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter, which enables the firm to reach a number of different
demographics (Unisys, 2010).
Like everyone else in corporate America, HR professionals are challenged to do more with
less. Social-media tactics can provide a new pipeline of talent as well as a means of
showcasing the company or brand. Ideally, this is an opportunity for HR to develop its
recruitment strategy in conjunction with marketing, public relations, customer relations and
internal communications to achieve resource sharing in terms of content, and results in the
form of top hires and positive publicity for a company that knows how to position itself in the
online space. Bear in mind that social media speaks directly of a companys relevance, so to
attract the best of the best, companies must start by ensuring that their own online presence
is strong.

The state of social media recruiting

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According to a 2010 Jobvite survey of social media use by corporate recruiters, 83 percent
of respondents indicated they currently are or are planning to use social media on behalf of
recruitment efforts. LinkedIn remains the network of choice, with 86 percent of respondents
citing this as a top choice for recruitment and the leading source for successful hires, but
Facebook and Twitter have joined the ranks of viable recruitment channels (Jobvite, 2010).
One of the trends to take note of is that traffic to sites dedicated to career resources jumped
in January 2010 amid a lackluster economy. According to comScore (2010), the career
resources category of online traffic reached more than 51 million visitors, which marked a
record high, including visitors to Monster (19.3 million), Yahoo! HotJobs (19 million), and
Career Builder (18.3 million).
While the Bureau of Labor Statistics Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS)
reported that as of December 2010 the ratio of applicants to jobs averaged 4.7 job seekers
for every one opening (BLS, 2011), what should be cause for concern among recruiters is
the dramatic increase in traffic to job boards. Twice as many job seekers are visiting job
board sites, while half as many jobs are being posted.
Thus, recruiters are finding that job boards are yielding more unqualified applicants than
ever (Light, 2011). Strategies are shifting from saturation on the job boards, to a mix of job
boards and social networking sites so that recruiters can source top talent in more targeted
and efficient ways.

The case for an integrated strategy

The results are showing that this integrated strategy appears to be working. For example,
TiVo, Inc. attributed its 11 percent increase in referrals to LinkedIn and other social
networking sites (Lauby, 2010). The most effective social-media recruiting applies the
elements of smart social-media practice in general. Specifically, it is never about just one
network. Effective social media talent sourcing centers on networking the networks in
ways that provide entryways for talent across communities and platforms. The added benefit
is the ability for companies to target pools of potential applicants with greater precision.
Researching blogs, niche communities and groups within larger networks can give a HR
operation the information it needs to be able to plant content seeds within these sites to
attract more qualified applicants.
For many recruiters, social media has become part of a more cost-effective hiring solution
and the faster way to get jobs posted in a timeframe that the recruiter controls. For example,
a job can be tweeted out right away, and retweeted as often as a recruiter deems necessary.

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PAGE 20 STRATEGIC HR REVIEW VOL. 10 NO. 6 2011
 Effective social media talent sourcing centers on networking
the networks in ways that provide entryways for talent across
communities and platforms.

These types of efforts can reduce job-board spending and enable the recruiter to focus on
targeted communications within industry-specific communities.
Important to keep in mind is how job boards and social networks can work together. As
CareerBuilder (n.d.) recounts, through the addition of a Facebook page for client Dan
Temps, a full-service staffing agency, after three months on this site, the company had
gained 600 fans, and an increase of 500 percent in applications to its CareerBuilder Job
Postings page.

Social media channels proving successful

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If you are not convinced of the power of social networks, consider Twitter, a microblogging
site that enables users to tweet out messages of 140 characters. To date, more than 10,000
recruiters are using this platform. In early 2011, an initial attempt at a 25 Most Influential
Recruiters on Twitter was compiled based on data retrieved from We Follow, a
user-generated Twitter directory (Buss, 2010).
While the methodology behind the list may be questioned (e.g., users who are not
self-registered on We Follow were excluded from the data set), the takeaway is that Twitter
has become a viable channel for sourcing talent beyond more traditional means.
Companies using Twitter effectively for recruitment include: Kaplan Test Prep Services
(@KTPA_Careers), McCormick & Schmick (@Careers_At_MSSR), US Dept of State
(@DOScareers), AT&T (@ATTjobs), and Hyatt Hotels & Resorts (@Hyattcareers) (2020
Workplace, 2009).

Strategies for engagement

Before an organization launches its presence within any of the social networking sites, it
must first consider its process for engaging job candidates. That is, a company will want to
create a job-applicant process that directs the right people seamlessly from its Twitter
stream or Facebook page, to the corporate website for an application or additional
information.
Companies who fail to create this process first end up letting qualified applicants slip
through the cracks simply because the application process was not clear, or the volume of
applicants became too overwhelming for a human resources staff that was not properly
prepared for the influx.
For recruiters who are new to social media as a recruitment tool, or are looking to optimize
their efforts, the following are best practices for launching a successful social media
recruitment strategy:
B First, know that social media is neither a quick fix nor a replacement for existing
recruitment tools. Consider social media an extension of your existing strategy; so before
you turn on social networking sites, ensure that your corporate recruitment site is
up-to-date and capable of handling additional volume.
B Ensure that you are resourced appropriately to engage in the channels you create. Social
media comes with a different set of expectations conversation, timely response, and
being there to interact are central across networks. Immediacy matters in this space.

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VOL. 10 NO. 6 2011 STRATEGIC HR REVIEW PAGE 21
 B Create a social media recruitment plan based on business objectives. Your plan should
include a content strategy (e.g. What types of content will you provide? How often will you
offer this content?).
B Create a social media policy so that those who will engage within the online space will
understand expectations, tone, style and the types of information that can be shared, as
well as any legal parameters that must be followed.
B Choose social networks that are most closely aligned with where your target audience
can be found. Start small, with a presence in one to three networks, and gauge results and
workload accordingly. LinkedIn is a smart choice for most companies, particularly those
just starting out in social networks. The site engages almost every imaginable industry
and skill set so companies will likely want to include this as a baseline network. Ensure
that you have a completed profile and/or your Company Page contains up-to-date
information.
B If you opt for Facebook and Twitter, these pages should reflect and align with your overall
corporate image. While you do not have to spend a great deal of money on customized
design, it makes sense to spend some resources to hire a designer/programmer to create
this important extension of your digital footprint.
B If your company has not yet produced much in the way of video, recruitment might be the
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ideal place to start. YouTube, which remains the second-largest search engine, is a
strategic place for companies to showcase their personalities, testimonials or
behind-the-scenes looks at the corporate culture, its management or its work ethic.
This not only lets you share more of your organizations personality, it is a great way to help
weed out applicants who may find that your corporate culture is not a match for them.
B Engage in social media specific recruitment sites such as TweetMyJobs, which was
launched in 2009, and has since become the largest Twitter job board in the world;
SimplyHired.com, a job search engine that aggregates listings from thousands of sites,
including the top job boards and organizations job sites; or TweetAJob, which manages
the recruiters job postings via Twitter.
Following are some of the things that job seekers will be looking for when visiting your social
networks:
B Signs that the company is on a forward-moving trajectory. Offer stories through blogs or
Facebook updates that convey your organizations progress.
B Recruiters bio. Be sure your bio and profile are complete and current.
B A link to a corporate web site be sure to include this across profiles.
B A deeper sense of the corporate culture (photos, video, or testimonials from current
employees can help to convey this authentically; avoid the corporate-training video
your content should be natural and unrehearsed).
B Relevance in the marketplace just being in the social media space can accomplish this
task for an organization.
B Personality people hire people, and candidates are looking for signs of life when it
comes to identifying the right fit for their talents and work-life personalities.
B Consistency once you are in the online space, you must be prepared to offer regular
updates and information to avoid creating a brand negative via inactive social networks.
B Content always be looking for relevant, interesting content that will both offer value to
potential hires, and help you to conduct more targeted searches. This can include tips for
job seekers relevant to your company, prerequisites for positions, a sneak peak at life at
the company, the state of employment, tips for interviewing and more.
When sourcing talent via social media, recruiters should think about the following:
B Positioning of candidate. Does the individual position himself or herself as an expert in the
field? Are candidates sharing content? Are they offering value?

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PAGE 22 STRATEGIC HR REVIEW VOL. 10 NO. 6 2011
 B Active engagement. Is the candidate actively participating in the social networks in which
he or she is a part? When was the last post, update or tweet?
B Is the candidates profile completed on each social networking site? An incomplete profile
may indicate that the candidate is not fully committed to the job search or to his or her
professional career. In fact, Krista Candield, LinkedIns senior public relations manager,
notes that candidates whose profiles are complete are 40 times more likely to be
contacted with potential opportunities via this social networking site than those whose
profiles are incomplete (Garone, 2010).
B Is information consistent across social network profiles? While the facts may be
repositioned depending on the site, the facts never change. Look for inconsistencies or
discrepancies from profile to profile, or between these sites and the candidates resume.
In the heat of the social media moment, it might be tempting to place more weight on a
candidates social networking abilities than may be prudent. Social media savvy remains
one indicator within your search, and a viable one, in that more and more companies are
searching for social media prowess in addition to the strict skills of the job, but it remains only
one aspect.
Some companies have set prerequisites for applicants including whether an applicant has a
website for his or her resume, to a minimum number of followers on Twitter, and so forth. Even
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if the job is specific to these skills, recruiters must bear in mind that assessing a candidate
based solely on his or her activity within this space may cause them to overlook real talent.

Increasing corporate online activity

Despite dramatically disparate levels of awareness, understanding and adoption among
human resource recruiters, social media continues to evolve as a means of recruiting across
industries and corporations because, like everything else, the tried-and-true mechanisms
for sourcing top talent simply are not working as effectively as they used to.
Rather than hosting expensive job fairs in top markets (e.g. paying for recruiters to travel,
booking space, and so forth), many companies are opting to focus their energies on their
online presence in both the larger social networking sites, as well as some of the smaller,
more targeted sites. Many companies are posting top positions within a corporate blog with
a link to the companys Facebook page or LinkedIn Company Page. While these efforts
might be specific to recruiting, they come with the added benefit of shaping a broader
corporate footprint in the digital space.

The risk of being left behind

Companies that prefer to maintain traditional methods of recruiting, should also be exploring
social media at the very least as an experiment to familiarize themselves with these networks
and what they can potentially do.
Those organizations that are skeptical about everything from resources to overall
effectiveness might begin by researching the competition to get an understanding of what
top competitors are doing in the online space and the extent of the risk involved if the
company chooses not to participate. In addition to remaining competitive with peer
companies who are active in this space, on the grounds of tightened recruiting budgets,
companies would be wise to explore social networking as a means of bringing at least some
of their recruiting costs down.

Social-media tactics can provide a new pipeline of talent as

well as a means of showcasing the company or brand.

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VOL. 10 NO. 6 2011 STRATEGIC HR REVIEW PAGE 23
 Heading down the path of social networking for recruitment does not signal an elimination of
existing recruitment channels. On the contrary, social networking should be used, at least for
now, as a means of supplementing an existing recruitment strategy by driving more of the
right candidates to your open positions through more targeted, niche communities.

A long-term approach
Like everything else to do with social media, using these channels for recruitment takes time
and effort. Companies must approach the use of social networks as building a long-term
online community for sourcing talent one that is more targeted and serves both proactive
and responsive recruiting purposes. The key is to create a well-thought plan before
engaging in the space, ensure that you are adequately resourced, start small, and use
knowledge gained to further fine tune and optimize your online recruitment strategy.

References
2020 Workplace (2009), Employers using Twitter for recruiting, available at: http://2020workplace.
com/blog/?p 211 (accessed June 22, 2009).
Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) (2011), Job openings and labor turnover survey highlights, December
2010, BLS, available at www.bls.gov/web/jolts/jlt_labstatgraphs.pdf (accessed February 8, 2011).
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Buss, J. (2010), 25 most influential recruiters on Twitter, The Talent Buzz, available at: http://
thetalentbuzz.com/2010/01/25-most-influential-recruiters-on-twitter/
CareerBuilder (n.d.), Will tweet for talent, available at: www.careerbuildercommunications.com/pdf/
socialmedia.pdf
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Garone, E. (2010), Promoting your job search when youre employed, Wall Street Journal, July 8,
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Jobvite (2010), Social recruiting survey results, available at: http://web.jobvite.com/rs/jobvite/images/
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Lauby, S. (2010), How recruiters are using social media for real results, Mashable, April 19, available
at: http://mashable.com/2010/04/19/social-media-recruiters/
Light, J. (2011), Recruiters rethink online Playbook, Wall Street Journal, January 18, available at: http://
online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704307404576080492613858846.html
McCann, D. (2010), The cost of social media phobia, CFO, July 2.
Unisys (2010), Unisyss social media recruiting strategy also a business strategy, Social Media
Recruitment, March 10, available at: http://socialmediarecruitment.com/blog/2010/03/05/unisyss-
social-media-recruiting-strategy-also-a-business-strategy/

About the author

Sherrie A. Madia, PhD, is an Educator, Author and Speaker. Her recent business
communication books include The Social Media Survival Guide, The Online Job Search
Survival Guide and The Social Media Survival Guide for Nonprofits and Charitable
Organizations. She is currently director of communications, external affairs, and a lecturer
at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, and is frequently cited by the
media as an expert on social media. Sherrie A. Madia can be contacted at: madia@
wharton.upenn.edu

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PAGE 24 STRATEGIC HR REVIEW VOL. 10 NO. 6 2011
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